10 Gigabit Ethernet adapter for HP blade server announced

NetEffect this week introduced a 10 Gigabit Ethernet adapter for HP's BladeSystem c-Class server blades that HP says is the smallest and consumes the least power of any adapters for the system.

The adapter works with HP's 10 Gigabit Ethernet BL-c Switch to achieve low-latency wire speeds. The switch is made by Blade Network Technologies, which as you might recall was established when Nortel's blade server switch business unit split off as a private enterprise in 2006.

NetEffect says the adapter passed the HP BladeSystem compatibility test suite and has been designated as HP BladeSystem c-Class Compatible through the HP BladeSystem Solution Builder Program. The blade system lets users combine server and storage blades into a single chassis, and the high-speed interconnect allows quick transfers in between the various elements.

NetEffect says the adapter consumes just 6.5 watts, typically, which is half of the 15-watt limit set for Type I cards. It's also one-third of the power requirement of other HP-certified c-Class adapters that run at 10Gbps. As you can imagine, power needs can add up quickly as more blades are added. And as I mentioned last week, power considerations will continue to rise in importance to those making buying decisions on network equipment, according a recent study.

The adapter supports acceleration techniques like TCP offload, RDMA over Ethernet and User-level Direct Access.

The server blades can be used for networking, storage, and high-performance computing clusters. The adapter is shipping now and lists for $895.