657904-001 HPE 3PAR 2-Port 10GB Converged Network Adapters Card

HPE 657904-001 2-Port 10Gb Converged Adapter Overview

The HPE 657904-001 P10000 3PAR Converged Network Adapter is a high-performance enterprise networking component engineered for advanced storage and data center environments.

General Information

• Brand: Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE)
• Part Number: 657904-001
• Product Category: Converged Network Adapter (CNA)

Technical Specifications

• Data Transfer Rate: Up to 10 Gigabits per second (10Gbps) per port
• Port Configuration: Dual-Port (2 Ports total)
• Interface Type: PCI Express (PCIe) high-speed expansion slot

Hardware Features

• SFP+ based optical fiber connectivity support
• Enterprise-grade converged networking architecture
• Optimized for storage and data traffic unification

Advanced Connectivity Options

• Supports high-speed fiber channel over Ethernet (FCoE)
• Compatible with iSCSI storage protocols
• Designed for seamless SAN integration

Advantages of HPE 657904-001 CNA Card

Enterprise-Level Performance

• High-speed dual-port 10Gbps data processing
• Optimized for virtualization and cloud infrastructure
• Stable performance under heavy data loads

Cost-Efficient Infrastructure

• Combines storage and networking functions into one adapter
• Reduces need for separate NIC and HBA hardware
• Minimizes overall system complexity

Reliability and Scalability

• Built for long-term enterprise deployment
• Scalable architecture for growing data centers
• Supports modern storage networking standards

System Compatibility

Supported Systems

• HPE 3PAR StoreServ 10000 Storage Systems
• HPE 3PAR V-Class Storage Platforms

Protocol Support

• iSCSI (Internet Small Computer Systems Interface)
• FCoE (Fibre Channel over Ethernet)
• Unified storage and network traffic handling

Key Benefits in SAN Environments

• Improved bandwidth utilization for enterprise storage systems
• Reduced network hardware complexity
• Enhanced data transmission reliability and performance
• Low-latency communication for critical workloads

HPE 657904-001 3PAR 2-Port Converged Network Adapter

The HPE 657904-001 P10000 3PAR 2-Port 10GB Converged Network Adapters Card is an enterprise-grade networking and storage connectivity component engineered for high-performance data center environments where bandwidth efficiency, storage consolidation, and low-latency communication are critical. Developed for integration within advanced storage and server infrastructures, this Converged Network Adapter (CNA) is designed to streamline network and storage traffic through a unified hardware architecture that supports both Ethernet and storage protocols over high-speed 10Gb connections.

Architecture and Design Principles

Unified Network and Storage Fabric Design

The architecture of the HPE 657904-001 CNA card is centered on the concept of converged networking, where traditional separations between storage networks and data networks are eliminated. By combining these communication paths into a single adapter, enterprises can reduce hardware overhead while improving operational efficiency. This convergence is achieved through hardware-level offloading and protocol handling capabilities that allow simultaneous processing of Ethernet traffic and storage protocols such as Fibre Channel over Ethernet.

The adapter’s dual-port 10Gb interface ensures that redundancy and high availability are built into the design. Each port is capable of handling independent data streams, which improves fault tolerance and allows load distribution across multiple network paths. This becomes especially important in enterprise environments where uptime and continuous data access are required.

High-Speed Data Path Optimization

The data path architecture of this adapter is optimized for low latency and high throughput. By reducing reliance on host CPU processing for networking tasks, the card offloads critical operations such as packet segmentation, checksum calculation, and protocol encapsulation. This results in improved system efficiency and allows server resources to be dedicated to application workloads rather than network processing.

The 10Gb bandwidth capability ensures that the adapter can support modern virtualization platforms, high-volume database operations, and large-scale cloud infrastructures. This performance level is particularly important in 3PAR storage deployments where consistent input/output operations per second are required.

Integration with HPE 3PAR Storage Systems

Optimized Storage Communication Layer

The HPE 657904-001 P10000 CNA card is specifically designed to integrate with HPE 3PAR storage arrays, enabling seamless communication between host servers and storage controllers. The adapter supports efficient handling of storage protocols that are commonly used in enterprise SAN and converged infrastructures. This integration ensures that data movement between compute and storage layers remains consistent, reliable, and highly optimized.

Within a 3PAR environment, the adapter contributes to thin provisioning efficiency, adaptive optimization, and workload balancing. These capabilities are essential for organizations that manage dynamic workloads and require storage systems that can automatically adapt to changing performance demands.

Latency Reduction in Storage Workflows

One of the primary advantages of this CNA card in a 3PAR ecosystem is its ability to significantly reduce latency. By offloading storage protocol processing and utilizing high-speed 10Gb links, data access times are minimized. This is particularly beneficial for applications such as virtualization clusters, enterprise databases, and real-time analytics platforms where storage response time directly impacts application performance.

