872526-001 HPE CN1300R 10/25GB Converged Network Adapters (CNA)

HPE 872526-001 StoreFabric Network Adapter Overview

The HPE 872526-001 StoreFabric CN1300R Converged Network Adapter is a high-performance enterprise-class networking solution designed to deliver ultra-fast data throughput, low latency, and unified storage and network connectivity. Engineered for modern data center environments, this adapter integrates advanced Ethernet and storage networking capabilities into a single PCI Express solution, improving efficiency, scalability, and workload optimization.

Built for mission-critical infrastructures, this Converged Network Adapter (CNA) supports both traditional Ethernet networking and storage traffic over a unified fabric, reducing hardware complexity while maximizing performance. It is ideal for virtualization, cloud computing, and storage-intensive enterprise workloads.

General Product Information

• Manufacturer: HPE 
• Part Number: 872526-001
• Device Type: Converged Network Adapter (CNA)

Key Physical Characteristics

• Plug-in card format for easy installation
• Low-profile bracket support for compact servers
• Optimized thermal design for enterprise workloads

Interface Benefits

• High-speed data transfer via PCIe Gen 3.0
• Improved latency performance for storage and networking tasks
• Scalable bandwidth allocation for enterprise workloads

Port Advantages

• 2 x 10GbE SFP+ fiber optic interfaces
• Support for high-throughput network traffic
• Redundant networking paths for fault tolerance

Performance

• Consistent low-latency transmission
• Optimized throughput for data-intensive applications
• Efficient handling of concurrent network sessions

Supported Protocols

• 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10GbE)
• Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE)
• Converged Enhanced Ethernet (CEE)
• iSCSI storage networking protocol

Standards Compliance List

• IEEE 802.3ae (10GbE Ethernet standard)
• IEEE 802.3x (Flow control)
• IEEE 802.3ad (LACP link aggregation)
• IEEE 802.1Q (VLAN tagging)
• IEEE 802.1Qaz (Enhanced transmission selection)
• IEEE 802.1Qbb (Priority-based flow control)
• IEEE 802.1ax (Link aggregation control)

Fiber Connectivity Features

• Dual 10GBASE-SR optical ports
• Enhanced signal integrity for enterprise networks
• Reduced electromagnetic interference (EMI)

FCoE Advantages

• Unified storage and networking fabric
• Lower infrastructure complexity
• Improved scalability for enterprise storage systems

iSCSI Benefits

• Cost-effective storage networking
• Flexible deployment in virtualized environments
• Improved storage accessibility over IP networks

Virtualization Benefits

• Efficient bandwidth allocation across VMs
• Reduced network congestion in hypervisor environments
• Enhanced I/O performance for virtual workloads

Cloud Optimization Features

• Scalable architecture for cloud workloads
• High availability networking support
• Efficient multi-tenant traffic handling

Performance Optimization Features

QoS Features

• Traffic prioritization for storage operations
• Reduced latency for mission-critical applications
• Improved network efficiency under heavy load

HPE 872526-001 10/25Gb Converged Network Adapter CNA 

The HPE 872526-001 StoreFabric CN1300R 10/25Gb Converged Network Adapter CNA represents a high-performance networking component engineered for modern enterprise data centers that require ultra-fast connectivity, reduced latency, and efficient consolidation of storage and data traffic. Built within the HPE StoreFabric ecosystem, this converged network adapter is designed to support increasingly demanding workloads such as virtualization, cloud computing, hyper-converged infrastructure, and high-throughput storage environments. It delivers a unified networking architecture that integrates storage protocols and Ethernet traffic into a single adapter, reducing hardware complexity while improving overall performance and manageability.

As enterprises continue to shift toward software-defined data centers, the need for scalable and high-bandwidth interconnect solutions has become critical. The CN1300R CNA addresses these requirements by providing dual-rate 10GbE and 25GbE support, allowing seamless integration into both legacy and next-generation network infrastructures. This flexibility makes it a strategic choice for organizations undergoing phased network upgrades without disrupting existing workloads.

Converged Network Adapter Technology

Converged Network Adapters such as the HPE CN1300R redefine traditional networking by merging storage networking and data networking into a single physical interface. This convergence eliminates the need for separate Host Bus Adapters and network interface cards, streamlining server architecture and improving efficiency. By handling multiple traffic types simultaneously, including LAN and SAN traffic, the adapter enhances bandwidth utilization and reduces infrastructure overhead.

The architectural design of this adapter focuses on minimizing CPU utilization while maximizing throughput. Offloading network processing tasks from the host CPU allows servers to allocate more resources to application workloads rather than networking overhead. This is especially beneficial in virtualized environments where resource contention is a critical performance factor.

10/25GbE High-Speed Networking Performance Characteristics

A key feature of the HPE 872526-001 StoreFabric CN1300R CNA is its dual-speed 10 Gigabit and 25 Gigabit Ethernet capability. This allows organizations to scale network performance in alignment with evolving application demands. The 10GbE mode provides compatibility with existing infrastructure, while 25GbE mode enables next-generation performance for high-bandwidth workloads.

This flexibility ensures that data centers can optimize their investments while gradually transitioning to higher-speed networking standards. The adapter supports high packet processing rates, low jitter performance, and sustained throughput levels suitable for database clusters, virtualization farms, and large-scale storage replication systems.

Low Latency Communication in High-Demand Environments

Latency reduction is a core design principle of the CN1300R CNA. Through optimized silicon design and offload engines, the adapter minimizes data path delays between the server and the network fabric. This results in faster application response times, particularly in latency-sensitive workloads such as financial transactions, real-time analytics, and high-performance computing environments.

