Exceptional price/performance, advanced management functionality that can shave days off installing and managing adapters, coupled with up to 3x better IOPS performance per watt, make IBM branded 16G Fibre Channel (16GFC) host bus adapters (HBAs) the clear choice for IBM System x servers. IBM 16GFC HBAs were designed to support the largest virtualized, cloud and mission critical database environments. The single-channel IBM 81Y1655 and dual channel IBM  81Y1662 feature the Emulex bullet-proof driver-stack, backward compatibility to 4 and 8G Fibre Channel HBAs and rock-solid reliability with a heritage that spans back to the first generation of Fibre Channel adapters to today’s 16GFC adapters. Emulex is trusted by data centers the world-over, with more than 11 million HBA ports shipped and installed to date.

Proven Design, Architecture and Interface

IBM 16GFC HBAs highly integrated multiprocessor design minimizes onboard components to improve host performance and efficiency. Advanced error-checking features ensure the integrity of block data as it traverses the storage area network (SAN). Emulex’s firmware-based architecture enables feature and performance upgrades without costly hardware changes. The unique 4th Generation Service Level Interface (SLI™) allows use of a common driver across all models of IBM branded Emulex HBAs on a given operating system (OS) platform. Installation and management facilities are designed to minimize server reboots and further simplify deployment.

Powerful Management Software for Maximum Data Center Efficiency

The Emulex OneCommand™ Manager enterprise class management application features a multiprotocol, cross-platform architecture, that provides centralized management of all Emulex HBAs and Universal Converged Network Adapters (UCNAs). This enables IT administrators to manage FibreChannel (FC), Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE), Internet Small Computer System Interface (iSCSI) and Network Interface Card (NIC) adapters with one tool for maximum efficiency. The unique OneCommand Manager plug-in for VMware vCenter™ enables adapters to be managed directly within the VMware environment, further simplifying the management process.

Key Benefits

• Maximum performance—over 1 million input/ output operations per second (IOPS) to support larger server virtualization deployments and scalable cloud initiatives, as well as performance to match new multi-core processors, SSDs and faster server host bus architectures
• Improves IT staff productivity through simplified deployment and management
• Reduces the number of cards, cables and PCIe slots required
• Exceptional performance per watt and price/performance ratios
• Integrates seamlessly into existing SANs
• Allows application of SAN best practices, tools and processes with virtual server deployments
• Assures data availability and data integrity

Key Features

• vScale™ performance and scalability—multi-core ASIC engine with eight cores supports 255 VFs, 1024 MSi-X and 8192 logins/open exchanges for maximum VM density—up to 4x more than other adapters
• 2x management functionality, and takes half the time to manage with OneCommand Manager - Unique OneCommand Manager plug-in for VMware vCenter for centralized management of adapters within a VMware environment
• GreenState™ power efficiency—reduces data center power consumption and associated OPEX by delivering exceptional power to port ratios
• BlockGuard® data integrity—enables end-to-end protection against silent data corruption
• vEngine™ CPU offload—lowers CPU burden on host server, enabling support for more VMs
• Rock-solid reliability and thermal characteristics, essential for mission-critical, cloud and virtualized applications
• Support for Message Signaled Interrupts eXtended (MSI-X), improves host utilization and enhances application performance
• Support for 16GFC, 8Gb and 4Gb FC devices
• Comprehensive virtualization capabilities with support for N_Port ID Virtualization (NPIV) and Virtual Fabric
• Host-to-fabric Fibre Channel Security Protocol (FC-SP) authentication
• Common driver model, allows a single driver to support all Emulex HBAs on a given OS