- Enables higher virtualization ratios with hardware offloads, critical to getting more return from server investments
- Simplifies virtual maching (VM) mobility in cloud infrastructures, eliminating network re-configuration by leveraging on-adapter overlay networking offloads
- Improves Ethernet quality of service (QoS), with lossless end-to-end iSCSI-over-Data Center Bridging (DCB) connectivity, from VFA to a iSCSI storage target
- Optimizes bandwidth allocation for applications, management and virtualization services using IBM Virtual Fabric technology
- Reduces adapter and cable costs - one adapter for simultaneous storage and data traffic on a common 10 Gb Ethernet (10GbE) fabric
- Enables centralized, single-pane management of Emulex VFAs and HBAs throughout the data center with Emulex OneCommand Manager
- Superior network convergence - storage, data, and RDMA traffic over a common 10GbE Ethernet infrastructure
- Single Root I/O Virtualization (SR-IOV)
- Intelligent steering of I/O with VMware NetQueue and Microsoft Dynamic VMQ for full 10GbE bandwidth utilization
The Emulex Virtual Fabric Adapter 5 (VFA5) for IBM System x delivers performance enhancements and additional features that maximize the return on server and storage investments. The VFA5 is designed for the high bandwidth and scalability demands of tier 1 enterprise applications powered by storage protocol (Fiber Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) and iSCSI) and stateless TCP hardware offloads, more scalable virtualization with Single-Root I/O Virtualization (SR-IOV), optimized bandwidth allocation using IBM Virtual Fabric technology, accelerated cloud networking using Emulex Virtual Network Acceleration (VNeX) offload technology and accelerated application and storage performance with support for RDMA over Converged Ethernet (RoCE).