End-to-end performance of 10-gigabit Ethernet on commodity systems

Apart form the success in local-area networks (LANs) and system-area networks and anticipated success in metropolitan and wide area networks (MANs and WANs), Ethernet continues to evolve to meet the increasing demands of packet-switched networks. Although the recently ratified 10-Gigabit Ethernet standard differs from earlier Ethernet standards, primarily in that 10GbE operates only over fiber and only in full-duplex mode, the differences are largely superficial. More importantly, l0GbE does not make obsolete current investments in network infrastructure. The 10GbE standard ensures interoperability not only with existing Ethernet but also with other networking technologies such as Sonet, thus paving the way for Ethernets expanded use in MANs and WANs. The world´s first host-based 10GbE adapter, officially known as the Intel PRO/10GbE LR server adapter, introduces the benefits of l0GbE connectivity into LAN and system-area network environments, thereby accommodating the growing number of large-scale cluster systems and bandwidth-intensive applications, such as imaging and data mirroring. The 10GbE controller is optimized for servers that use the I/O bus backplanes of the peripheral component interface (PCI) and its higher speed extension, PCI-X.