QLogic launches next-generation 10Gb Ethernet Adapters

Previously available only through industry-leading server OEMs, QLogic 3400 Series 10GbE network interface cards (NICs) and 8400 Series converged network adapters (CNAs) offer all the benefits IT professionals expect from the QLogic brand, including industry-leading performance, versatility and proven reliability. QLogic 3400 and 8400 Series adapters will be generally available in early November and are the first products available through the QLogic distribution channel resulting from the acquisition of certain Ethernet controller-related assets from Broadcom.

Based on the same controller already fully qualified and shipping with the world’s leading server platforms, the QLogic 3400 Series is a high-performance 10GbE NIC with extensive acceleration, I/O virtualisation and multi-tenancy features, providing maximum value to IT managers. The QLogic 8400 Series 10GbE CNA builds on QLogic’s strong storage networking heritage by offering fully offloaded, concurrent Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) and iSCSI support. Boasting the industry’s lowest CPU utilisation, the versatile 8400 Series delivers unmatched performance for the most demanding IT workloads. Together, the 3400 Series and 8400 Series offer a comprehensive suite of networking solutions for enterprise and MSP data centres and virtualised infrastructure for public and private cloud deployments.
“Demand for 10GbE adapter solutions continues to rise and QLogic is committed to meeting customer needs with products that provide superior performance and exceptional value,” said Vikram Karvat, vice president of marketing, QLogic. “Our acquisition of certain Ethernet controller-related assets from Broadcom has allowed us to significantly enhance our 10GbE portfolio, starting with 3400 Series NICs and 8400 Series CNAs. These products have enjoyed tremendous success with the industry’s tier-one server OEMs, and we’re excited about collaborating closely with QLogic Signature Partners to bring these solutions to a wider customer base and expand QLogic’s brand leadership in 10GbE.”

QLogic 10Gb Ethernet: Performance with Flexibility
By delivering wire-speed 10GbE performance with low CPU utilisation, QLogic 10GbE adapters excel in modern computing environments. Featuring multi-protocol offload and concurrent LAN (TCP/IP) and SAN (FCoE, iSCSI) traffic processing over a shared 10GbE link, QLogic 10GbE adapters offer maximum flexibility. Ultra-low CPU utilisation frees up server cycles for business-critical applications and the increased mobility of virtual machines (VMs). The 8400 Series CNA delivers FCoE performance of up to 2.6 million IOPS and iSCSI performance of up to 1.5 million IOPS.

Channel Partners Embrace QLogic 3400 and 8400 Series
“The QLogic 10GbE technology is a leading-edge solution that addresses some of the most performance-challenged areas of the data centre,” said Howie Evans, vice president at Dallas Digital, a QLogic Elite Partner. “With this technology, QLogic is empowering traditional enterprises and MSPs to scale their infrastructure through a simplified, scalable and high-performance solution. We see additional revenue opportunities from both current customers as well as new prospects looking to take advantage of the latest Ethernet technologies. It's a win-win across the board.”

“QLogic has developed outstanding enablement programmes so QLogic partners can take full advantage of the opportunities created by introducing next-generation Ethernet technologies,” said Jason Cherveny, president and CEO of Sanity Solutions. “Being part of the comprehensive QLogic Signature Partner programme is a key aspect to success and helps to enable us to offer a competitive roadmap and evolve with customers as they move to cloud-based solutions. This is a great solution for our customers and generates incremental, long-term revenue opportunities for Sanity Solutions.”

Simplified Migration to 10GbE
QLogic 3400/8400 Series adapters feature switch-independent NIC partitioning (NPAR) technology. Designed for both bare-metal and virtual environments, this switch-agnostic approach enables administrators to split up the 10GbE network pipe to divide and reallocate bandwidth and resources at the adapter level, as needed. This reduces implementation time and lowers the total cost of 10GbE migrations.

Designed for Next-Generation Multi-Tenant Server Virtualization
QLogic 3400/8400 Series Ethernet adapters support today’s most compelling network virtualisation features, including: SR-IOV, enhanced and concurrent NIC partitioning, and tunneling offloads (VXLAN and NVGRE). This greatly enhances customers’ choices and flexibility, allowing them to create more agile virtual server platforms. QLogic 3400/8400 Series Ethernet adapters deliver network function virtualisation (NFV) features for high-performance overlay networks. This maximises server-processing performance by providing an offloaded NIC for cloud deployments on Microsoft Windows Server 2012 and VMware vSphere™ 5.

Available in Multiple Configurations
QLogic 3400 Series NICs and 8400 Series CNAs are offered in multiple configurations to meet a variety of data centre requirements. 3400 Series adapters are available in single and dual port configurations with 10GBASET twisted pair, Direct Attach Copper (DAC) and SFP+ SR optical interfaces. 8400 Series adapters are available in dual-port configuration with DAC and SFP+ SR optical interfaces.