Enterprise Data Center Use Cases and Applications

Virtualized Infrastructure Environments

Modern data centers rely heavily on virtualization technologies to maximize hardware utilization. The HPE 657904-001 CNA card supports virtualized environments by ensuring stable and high-throughput connectivity between hypervisors and storage systems. This allows virtual machines to operate with consistent performance even under heavy I/O workloads.

In hyper-converged and software-defined data center architectures, the adapter plays a critical role in maintaining communication efficiency between compute nodes and shared storage pools. Its dual-port configuration ensures that virtual machine migration and live workload balancing can occur without network bottlenecks.

Cloud Infrastructure and Scalable Computing

Cloud service providers and enterprise private cloud deployments benefit significantly from the scalability offered by this adapter. The 10Gb bandwidth capacity ensures that large-scale distributed systems can maintain synchronized communication across multiple nodes. This is essential for cloud workloads that demand rapid data replication, distributed storage access, and continuous availability.

Database and High-Performance Applications

Enterprise database systems, including transactional and analytical platforms, rely on predictable I/O performance. The HPE CNA card supports these requirements by ensuring that storage requests are processed efficiently and without unnecessary delay. This contributes to improved query response times, faster transaction processing, and enhanced overall system stability.

Performance Optimization and System Efficiency

Hardware Offload Capabilities

A key feature of the HPE 657904-001 adapter is its hardware offload engine, which handles network and storage processing tasks traditionally managed by the CPU. This includes segmentation offload, interrupt moderation, and protocol encapsulation. By transferring these tasks to dedicated hardware, system performance is improved and CPU utilization is significantly reduced.

This efficiency gain allows enterprise servers to allocate more resources to application-level processing, resulting in better workload handling and improved scalability across data center environments.

Throughput Stability Under Load

The adapter is designed to maintain stable throughput even under sustained high-load conditions. This is essential in enterprise environments where network traffic is unpredictable and workloads can spike suddenly. The dual-port configuration helps distribute traffic evenly, preventing congestion and maintaining consistent performance levels.

Reliability, Redundancy, and Fault Tolerance

Dual-Port Redundancy Architecture

The inclusion of two independent 10Gb ports ensures that the adapter supports redundancy at the hardware level. In the event of a port failure, traffic can be rerouted through the secondary interface without disrupting ongoing operations. This design is essential for mission-critical systems where downtime is not acceptable.

Enterprise-Grade Durability Standards

Built to meet enterprise hardware standards, the adapter is engineered for continuous operation in high-temperature and high-density server environments. Its components are selected to withstand long operational cycles, ensuring reliability over extended deployment lifecycles in data centers.

Compatibility and Deployment Considerations

Server and Storage Platform Integration

The HPE 657904-001 CNA card is typically deployed within HPE server ecosystems and is optimized for compatibility with HPE 3PAR storage arrays. Proper integration ensures that firmware, drivers, and management tools operate cohesively, enabling administrators to maintain system stability and performance.

Deployment in Enterprise Network Architectures

When deployed in enterprise environments, the adapter is commonly installed in blade servers, rack-mounted systems, and high-density compute nodes. Its PCI Express interface ensures compatibility with modern server architectures, allowing for scalable deployment across multiple infrastructure layers.

Security and Data Integrity Features

Secure Data Transmission

Data integrity and secure transmission are essential in enterprise networking environments. The HPE CNA card supports secure data handling mechanisms that ensure packets are transmitted accurately between servers and storage systems. This reduces the risk of data corruption and enhances overall system reliability.

Isolation of Network Traffic

Through converged networking capabilities, the adapter allows logical separation of storage and data traffic while using a unified physical infrastructure. This helps maintain security boundaries within enterprise environments and ensures that critical storage operations are protected from general network congestion.

Scalability in Modern Data Center Environments

Support for Expanding Workloads

As enterprise workloads grow, the need for scalable networking infrastructure becomes increasingly important. The HPE 657904-001 CNA card supports scalable expansion by enabling additional nodes and storage systems to be integrated without significant redesign of the underlying network architecture.

Role in Hybrid and Multi-Cloud Systems

In hybrid cloud environments, where workloads span on-premises infrastructure and cloud platforms, the adapter ensures consistent performance across distributed systems. Its high-speed connectivity enables efficient synchronization and data transfer between multiple environments.

Optimizing Rack Space and Hardware Utilization

By consolidating networking and storage functions into a single adapter, the HPE 657904-001 CNA card helps reduce hardware density within server racks. This contributes to more efficient use of physical space and simplifies infrastructure management in large-scale data centers.

Energy Efficiency and Power Optimization

The adapter is engineered to operate with optimized power consumption levels, ensuring that high-performance networking does not result in excessive energy usage. This balance between performance and efficiency is essential for sustainable data center operations.