Intel rolls out dual-port 10 Gigabit adaptor

Intel's X52-T2 adaptor is the first to have two ports on a single adaptor

Intel has released a new 10GBase-t network adaptor for servers that sports two 10Gb Ethernet ports.

The company said that the new X52-T2 adaptor is first to have two ports on a single adaptor. The PCI-Express card will support connection distances of up to 100 metres.

Intel said that by placing two ports on the card, administrators will have a redundant connection in case of hardware failure. Additionally, administrators can pair the connections to create a single pipeline running at 20Gb Ethernet speeds.

The cards are also the first to use Intel's Single Root I/O Virtualisation platform. The new system allows for better communication between physical network inputs and virtualised machines. In doing so, the company believes that virtualised systems can operate at nearly identical speeds to direct physical I/O connections.

The management and implementation of virtualisation tools has been a major issue in the enterprise space for several years. While companies are increasingly looking to reap the savings in hardware and energy costs afforded by virtualised systems, vendors are still working to identify and remedy lingering performance bottlenecks in areas such as network performance.