Intel X520-T2 Reference guide

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 convergence and virtualization
while still providing increased application performance and
availability.
Next-Generation 10 Gigabit Performance
The drive to 10 Gigabit Ethernet comes from information tech-
nologies including virtualization, advances in storage architec-
tures, 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 tomorrow’s network infrastructure, 10 Gigabit
Ethernet is the core of any next generation 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.
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 technolo-
gies are Virtual Machine Device Queues2 (VMDq) and Virtual
Machine Direct Connect (VMDc). VMDq improves data processing
by offloading the sorting and queuing functionality to the I/O
controller from the VMM. VMDc provides direct connectivity to the
VMs to deliver near-native performance and VM scalability. VMDc
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

Features Benefits
Intel® 82599 10 Gigabit Ethernet Controller • Industry-leading, energy-efficient design for next-generation 10 Gigabit performance
and multi-core processors
Low-profile • Enables higher bandwidth and throughput from standard and low-profile PCIe slots and servers
Load balancing on multiple CPUs • Increases performance on multi-processor systems by efficiently balancing network loads across
CPU cores when used with Receive-Side Scaling from Microsoft* or Scalable I/O on Linux*
iSCSI remote boot support • Provides centralized Storage Area Network (SAN) management at a lower cost than competing
iSCSI solutions
Support for most Network Operating Systems (NOS) • Enables widespread deployment
RoHS compliant,2 lead-free3 technology • Compliant with the European Union directive (effective as of July 2006) to reduce the use of hazard-
ous materials
Intel® ProSet Utility for Windows* Device Manager • Provides point-and-click management of individual adapters, advanced adapter features, connection
teaming, and virtual local area network (VLAN) configuration
Compatible with x8 and x16 standard and low-profile PCI
Express* slots
• Allows each PCI Express* slot port to operate without interfering with the other
I/O Features for Multi-core Processor Servers
Intel® QuickData Technology1 • DMA Engine: enhances data acceleration across the platform (network, chipset, processor),
thereby lowering CPU utilization
• Direct Cache Access (DCA): allows the processor to pre-fetch the data from memory, thereby
avoiding cache misses and improving service level agreements (SLA) of the applications
MSI-X support • Minimizes the overhead of interrupts
• Allows load balancing of interrupt handling between different cores/CPUs
Low latency • Based on the sensitivity of the incoming data, the adpater can bypass the automatic moderation of
time intervals between the interrupts
Header Splits and Replication in Receive • Helps the driver focus on the relevant part of the packet without the need to parse it
Multiple Queues: 16 queues per port • Network packet handling without waiting or buffer overflow providing efficient packet prioritization
Tx/Rx IP, SCTP, TCP, and UDP checksum offloading (IPv4,
IPv6) capabilities
• Lower processor usage
• Checksum and segmentation capability extended to new standard packet type
Tx TCP segmentation offload (IPv4, IPv6) • Increased throughput and lower processor usage
• Compatible with large-send offload feature (in Microsoft Windows* Server operating systems)
Receive and Transmit Side Scaling for Windows environment
and Scalable I/O for Linux* environments (IPv4, IPv6, TCP/
UDP)
• Enables the direction of the interrupts to the processor cores in order to improve the CPU utilization
rate
IPsec Offload • Offloads IPsec capability onto the adapter instead of the software to significantly improve through-
put and CPU usage (for Windows* 2008 Server and Vista*)
LinkSec • IEEE spec: 802.1ae
• Layer 2 data protection with encryption/authentication ability between devices (e.g, routers,
switches)
• LinkSec is designed into the network adapter hardware. These adapters are prepared to provide
LinkSec functionality when the ecosystem is ready to support this new technology
also provides flexibility with mobility by enabling VM migration
between physical servers. VMDc is based on the industry-standard
PCI-SIG SR-IOV (Single Root I/O Virtualization).
Unified Networking
The fast growth in storage capacity coupled with server
virtualization has brought the need for Storage Area Network
(SAN) to the forefront. To satisfy this growing demand, the Intel
Ethernet Server Adapter X520-T2 supports iSCSI acceleration
and provides advanced features for unified networking. Fast and
reliable networked storage can be achieved via native iSCSI sup-
port with Microsoft, Linux,* and VMware operating systems as
well as support for iSCSI remote boot. Intel’s unified networking
solutions enable cost-effective connectivity to the SAN; custom-
ers can use NAS or iSCSI to carry storage traffic over Ethernet.
Companion Products
Consider these Intel® products in your server and network
planning:
• Intel® Ethernet Server Adapter X520 Series for 10GbE SFP+
PCIe v2.0 (5 GT/s) performance
• Intel® PRO/1000 Server Adapters
Copper or fiber-optic network connectivity, up to four ports
per card
Solutions for PCI Express, PCI-X,* and PCI interfaces
• Intel® PRO/1000 Desktop Adapters for PCI Express and PCI
interfaces
• Other Intel® PRO Desktop and Server Adapters
• Intel® Xeon® Processors
• Intel® Server Boards
Order Code
Single unit: E10G42BT

