Advanced Computing in the Age of AI | Saturday, April 20, 2024

Solarflare Delivers Flareon 40GbE Server Adapter 

Solarflare today announced the general availability of the Solarflare Flareon Ultra SFN7142Q dual-port 40 Gigabit Ethernet (40GbE) server adapter.

High-throughput applications in scale-out compute environments are placing unprecedented bandwidth demands on 10GbE networks. The Flareon Ultra SFN7142Q provides IT managers and network architects the technology necessary to deliver guaranteed, dedicated and predictable 40GbE performance, together with cost savings offered through higher network efficiency levels.

The Flareon Ultra SFN7142Q delivers industry-leading message rates and ultra-low latency in large part by utilizing OpenOnload application acceleration middleware to bypass kernel and networking overheads, providing unprecedented 40GbE performance with seamless application compatibility. Plus, by employing AppFlex technology, multiple network services can be selectively delivered and controlled at the server adapter to accelerate, monitor, and secure network data. In addition to OpenOnload enablement, optional AppFlex licenses can be ordered for the SFN7142Q, including packet capture and filtering, network monitoring, and precision time synchronization (IEEE 1588 PTP) with hardware time stamping.

“Many of our customers see the positive impact 40GbE can have on network performance and productivity and are ready now to make the jump,” said Mike Smith, vice president and general manager of host solutions at Solarflare. “Others, such as major commercial banks, are proactively deploying 40GbE technology, essentially ‘future proofing’ their network infrastructure. Because of our history of delivering best-in-class 10GbE software and hardware, they are confident selecting our 40GbE solutions.”

The Flareon Ultra SFN7142Q supports the PCIe 3.0 server interface and delivers the performance and intelligence to meet the escalating requirements of applications in cloud, virtualized data centers, Web 2.0, content deliver networks (CDNs), big data, storage, high-performance computing and financial services. This adapter will be the premier network platform for enabling next-generation cloud computing and software defined networks (SDNs).  Through a unique combination of software and hardware architecture, the adapter enables network functions virtualization (NFV) and SDN service chaining within the server – transforming the server area network with hardware assist to be 100 G capable.

The SFN7142Q delivers hardware acceleration and ultra-low latency features that optimize packet delivery – including UDP multicast replication, integrated layer 2-4 switching and software defined flow steering capabilities, TCP segmentation offload (TSO, LRO) and optimized packet transfer modes. The SFN7142Q also features a unique, highly virtualized host interface that includes 2048 virtual NIC (vNIC) interfaces to enable unmatched multi-core and virtual machine (VM) scalability for next-generation cloud computing and software defined networking.

The SFN7142Q features both dual-port 40GbE QSFP+ or quad-port 10GbE SFP+ operation, along with drivers for popular operating systems and hypervisor environments, including Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Red Hat Enterprise Linux Open Stack Platform, Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, VMware ESXi, as well as Microsoft Windows and Hyper-V Server.

EnterpriseAI