IBM 49Y4234 2-Port 10Gb/s SFP+ Gigabit Ethernet 10GBase-X Network Card

Product Description

The IBM 49Y4234 is a high-performance dual-port 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10GbE) Network Interface Card (NIC) designed to deliver exceptional network throughput for IBM System x servers. Featuring two SFP+ (Small Form-Factor Pluggable Plus) ports, this adapter enables high-speed connectivity over fiber optic infrastructure. The SFP+ interface supports a variety of transceivers, allowing for flexible deployment with different fiber types (multimode or single-mode) and network standards, such as 10GBase-SR for short distances and 10GBase-LR for longer distances. Connected via a PCI Express (PCIe) interface, typically PCIe 3.0 x8 or x16, the 49Y4234 ensures that the server's network traffic is not bottlenecked. The dual-port design is crucial for implementing network redundancy, providing failover capabilities in case one link fails, or for network aggregation to increase bandwidth. This adapter is engineered to offload network-intensive tasks from the server's main processor, thereby enhancing overall system performance and allowing the CPU to focus on application processing. This adapter is particularly well-suited for environments with demanding network requirements, such as virtualization hosts, high-performance computing clusters, storage area networks (SANs), and data-intensive applications. IBM typically optimizes these adapters for their server platforms, ensuring compatibility and providing specific drivers and management tools for seamless integration. The inclusion of both low-profile and full-height brackets allows for installation in a variety of IBM server chassis, making it a versatile solution for upgrading or adding high-speed network connectivity.