Virtualization Features Benefits
Virtual Machine Device queues (VMDq) • Offloads the data-sorting functionality from the Hypervisor to the network silicon, improving data
throughput and CPU usage
• Provides QoS feature on the Tx data by providing round-robin servicing and preventing head-of-line
blocking
• Sorting based on MAC addresses and VLAN tags
Next-Generation VMDq1 (64 queues per port) • Enhanced QoS feature by providing weighted round-robin servicing for the Tx data
• Provides loopback functionality, where data transfer between the virtual machines within the same
physical server need not go out to the wire and come back in, improving throughput and CPU usage
• Supports replication of multicast and broadcast data
PC-SIG SR-IOV Implementation (64 virtual functions per port) • Provides an implementation of the PCI-SIG standard for I/O Virtualization. The physical configuration of
each port is divided into multiple virtual ports. Each virtual port is assigned to an individual virtual machine
directly by bypassing the virtual switch in the Hypervisor, resulting in near-native performance
• Integrated with Intel® VTI for Directed I/O (VT-d) to provide data protection between virtual ma-
chines by assigning separate physical addresses in the memory to each virtual machine
IPv6 Offloading • Checksum and segmentation capability extended to the new standard packet type
Advanced Packet Filtering • 24 exact-matched packets (unicast or multicast)
• 4096-bit hash filter for unicast and multicast frames
• Lower processor usage
• Promiscuous (unicast and multicast) transfer mode support
• Optional filtering of invalid frames
VLAN support with VLAN tag insertion, stripping and packet
filtering for up to 4096 VLAN tags
• Ability to create multiple VLAN segments
Manageability Features
Preboot eXecution Environment (PXE) Support • Enables system boot up via the LAN (32-bit and 64-bit)
• Flash interface for PXE image
Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) and Remote
Network Monitoring (RMON) Statistic Counters
• Minimizes the overhead of interrupts
• Allows load balancing of interrupt handling between different cores/CPUs
iSCSI Boot • Enables system boot up via iSCSI
• Provides additional network management capability
Watchdog Timer • Gives an indication to the manageability firmware or external devices that the chip or the driver is
not functioning
Specifications
General
Product code E10G42BT
Connector RJ-45 Copper
Cabling Category-6A
Adapter Product Features
Intel® PROSet Utility for easy conguration
and management
Intel® lead-free3 technology
Plug and play specication support Standard
Intel® I/OAT including QuickData
Includes a full-height bracket
RoHS2
Cabling Distance
10GBASE-T 100 m on Cat-6A, 55 m on Cat-6
1000BASE-T 100 m on Cat-5e, Cat-6 or Cat-6A
Receive-side scaling
VMDq4In a virtualized environment, packets
dedicated to different virtual machines
can be routed to different queues, thus
easing the routing of these packets to
the target machine
Advanced packet ltering (per port) • 16 exact-matched packets
(unicast or multicast)
• 4096-bit hash lter for
multicast frames
• Promiscuous (unicast and multicast)
• Optional ltering of invalid frames
Direct Cache Access (DCA) The I/O device activates a pre-fetch
engine in the CPU that loads the data
into the CPU cache ahead of time,
before use, eliminating cache misses
and reducing CPU load
Network Management
Wired for Management (WfM) baseline v2.0
enabled for servers
DMI 2.0 support, Windows Management
Instrumentation (WMI) and SNMP
Remote Installation Services (RIS)
PXE 2.0 enabled through boot Read-Only
Memory (ROM)
Network Operating Systems (NOS) Software Support
Microsoft Windows Server 2003*
Microsoft Vista*
Microsoft Windows Virtual Server 2005*
Red Hat Enterprise 4* or later
SUSE SLES 10* or later,
Professional 9.2 or later
FreeBSD 5.x* or later
VMware ESX 3.x* support
Fedora*
EFI 1.1
Intel Backing
Limited lifetime warranty
90-day, money-back guarantee
(U.S. and Canada)
Interrupt levels INTA, MSI, MSI-X
Hardware certications FCC B, UL, CE, VCCI, BSMI, CTICK, KCC
Controller-processor Intel® 82599EB
Maximum power consumption 25.0 W Maximum

1Intel®QuickDataTechnologyrequiresoperatingsystemsupport.
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5
Availableonlywhenusedwithacapableswitch.
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To see the full line of Intel Network Adapters for PCI Express*,
visit www.intel.com/go/ethernet
Network-Ready Servers
Top PC and server manufacturers offer Intel® adapters in their
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with your next PC, server, or mobile PC purchase. For a list of
preferred suppliers, visit us at www.intel.com/buy/networking/
adapters.htm.
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Advanced Software Features
Adapter Fault Tolerance (AFT)
Switch Fault Tolerance (SFT)
Adaptive Load Balancing (ALB)
Teaming support
IEEE 802.3ad5 (link aggregation
control protocol)
PCIe Hot Plug/Active Peripheral
Component Interconnect (PCI)
IEEE 802.1Q VLANs
IEEE 802.3 2005 ow control support
Tx/Rx IP, TCP, & UDP checksum ofoading
(IPv4, IPv6) capabilities (Transmission control
protocol (TCP), User Datagram Protocol (UDP),
Internet Protocol (IP))
IEEE 802.1p
TCP segmentation/large send ofoad
MSI -X supports Multiple Independent Queues
Interrupt moderation
IPv6 ofoading Checksum and segmentation capability
extended to new standard packet type
Technical Features
Data rate(s) supported per port 1 Gigabit and 10 Gigabit
Bus type PCI Express 2.0 (5.0 Gtps)
Bus width x8 lane PCI Express, operable in x8 and
x16 slots
Bus speed (x8, encoded rate) 20 Gbps uni-directional; 40 Gbps
bi-directional
Interrupt levels INTA, MSI, MSI-X
Hardware certications FCC B, UL, CE, VCCI, BSMI, CTICK, KCC
Controller-processor Intel® 82599EB