Myricom 10G-PCIE2-8B2-2C NIC Specifications

Product photo Product Codes:
• 10G-PCIE2-8B2-2C: NIC with a standard PCI faceplate

Key Features:
• Standard-height PCI Express x8 add-in card
• Dual-protocol network ports, 10-Gigabit Ethernet or 10-Gigabit Myrinet
• Wire-speed performance from both network ports concurrently
• "Gen2" (5 GT/s) PCI Express x8 host port
• Firmware-controlled stateless offloads
• RoHS-compliant lead-free (RoHS-6)
• 12.5 Watts typical

Introduction: This NIC appears to the host operating system as two independent PCI Express devices, one for each network port. Each of the two devices (Lanai-Z8ES chips) can carry traffic at rates approaching 10Gb/s (~9.9 Gb/s with a 9KB MTU, or ~9.5 Gb/s with a 1500B MTU). Together, the two devices can carry traffic between the host and the network at rates approaching 20Gb/s.

If both devices are using the bundled Myri10GE Ethernet software distribution and if the hosts have sufficient memory bandwidth, the netperf TCP_STREAM test with two streams shows an aggregate bandwidth of ~19.8 Gb/s with a 9KB MTU, and ~18.9 Gb/s with a 1500B MTU. These netperf 2.4.3 tests were between Intel Nehalem-EP hosts running the RHEL5 kernel 2.6.18-92.el5. Performance will vary with the host and operating system.

Specifications:

Myri-10G network ports (2): 10GBase-CX4, 10+10 Gbit/s data rate, full-duplex. The ports are fully compliant with the IEEE 802.3ak specifications for the 10GBase-CX4 10-Gigabit Ethernet Physical layer (PHY), and can operate with either Ethernet or Myrinet protocols at the Data Link layer. When operating in Ethernet mode, the ports support Ethernet flow control as defined by IEEE 802.3x. The ports may be connected with standard 10GBase-CX4 cables up to 15m in length. (See this Guide to Myri-10G PHYs (pdf).)

PCI Express host port: This NIC is an x8 (8 lane) "Gen2" (5 GT/s) PCI Express add-in Card. It is capable of exchanging data with a host computer at up to 4 GBytes/s (500 MBytes/s per lane) data rate in each direction, full-duplex. This NIC is fully compliant with the PCI Express Card Electromechanical Specification Rev. 2.0, and with the PCI Express Base Specification Rev. 2.0 at 5 GT/s or 2.5 GT/s. The circuit-board edge connector of the NIC will fit mechanically in x8 or x16 physical slots in host computers. The NIC auto-negotiates operation in the widest available mode (x8, x4, x2, or x1) and highest data rate (5 or 2.5 GT/s) supported by the slot it is plugged into.

A PCI Express switch chip connects the host port to two Lanai-Z8ES-based PCI Express endpoints via two x8 (8 lane) PCI Express "Gen1" (2.5 GT/s) links. The Lanai Z8ES is fully compliant with the PCI Express Base Specification Rev. 2.0 (2.5 GT/s only).

Optional PCI Express capabilities supported: Advanced Error Reporting, Function-Level Reset, Device Serial Number, up to 16 outstanding read requests, up to 2KB MaxPayloadSize for all packet types (limited by the PCI Express switch chip), MSI and MSI/X, SMBus access.

Optional PCI Express capabilities to be supported in upcoming firmware releases: Address Translation Services, Single Root I/O Virtualization and Sharing, Alternative Routing-ID Interpretation.

These "Gen2" PCI Express NICs will operate correctly in "Gen1" (2.5 GT/s) PCI Express slots in a host, but require "Gen2" (5 GT/s) PCI Express slots to achieve full performance. See this tabulation of test results with "Gen2" (5 GT/s) PCI Express chip sets and motherboards.

NIC processors and memories (2): The NIC is based on two Myricom Lanai Z8ES chips bridged to the host port with a PCI Express switch chip. Each Lanai Z8ES includes a programmable RISC, a set of packet engines, and 2MB of fast SRAM. The RISC, packet engines, and SRAM inside the Lanai-Z8ES chip operate at a clock rate of 364.6MHz. Byte parity is generated and checked on all on-chip memories.

EEPROM (2): 1MB, which includes the firmware required for PCI device initialization and an Etherboot (UEFI- and PXE-compatible) driver. The driver loads the matching firmware as required by the mode in which the NIC is operating. The EEPROM can be re-programmed in-place by the Lanai Z8ES.

LEDs (4): The yellow LEDs on the PCI faceplate are controlled by the firmware running in the Lanai for this port. The interpretation of the yellow LEDs is different for different firmware. There is also a green LED for each port: off indicates that the link is down, on indicates that the link is up, and blinking indicates traffic.

Physical characteristics: The circuit board is a standard-height add-in card as defined in the PCI Express Card Electromechanical Specification Rev. 2.0: height 99mm (exclusive of the PCI faceplate), length 142mm (exclusive of the PCI faceplate and connectors), total thickness 22mm, weight 91g (0.201 pound) including the standard PCI faceplate. A low-profile version, product code 10G-PCIE2-8B2L-2C, is available on special order.

Power: Under conditions of maximal bidirectional traffic between both network ports and the host, the NIC consumes 12.5W typical, 13W maximum.

Power details: The NIC is powered from both 3.3V and 12V from the PCI Express port. The 3.3V power is 6.77W typical (2.05A), and the 12V power is 5.72W typical (0.477A).

Environmental: Operating: Temperature 0C to 55C up to 10,000 foot altitude with 100LFM minimum airflow. Relative humidity 15% to 80% @ 50C, non-condensing. Storage: Temperature -40C to 70C. Relative humidity 90% @ 65C.

Regulatory Approvals: Fully compliant with EN55024 (1998 w/A1: 2001 & A2: 2003), EN55022 (1998) Class A, AS/NZS 3548 (1005 W/A1 & A2: 97) Class A, CISPR 22 (1997) Class A, FCC Part 15 Subpart B Section 15.109 Class A, VCCI (April 2000) Class A, & ICES-003 Class A (ANSI C63.4 1992). See the Index of Myri-10G Regulatory Reports.

Reduction of Hazardous Substances: These NICs are RoHS-compliant lead-free (RoHS-6).

Myricom-supported software: These NICs may use the included (bundled) Myri10GE software for 10-Gigabit Ethernet operation, or optional software distributions including MX-10G, Video Pump, Sniffer10G, or DBL. This software is distributed from the Myricom Software & Customer Support page.