Using Intel Multi-Port Server Adapters to Optimize Server Virtualization and Consolidation

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Using Intel® Multi-Port Server Adapters to Optimize Server Virtualization and Consolidation White Paper

and Intel NICs provide the connections to make

the virtual IT infrastructure a reality. Together,

VMware and Intel help IT managers reach a com-

mon goal: serving enterprise needs in the most

fficient and responsive way possible.

Intel PRO/1000 Multi-Port Adapter

Product Features

• Intel SingleDriver technology

• Backward compatibility with previous

generations of Intel PRO/1000 network

adapters

• Remote management support (WfM, RIS,

SNMP/DMI)

• Full-height and low-profile screw-on brackets

included with each adapter

• Interrupt moderation

• Large send offload/TCP segmentation offload

• RJ-45 connectors

• Plug-and-play specification support: standard

• Auto-negotiation, full-duplex capable

• Copper cable distances up to 100 m and fiber

distances up to 1,000 m

•

Adapter fault tolerance

• Switch fault tolerance

• Adaptive load balancing

• Fast EtherChannel

• Gigabit EtherChannel

• Test switch configuration

• 802.1Q VLANs

• 802.3x flow control

• TCP checksum offload

• IEEE 802.1p

Available only when used with a capable switch.

Key Terminology

Network interface card (NIC) is a computer

circuit board or card that is installed in a computer

so that it can be connected to a network.

Virtualization is the basis for flexible, scalable,

and low-cost enterprise IT that has the capability

to respond immediately to changing business

needs. Virtualization decouples application

workloads completely from underlying physical

hardware. This allows applications to be deployed

across a pool of physical servers to improve hard-

ware utilization and management flexibility. The

key building block of VMware Infrastructure is a

platform that abstracts the physical resources of

an industry-standard server to provide a set of

virtual resources to an application. VMware ESX

Server 3 provides that virtualization platform, and

VMware VirtualCenter 2 manages the virtual

machines on physical servers running VMware

ESX Server 3. VMware VMotion permits the

migration of applications running on virtual

machines across this pool of virtual resources

without service interruption.

Virtual machine is a virtualized server environ-

ment on which a guest operating system and

associated application software can run. Multiple

virtual machines can operate on the same host

machine c

oncurr

ently.

VMw

e Compatibility with Intel

PRO/1000 Dual and Quad Port

Adap

ters

VMware Infrastructure 3 supports Intel PRO/100

Fast Ethernet and Intel PRO/1000 Gigabit

Ethernet network adapters. For a representative

list of VMware-qualified adapters, see the

VMwar

e ESX Serv

er 3 I/O C

ompatibility Guide at

www.vmware.com/pdf/vi3_io_guide.pdf.

VMware may add support for drivers and devices

between product releases. Check the VMware

eb sit

e f

or current information at