700076-B21 HPE 20Gbps PCIe 2.0 Network Adapter for ProLiant

Overview of the 20Gbps PCIe 2.0 Network Adapter

HPE 700076-B21 FlexFabric 20Gbps PCIe 2.0 Network Adapter is a high-performance server networking solution engineered for enterprise-grade data environments. It delivers ultra-fast connectivity for HPE ProLiant systems, ensuring stable, scalable, and efficient network communication across modern IT infrastructures.

General Information

• Category: High-speed Ethernet Network Interface Card (NIC)
• Interface Type: PCI Express 2.0 x8 lane design for enhanced bandwidth delivery
• Architecture: Standards-based PCIe-compliant hardware structure
• Usage Environment: Optimized for data centers and enterprise servers

Technical Specifications

• Dual network ports supporting 20 Gigabit Ethernet per port
• Seamless wired connectivity designed for high-throughput operations
• Protocol compatibility includes Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE)
• Supports TCP/IP and UDP/IP communication frameworks
• Maximum data transfer rate reaching up to 20 Gbps per channel
• SNMP-enabled monitoring for remote network management

Advanced Functional Features

• Simultaneous bidirectional data flow with full duplex capability
• Hardware-based TCP/IP offloading to minimize processor workload
• Quality of Service (QoS) support for prioritized traffic handling
• Efficient handling of large data packets using jumbo frame support
• Network teaming for redundancy and load distribution
• PXE boot functionality enabling remote system deployment
• Large Send Offload (LSO) for improved transmission efficiency
• Receive Side Scaling (RSS) for balanced CPU utilization
• SR-IOV virtualization support for partitioned network performance
• TCP Segmentation Offload (TSO) for optimized packet processing
• Checksum offloading to reduce system overhead
• MSI-X interrupt handling for faster system response times

Compatibility

• HPE ProLiant BL460c Gen8 blade server series
• HPE ProLiant BL465c Gen8 enterprise systems
• HPE ProLiant BL660c Gen8 standard configuration models
• HPE ProLiant BL660c Gen8 Entry edition servers
• HPE ProLiant BL660c Gen8 Performance edition systems
• Compliant with IEEE 802.3 Ethernet networking standards
• Supports IEEE 802.3u Fast Ethernet specifications
• IEEE 802.1Q VLAN tagging for network segmentation
• IEEE 802.3ab Gigabit Ethernet compatibility
• IEEE 802.1p traffic prioritization for QoS control
• IEEE 802.3x flow control for stable data transfer
• IEEE 802.3ad LACP link aggregation for bandwidth scaling
• IEEE 802.3ae high-speed Ethernet framework support

The HPE 700076-B21 FlexFabric 20Gbps PCIe 2.0 Adapter

The HPE 700076-B21 FlexFabric 20Gbps PCIe 2.0 Network Adapter for ProLiant is a high-performance enterprise-class network interface solution designed to meet the demanding connectivity requirements of modern data centers. Built to support HPE ProLiant server environments, this adapter integrates advanced networking capabilities with flexible fabric architecture, enabling organizations to achieve higher throughput, lower latency, and improved workload efficiency. It is engineered for virtualization-heavy workloads, cloud infrastructure, enterprise applications, and storage convergence environments where stable and fast data transmission is essential.

This adapter plays a critical role in unifying data, storage, and networking traffic over a single high-speed fabric. By supporting 20Gbps throughput, it ensures smooth handling of data-intensive applications, including database operations, virtual machine migration, and real-time analytics. Its PCIe 2.0 interface ensures compatibility with a wide range of HPE ProLiant servers, providing organizations with a reliable upgrade path for enhanced network performance.

Advanced FlexFabric Architecture

The FlexFabric architecture embedded within the HPE 700076-B21 adapter is designed to simplify network infrastructure while increasing scalability. It reduces the need for multiple adapters by combining networking and storage traffic over a unified fabric. This convergence minimizes hardware complexity and improves data flow efficiency across enterprise environments.

FlexFabric technology allows administrators to manage networking and storage traffic in a more unified and intelligent manner. This results in reduced latency, improved bandwidth utilization, and optimized workload balancing across virtualized and physical environments. The architecture is particularly beneficial in cloud-scale deployments where agility and performance consistency are essential.

PCIe 2.0 Interface and Server Integration

The PCIe 2.0 interface of the HPE 700076-B21 FlexFabric adapter ensures high-speed communication between the server motherboard and the network controller. PCIe 2.0 provides sufficient bandwidth to support 20Gbps networking performance while maintaining backward compatibility with existing server infrastructures.

Within HPE ProLiant servers, the adapter integrates seamlessly into existing hardware configurations. This compatibility allows organizations to upgrade network performance without replacing entire server systems. The adapter’s design ensures efficient utilization of PCI lanes, reducing bottlenecks and enhancing data throughput for mission-critical workloads.

20Gbps High-Speed Network Performance Optimization

The 20Gbps bandwidth capability of the HPE FlexFabric 700076-B21 adapter provides a significant performance advantage over traditional Gigabit Ethernet solutions. It enables faster data transfer between servers, storage systems, and network devices, ensuring that enterprise workloads run efficiently even under heavy traffic conditions.

This high-speed capability is particularly important in environments that rely on virtualization and cloud computing. Multiple virtual machines can share the same physical network interface without experiencing performance degradation. The adapter’s intelligent traffic handling ensures consistent throughput and reduced latency across all connected workloads.

