867707-B21 HPE 10GB 2 Port 521T Network Adapter

Overview of HPE 867707-B21 Ethernet 2-Port Network Adapter

The HPE 867707-B21 is a dual-port 10 Gigabit Ethernet adapter engineered for enterprise servers, offering secure, high-speed connectivity, advanced virtualization support, and compliance with modern networking standards. It is designed to enhance performance, efficiency, and scalability in demanding IT environments.

General Information

• Manufacturer: HPE
• Part Number: 867707-B21
• Product Type: Network Adapter
• Form Factor: Plug-in Card
• Interface Type: PCI Express 3.0 x8

Networking Capabilities

Port and Connectivity

• Ports: 2 x 10 Gigabit Ethernet
• Technology: Wired connectivity
• Protocol: 10 Gigabit Ethernet
• Data Transfer Rate: 10 Gbps per port
• Performance: Bidirectional throughput of 40 Gbps
• Capacity: Jumbo frame size up to 9.2 KB
• Remote Management: SNMP protocol

Advanced Features

Networking Enhancements

• VLAN Support
• Wake on LAN (WoL)
• IPv6 Compatibility
• Jumbo Frames Support
• PXE Boot Support

Latency & Performance Optimizations

• Precision Time Protocol (PTP)
• RDMA over Converged Ethernet (RoCE)
• RoCE v2 for enhanced efficiency
• Virtual Extensible LAN (VXLAN)
• Receive Side Coalescing (RSC)
• iSCSI Extensions over RDMA (iSER)

Additional Innovations

• HPE Sea of Sensors 3D technology for thermal optimization

Compliance Standards

IEEE Standards Supported

• IEEE 802.1Q (VLAN tagging)
• IEEE 802.1P (Traffic prioritization)
• IEEE 802.1AS (Timing and synchronization)
• IEEE 802.3az (Energy Efficient Ethernet)
• IEEE 802.1QBB (Priority-based Flow Control)
• IEEE 802.1QAZ (Enhanced Transmission Selection)
• IEEE 802.3BY (25 Gigabit Ethernet compatibility)

Processor and Memory

Core Hardware

• Processor: Cavium QL41401

Expansion and Connectivity

Interface Options

• 2 x 10Gb Ethernet - RJ-45 connectors

Power Requirements

Operational Consumption

• Typical usage: 8.4 Watts

HPE 867707-B21 Ethernet 10Gb 2-Port 521T Network Adapter 

The HPE 867707-B21 Ethernet 10Gb 2-Port 521T Network Adapter is a high-performance, enterprise-grade networking component engineered to deliver robust connectivity, optimized throughput, and enhanced virtualization support for modern data center environments. Designed by Hewlett Packard Enterprise, this adapter is part of a professional networking ecosystem that supports mission-critical workloads, cloud computing infrastructures, and high-density server deployments where reliability and bandwidth efficiency are essential.

Built to support dual-port 10 Gigabit Ethernet connectivity, this adapter is widely adopted in environments requiring scalable networking performance, low latency communication, and efficient data handling across multiple virtual machines and applications. The architecture of this adapter ensures seamless integration into HPE ProLiant servers, enabling organizations to maximize server utilization while minimizing network bottlenecks.

Enterprise Networking Architecture and Design

High-Speed 10GbE Connectivity Foundation

At the core of the HPE 867707-B21 Ethernet 10Gb 2-Port 521T Network Adapter lies a dual-port 10 Gigabit Ethernet interface that provides high-bandwidth connectivity for data-intensive applications. This level of speed is critical for enterprise workloads such as virtualization clusters, database replication, storage networking, and large-scale cloud deployments. The adapter is engineered to reduce latency and improve packet processing efficiency, ensuring consistent network performance even under heavy traffic loads.

The dual-port configuration enhances redundancy and load balancing, allowing system administrators to configure failover mechanisms and traffic distribution strategies that improve network reliability. This ensures continuous uptime in mission-critical environments where downtime is not acceptable.

Optimized PCIe Integration for Server Platforms

The adapter is designed with PCI Express compatibility, enabling high-speed communication between the network interface and server CPU. This tight integration reduces data transfer bottlenecks and improves overall system responsiveness. By leveraging advanced PCIe lanes, the adapter ensures that network throughput aligns with modern server processing capabilities.

This integration is particularly beneficial in virtualized environments where multiple virtual machines rely on shared physical networking resources. The adapter's architecture ensures efficient distribution of bandwidth without compromising performance.

