QLogic's CNA (Converged Network Adapter) cards combine the features of both an Ethernet NIC and a FC HBA; the latter via onboard (offloaded) support for FC over Ethernet (FCoE). The initial cards in the line boast dual 10 Gb/sec ports in SFP+ form factors. Initial O/S support is listed for Windows (2003/2008), Red Hat AS (4/5), and SLES 10 on both 32 and 64-bit platforms.

Because the cards support both Ethernet and FC communications, the vendor bills them as able to replace discreet NICs and HBAs in a single server (I.E., a single converged card can do the work of both a NIC and an HBA); leveraging "... identical software and driver stacks that have been deployed and battle-hardened in millions of previous installations."

The cards are delivered in a standard height, PCI Express x8 form factor and can be interfaced via SNIA HBA, SMI-S, FDMI, NDIS (5/6) and WMMI APIs. Two models of the cards are initially available: The QLE8042-CK, which ships with no transceivers installed for use with direct attached SFP+ copper; and the QLE8042-SR-CK, which ships with two optical transceivers.

As an Ethernet NIC, card features include support for 1500 or 9600 (Jumbo) byte frames; IP, TCP, and UDP checksum offloads; and 802.1Qbb flow control. As an FC HBA, the card features 150,000 IOPS per port; support for 512 concurrent logins and 1024 active exchanges per port; and support for the FCP and FC-TAPE protocols. The vendor further notes that the cards work "... seamlessly with existing Fibre Channel (FC) storage."

Other card features include both CLI and GUI management tools (SANsurfer) as well as Intel's PROSet for Windows Device Manager; and included utilities for boot code programming and Linux scripting.

The QLogic CNAs are available now. Contact QLogic or their distribution partners for further information.