Intel 10GbE Adapter Performance Evaluation for FCoE and iSCSI

Table Of Contents



Demartek

Intel

10GbE Adapter Performance Evaluation

September 2010

Page 4 of 18

Intel

uses the same management interface for its Intel

Ethernet Server Adapter X520 as it does

for its other Ethernet adapters. The Ethernet settings are in the same places administrators have

come to expect, while the FCoE settings have their own page. Each are accessible through the

familiar “Device Manager” management console under the “network adapters” and “storage

controllers” sections, respectively. The FCoE properties can also be accessed from the Ethernet

properties page under the “Data Center” tab.

Each port of the Intel

Ethernet Server Adapter X520 is managed separately for both the Ethernet

and FCoE parameters. Each port on an adapter can have different settings.

Ethernet

The Ethernet management properties include several tabs for managing various Ethernet functions

such as link speed, NIC teaming, advanced settings and more. The advanced settings include

several Ethernet parameters relating to checksum offload, Receive Side Scaling (RSS) and other

functions. Information about each of these functions is provided in the lower half of the properties

window to help administrators make the best choices. In many cases, the default setting is the best

choice. Example are shown below.

Diagnostics are available that check the health of the connection and the hardware under the “Link

Speed” tab.