Virtualization and Cloud Optimization Capabilities

Support for Virtual Machine Density

The HPE 867707-B21 Ethernet 10Gb 2-Port 521T Network Adapter is optimized for virtualization technologies that require high-density VM deployment. It supports advanced virtualization features that allow multiple virtual machines to share physical network interfaces efficiently. This ensures that each VM receives consistent network performance without interference from other workloads.

In cloud computing environments, where scalability and flexibility are key, this adapter plays a vital role in maintaining smooth data flow between virtualized instances and backend storage systems. Its ability to handle large volumes of network traffic makes it suitable for private cloud and hybrid cloud infrastructures.

Network Offloading and Efficiency Enhancements

Advanced offloading capabilities reduce CPU overhead by transferring networking tasks from the server processor to the adapter itself. This includes tasks such as checksum offloading, segmentation offloading, and interrupt moderation. These optimizations free up system resources for application processing, improving overall server efficiency.

By reducing CPU utilization for networking tasks, the adapter contributes to better workload balancing and higher application performance in enterprise environments.

Data Center Performance and Scalability

High Bandwidth for Modern Applications

Modern data centers require network infrastructure that can support high-bandwidth applications such as big data analytics, artificial intelligence processing, and high-frequency transaction systems. The HPE 867707-B21 Ethernet 10Gb 2-Port 521T Network Adapter is designed to meet these demands by providing consistent 10GbE performance across both ports.

This ensures that data flows efficiently between servers, storage systems, and external networks, reducing latency and improving application responsiveness.

Scalable Network Deployment Models

The adapter supports scalable deployment models that allow enterprises to expand their network infrastructure without significant redesign. Whether deployed in blade servers, rack-mounted systems, or cloud clusters, the adapter integrates seamlessly into existing HPE environments.

Its flexibility allows IT administrators to implement layered network architectures that support both horizontal and vertical scaling strategies.

Compatibility with HPE Server Ecosystem

Seamless Integration with ProLiant Servers

The HPE 867707-B21 Ethernet 10Gb 2-Port 521T Network Adapter is specifically designed for compatibility with HPE ProLiant server architectures. This ensures plug-and-play installation and optimized driver support within HPE management environments.

The adapter integrates seamlessly with system management tools, allowing administrators to monitor performance, configure network settings, and manage firmware updates efficiently.

Firmware and Driver Optimization

HPE provides optimized firmware and driver packages that enhance the performance of the adapter within supported server environments. These updates ensure compatibility with the latest operating systems and virtualization platforms.

Continuous updates help maintain security, stability, and performance across enterprise deployments.

Advanced Networking Features and Capabilities

Load Balancing and Traffic Optimization

The adapter supports intelligent load balancing capabilities that distribute network traffic across both ports to optimize throughput. This ensures that no single interface becomes a performance bottleneck, even during peak usage periods.

By distributing workloads efficiently, the adapter enhances network responsiveness and improves overall system efficiency in high-demand environments.

Low Latency Communication Design

Low latency is a critical requirement for applications such as financial trading systems, real-time analytics, and distributed computing environments. The architecture of the HPE 867707-B21 Ethernet 10Gb 2-Port 521T Network Adapter is optimized to minimize packet transmission delays and ensure rapid data exchange.

This makes it suitable for environments where microsecond-level performance differences can have significant operational impacts.

Storage Networking and Converged Infrastructure Support

Support for Storage Over Ethernet

The adapter is capable of supporting storage networking protocols that enable data transfer between servers and storage systems over Ethernet infrastructure. This reduces the need for separate storage networks, simplifying data center architecture.

By consolidating storage and data networking, organizations can reduce infrastructure complexity and operational costs.

Converged Network Adaptation

In converged infrastructure environments, the adapter plays a key role in unifying data, storage, and virtualization traffic over a single network fabric. This improves efficiency and simplifies network management.

Converged networking also enhances scalability by reducing the number of physical components required in the data center.

Energy Efficiency and Thermal Performance

Optimized Power Consumption

The adapter is engineered with power-efficient components that reduce overall energy consumption without compromising performance. This is particularly important in large-scale deployments where power efficiency directly impacts operational costs.

Energy-efficient design contributes to greener data center operations and supports sustainability initiatives.

Thermal Management and Stability

Effective thermal management ensures that the adapter maintains optimal performance even under heavy workloads. Heat dissipation design elements help maintain stable operating temperatures and reduce the risk of thermal throttling.