In addition, adaptive flow control mechanisms ensure that congestion is managed efficiently across the network fabric, preventing bottlenecks and maintaining stable performance under peak loads.

PCI Express Interface and Server Integration Capabilities

The HPE CN1300R is designed for integration through PCI Express interfaces, ensuring compatibility with enterprise-grade servers and blade systems. The PCIe architecture provides high-speed communication between the adapter and the server motherboard, enabling maximum data throughput and minimal bottlenecking.

Its compatibility with HPE ProLiant server systems ensures seamless deployment in existing enterprise environments. The adapter is engineered to fit into standard server slots, supporting hot-plug capabilities in certain configurations, which enhances maintenance efficiency and reduces downtime during upgrades or replacements.

Driver and Firmware Optimization for Stability

The performance of the CN1300R CNA is closely tied to optimized driver and firmware ecosystems. HPE provides continuous firmware updates that enhance compatibility, security, and performance stability. These updates ensure that the adapter remains aligned with evolving networking protocols and enterprise security requirements.

Driver optimization also plays a critical role in enabling advanced features such as virtualization offloads, multi-queue processing, and traffic prioritization, all of which contribute to improved workload balancing in multi-tenant environments.

Memory Efficiency and CPU Offload Advantages

By enabling direct memory access, RDMA reduces the need for intermediate buffering and CPU intervention. This leads to improved memory efficiency and allows servers to dedicate processing resources to application-level tasks rather than network management functions.

The CN1300R CNA’s RDMA implementation is optimized for high scalability, making it suitable for large-scale distributed systems where thousands of nodes must communicate simultaneously.

Storage Networking Integration with Modern Data Center

One of the defining capabilities of the HPE 872526-001 CNA is its integration with storage networking protocols. It supports technologies such as iSCSI and Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE), enabling seamless convergence of storage and data traffic across a unified network fabric.

This convergence simplifies infrastructure design by reducing the need for separate storage networks, thereby lowering operational costs and improving manageability. It also enhances storage performance by leveraging high-speed Ethernet connectivity for storage access.

Efficient iSCSI Traffic Handling and Optimization

The adapter is optimized for iSCSI traffic, providing hardware-level acceleration that reduces CPU overhead during storage transactions. This ensures consistent performance for virtual machine storage, backup systems, and database storage operations.

Fibre Channel over Ethernet Integration

FCoE support allows traditional Fibre Channel storage environments to operate over Ethernet infrastructure. This enables organizations to preserve existing storage investments while transitioning toward modern converged networking frameworks.

Virtualization Support and Cloud Infrastructure Optimization

The HPE CN1300R CNA is engineered to support highly virtualized environments, including VMware, Microsoft Hyper-V, and OpenStack-based cloud platforms. Virtualization introduces network complexity due to the increased number of virtual machines sharing physical resources, and this adapter addresses those challenges through advanced traffic management and isolation features.

Virtual machine traffic prioritization ensures that critical workloads receive the necessary bandwidth, while less critical processes are allocated resources dynamically. This improves overall system efficiency and reduces contention in multi-tenant environments.

Multi-Queue Processing and Load Distribution

The adapter supports multi-queue processing, allowing network traffic to be distributed across multiple CPU cores. This reduces bottlenecks and ensures balanced processing across the system. It enhances scalability in environments with high virtual machine density.

Storage Offload in Virtual Environments

Storage offload capabilities ensure that virtualized workloads experience minimal latency during storage operations. By handling storage protocols at the adapter level, system resources are preserved for application execution.

Compute Workload Optimization

Compute-intensive workloads benefit from reduced CPU interruptions caused by network processing. This allows virtualization hosts to achieve higher consolidation ratios and improved performance stability.

Security Enhancements in Converged Networking Environments

Security is integrated into the design of the HPE CN1300R CNA through support for secure boot processes, firmware integrity validation, and encrypted data transmission capabilities. These features help protect against unauthorized access and firmware tampering.

Network segmentation and traffic isolation further enhance security in multi-tenant environments by ensuring that workloads remain separated and protected from potential cross-traffic vulnerabilities.

Enterprise Data Centers

Deploying the HPE 872526-001 StoreFabric CN1300R CNA requires careful planning to ensure compatibility with existing infrastructure and optimal performance outcomes. Considerations include server compatibility, firmware alignment, and network topology design.

Organizations typically deploy these adapters in HPE ProLiant server environments where they integrate seamlessly with existing management tools and orchestration platforms. Proper driver installation and configuration are essential to unlocking full performance potential.

Scalability in Large-Scale Environments

Scalability is a key advantage of the CN1300R CNA, allowing organizations to expand network capacity without major architectural changes. Its ability to operate across mixed-speed environments ensures long-term adaptability.

Performance Optimization Strategies

To achieve optimal performance, administrators often fine-tune network settings such as queue depth, interrupt moderation, and offload parameters. These optimizations help balance latency and throughput based on specific workload requirements.

The adapter’s intelligent traffic handling capabilities ensure that performance remains stable even under variable load conditions, making it suitable for dynamic enterprise environments.

Latency Reduction Techniques

Latency reduction is achieved through a combination of hardware acceleration, RDMA support, and optimized packet processing pipelines. These technologies work together to minimize delays and enhance responsiveness.

Throughput Maximization in High-Density Networks

High-density environments benefit from the adapter’s ability to handle large volumes of simultaneous connections without degradation in performance. This is essential for modern cloud-native applications and distributed computing architectures.