Ethernet Card Intel X710-T2L

iWARP/RDMA provides low-latency fabric services for data centers by enabling Remote Direct Memory Access (RDMA) over Ethernet. The technology reduces CPU overhead and accelerates network data transfers using Kernel Bypass, Direct Data Placement, and Transport Acceleration. Intel® Data Direct I/O (DDIO) further improves I/O efficiency by allowing server adapters and controllers to access processor cache directly, cutting latency, increasing I/O bandwidth, and lowering power use.

Advantages

iWARP/RDMA and Intel® DDIO together reduce latency and CPU load, improving throughput for data-intensive workloads. PCI-SIG SR-IOV support and Flexible Port Partitioning enable efficient sharing and partitioning of a physical Ethernet device into multiple virtual functions, providing predictable bandwidth allocation. Virtual Machine Device Queues (VMDq) offload I/O switching from the hypervisor to the network adapter, reducing virtualization overhead and enhancing overall system performance.

Key specifications

• RDMA over Ethernet via iWARP with Kernel Bypass, Direct Data Placement, Transport Acceleration
• Intel® Data Direct I/O Technology (DDIO) for direct processor cache access
• PCI-SIG SR-IOV capable for Single-Root I/O Virtualization
• Flexible Port Partitioning (FPP) using SR-IOV for virtual device partitioning and QoS
• Virtual Machine Device Queues (VMDq) to offload VMM switching

How to use

Enable iWARP/RDMA support in the network adapter firmware and configure the host OS or driver to use RDMA-capable interfaces. Ensure the platform supports Intel® DDIO and compatible server adapters so that DDIO is active for reduced latency and improved I/O bandwidth. When deploying virtualized environments, enable SR-IOV in firmware and hypervisor settings to expose virtual functions, configure Flexible Port Partitioning as needed for bandwidth allocation, and enable VMDq on supported adapters to offload I/O switching tasks from the hypervisor.

Recommendations

Verify hardware, firmware, and driver compatibility with iWARP/RDMA, Intel® DDIO, SR-IOV, FPP and VMDq before deployment. For best results, coordinate adapter firmware versions with server platform firmware and hypervisor settings, and validate configuration in a test environment to confirm latency and throughput improvements.