Enterprise Virtualization Support and Efficiency

Virtualized environments require network adapters that can handle multiple simultaneous data streams efficiently. The HPE 700076-B21 FlexFabric adapter is optimized for virtualization platforms, enabling seamless operation of hypervisors and virtual machine workloads.

Through advanced virtualization support, the adapter allows multiple virtual interfaces to operate independently on a single physical network card. This enhances resource utilization and reduces hardware overhead. It is especially useful in environments using large-scale virtualization platforms where workload density is high and network stability is critical.

Data Center Optimization and Workload Consolidation

Modern data centers demand consolidation of resources to reduce operational costs and increase efficiency. The HPE FlexFabric 20Gbps adapter contributes to this goal by enabling network and storage convergence. This eliminates the need for separate networking and storage adapters, simplifying infrastructure design.

By reducing hardware complexity, organizations can achieve better airflow, lower power consumption, and simplified maintenance procedures. The adapter’s ability to handle multiple types of traffic makes it suitable for dense server environments where space and energy efficiency are critical considerations.

Storage Convergence and Unified Fabric

One of the key strengths of the HPE 700076-B21 adapter is its support for storage convergence technologies. It enables communication protocols such as Fibre Channel over Ethernet, allowing storage traffic to be transmitted over standard Ethernet infrastructure.

This unified approach eliminates the need for separate storage networks, reducing infrastructure costs and simplifying management. Storage administrators benefit from improved flexibility and better utilization of network resources. The adapter ensures reliable and consistent data delivery for storage-intensive applications such as database management systems and virtual machine storage repositories.

Network Performance Critical

Latency plays a crucial role in determining the efficiency of enterprise applications. The HPE FlexFabric 700076-B21 adapter is engineered to minimize network latency, ensuring faster response times for applications that require real-time processing.

Low latency performance is essential for financial systems, cloud services, and high-performance computing workloads. The adapter’s optimized data handling path reduces processing delays, allowing data packets to move quickly between servers and storage systems. This improves overall system responsiveness and enhances user experience in latency-sensitive environments.

Cloud Infrastructure and Scalability Support

Cloud computing environments demand scalable and flexible networking solutions. The HPE FlexFabric adapter supports dynamic workload scaling, making it suitable for both private and hybrid cloud infrastructures.

As cloud environments expand, network demand increases significantly. This adapter is designed to handle such growth efficiently by maintaining consistent performance across expanding workloads. Its ability to support virtualized networking environments ensures that cloud services remain stable and responsive even during peak usage periods.

Enterprise Performance Enhancement

Enterprise applications such as ERP systems, CRM platforms, and large-scale databases require stable and high-speed network connectivity. The HPE 700076-B21 FlexFabric adapter enhances application performance by ensuring uninterrupted data flow between servers and storage systems.

By reducing network congestion and improving bandwidth utilization, the adapter helps enterprise applications perform more efficiently. This leads to faster transaction processing, improved data synchronization, and better overall system reliability in mission-critical environments.

Network Offloading and CPU Efficiency

Network offloading is a critical feature in modern network adapters, and the HPE FlexFabric 20Gbps PCIe 2.0 adapter is designed with advanced offload capabilities. It reduces CPU overhead by handling networking tasks directly within the adapter hardware.

This offloading process allows server processors to focus on application-level tasks rather than network processing. As a result, overall system performance improves, especially in environments with high network traffic volumes. This efficiency is particularly beneficial in virtualization and cloud computing infrastructures where CPU resources are highly valuable.

Security and Data Integrity Features

Security is a key consideration in enterprise networking environments. The HPE FlexFabric adapter incorporates features that help maintain data integrity and secure communication across network channels. It ensures that data transmitted between servers and storage systems remains protected from corruption and unauthorized interference.

In addition to data protection, the adapter supports secure network segmentation within virtualized environments. This enables organizations to isolate workloads and maintain secure boundaries between different applications and services operating on the same infrastructure.

Quality of Service

Quality of Service capabilities are essential for managing mixed network traffic in enterprise environments. The HPE 700076-B21 FlexFabric adapter supports intelligent traffic prioritization, ensuring that critical workloads receive the necessary bandwidth.

By managing network congestion effectively, the adapter ensures consistent performance across different application types. This is particularly important in environments where real-time applications operate alongside bulk data transfers and storage synchronization tasks.

Scalability for Large Enterprise Environments

As enterprises grow, their network infrastructure must scale accordingly. The HPE 700076-B21 adapter supports scalable deployment models, making it suitable for small, medium, and large enterprise environments.

Its ability to handle increased network traffic without performance degradation ensures that organizations can expand their infrastructure confidently. This scalability is essential for businesses undergoing digital transformation or migrating to cloud-based systems.

Deployment Flexibility in HPE ProLiant Servers

The adapter is specifically designed for seamless integration with HPE ProLiant server systems. This ensures compatibility across a wide range of server models used in enterprise environments. Its flexible deployment options allow IT administrators to install and configure the adapter according to specific workload requirements.

Whether deployed in virtualization clusters, storage-heavy environments, or cloud infrastructure nodes, the HPE FlexFabric adapter maintains consistent performance and reliability. This flexibility makes it a valuable component in modern IT infrastructure planning.

High Availability and Redundancy

High availability is essential in enterprise networking environments where downtime can lead to significant operational impact. The HPE FlexFabric adapter supports redundancy configurations that help maintain continuous network connectivity.

By enabling failover capabilities, the adapter ensures that network traffic can be rerouted in the event of hardware or connection issues. This enhances system resilience and supports uninterrupted business operations in critical environments.