Intel X520-T2 E10G42BT User Manual

Product codes
E10G42BT
Page of 4
10 Gb Performance at the Low Cost of Copper 
This 10 Gigabit X520-T2 Ethernet Server Adapter showcases 
Intel’s third-generation standards-based 10GBASE-T adapter 
in a low-profile PCI Express* form factor. This new dual port 
adapter provides bandwidth-intensive applications highly 
affordable 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10GbE) network performance 
with cost-effective RJ-45 connections for distances up to 100 
meters.
10GBASE-T is the most cost-effective deployment of 10GbE 
for connectivity and will be the primary media of choice for 
volume 10GbE deployments as datacenters continue to drive 
to reduce costs through network consolidation, convergence, 
storage over Ethernet and virtualization while still providing 
increased application performance and availability.
Next-Generation 10 Gigabit Performance
The drive to 10 Gigabit Ethernet comes from the latest informa-
tion technologies including virtualization, advances in storage 
architectures, network convergence, server clustering, new forms 
of information delivery using the Internet, and the next wave of 
digital and social media content. 
At the heart of today’s network infrastructure, 10 Gigabit 
Ethernet is the core of any virtualized data center. Data centers 
are demanding flexible and scalable I/O solutions to meet the 
rigorous requirements of running mission-critical applications 
in virtualized and unified storage environments. With the latest 
server platform from Intel, customers can now realize the full 
potential of 10 Gigabit Ethernet networking and realize up to 2.5 
times the bandwidth supported by earlier generation platforms.
The new Intel platforms drive an unprecedented need for ad-
ditional I/O support.  With the Intel
®
 Xeon
®
 7500  quad-socket 
system there is up to a 15:1 server consolidation rate, a 20x 
performance leap, and support for over 100 Gb/s of Ethernet 
bandwidth .  What does all this mean?  Customers will host more 
applications on a single, high-performing, virtualized server, driv-
ing more demand for network I/O.  Simply put, GbE cannot scale 
up to meet the demands of these new servers.  10GbE is a must.
Performance-Enhancing Features for Multi-
Core Environments
When implemented within multi-core processor environments, 
the Intel® Ethernet Server Adapter X520-T2 offers advanced 
networking features, Intel® I/O Acceleration Technology (Intel® I/
OAT), for efficient distribution of Ethernet workloads across CPU 
cores. Load balancing of interrupts using MSI-X enables more 
efficient response times and application performance. CPU uti-
lization can be lowered further through stateless offloads such 
as TCP segmentation offload, header replications/splitting, and 
Direct Cache Access (DCA).
Best Choice for Virtualization
The Intel X520-T2 server adapter includes Intel® Virtualization 
Technology for Connectivity (Intel VT-c) to deliver outstand-
ing performance in virtualized server environments. Intel VT-c 
includes hardware optimizations that help reduce I/O bottlenecks 
and improve the overall server performance. These technologies 
are Virtual Machine Device Queues (VMDq) and Single Root I/O 
Product Brief
Intel® Ethernet Server Adapter X520-T2 
Network Connectivity
Intel® Ethernet Server Adapter X520-T2
10 Gigabit BASE-T Ethernet Server Adapter Designed for  
Multi-Core Processors and Optimized for Virtualization