IBM Model Number 49Y4274 is a “pay as you go” upgrade for the Emulex 10Gb Ethernet (10GbE) option Virtual Fabric Adapter (VFA) II (49Y7950) and Emulex 10GbE Integrated VFAII (SBB 49Y7940) for select IBM System x models that enables iSCSI or FCoE functionality on that adapter.

Optimized network connectivity

The integrated and add-on Emulex VFA II for IBM System x are high performance, dual-port network adapters for 10GbE networks. One is available as an option 10GbE adapter and the other as integrated 10GbE technology for select IBM System x models. The Emulex 10GbE VFA II offers the benefits and flexibility of I/O convergence with a single end-to-end solution. The upgrade option (49Y4274) can be used to add support for storage networks using Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) with full protocol offload¹.

Superior 10Gb/s performance

The Emulex 10GbE VFA II for IBM System x achieves line rate 10Gb/s performance with support for TCP/IP stateless offloads and TCP Chimney Offload. TCP Chimney Offload reduces system processor utilization, provides increased system performance and reduces overall system power requirements.

Network convergence

The Emulex VFA II for IBM System x provides the option to support FCoE, seamlessly converging Fibre Channel and Ethernet I/O while leveraging ten generations of proven Emulex Fibre Channel technology. By using a common infrastructure for Ethernet and storage networks, data centers can reduce capital expenditures (CAPEX) with savings of up to 30% for adapters and switches, and up to 80% for cables. Network convergence also reduces operational expenditures (OPEX) for power and cooling by up to 40%. FCoE is fully compatible with existing Fibre Channel infrastructures to fully protect investments in storage, switches, management applications and administrative expertise.

Optimized for virtualization

The Emulex VFA II for IBM System x offer the benefits and flexibility of an enhanced virtual NIC (vNIC) function, which enables bidirectional bandwidth management, dynamic bandwidth allocation and I/O convergence in a single end-to-end solution. Each port on the Emulex 10GbE VFA II card can support up to four vNICs per physical port. In addition, the Emulex 10GbE VFA II card supports Single Root I/O Virtualization (SR-IOV) which allows PCIe devices to appear as multiple virtual devices that can optimize I/O performance by providing direct I/O for virtual machines (VMs).

¹Support for storage networks using iSCSI with full protocol offload is a future feature upgrade.