X710-KR4 Intel Qual-port Ethernet Server Blade Network Daughter Card

Intel X710-KR4 Quad-Port Network Adapter Overview

The Intel X710-KR4 quad-port network adapter is a high-performance Ethernet server blade daughter card, purpose-built for data-intensive enterprise environments. Designed to deliver superior throughput, low latency, and maximum flexibility, this adapter features four 10 Gigabit Ethernet ports and is fully compliant with industry standards for reliability and performance. Built for integration into blade servers, the Intel X710-KR4 offers a dense and scalable solution for modern IT infrastructures requiring exceptional networking capabilities.

Advanced Networking Features

The Intel X710-KR4 integrates a host of advanced networking technologies aimed at maximizing efficiency and performance in enterprise applications. From large-scale virtualization deployments to high-frequency trading environments, this adapter ensures consistent throughput, enhanced packet handling, and hardware-level traffic optimization.

SR-IOV (Single Root I/O Virtualization)

With support for SR-IOV, the X710-KR4 allows a single physical network interface to present multiple virtual interfaces to the hypervisor or guest operating systems. This improves performance by reducing I/O overhead, enhancing data throughput, and ensuring greater isolation between virtual machines.

Intel Ethernet Flow Director

This adapter features Intel Ethernet Flow Director, which is an advanced traffic steering capability that provides CPU affinity and accelerates application performance. It dynamically classifies, filters, and directs network traffic to optimized cores, reducing CPU load and increasing packet processing efficiency.

Data Plane Development Kit (DPDK) Compatibility

Optimized for DPDK environments, the Intel X710-KR4 delivers fast packet processing capabilities suitable for data centers and edge computing. Its DPDK support makes it ideal for NFV (Network Function Virtualization) scenarios, allowing scalable software-based networking without compromising speed or reliability.

Form Factor and Blade Server Integration

The X710-KR4 is purpose-engineered as a network daughter card, perfectly suited for blade server architectures. Its compact, modular form factor enables direct connection to the blade server chassis, eliminating the need for additional cabling and minimizing installation complexity.

Seamless Blade Server Compatibility

This quad-port adapter is widely supported in major blade server platforms including Dell PowerEdge, HPE BladeSystem, and Cisco UCS. The integration is designed to provide direct I/O connections through the midplane, reducing signal interference and improving thermal performance.

Thermal and Power Optimization

Built with power efficiency in mind, the X710-KR4 consumes less energy while delivering exceptional performance. Passive cooling and server-chassis-directed airflow help maintain ideal thermal conditions without increasing the server’s power envelope.

Technical Specifications and Performance Benchmarks

The Intel X710-KR4 quad-port network adapter delivers industry-leading specifications tailored for mission-critical operations. It leverages Intel’s proven Ethernet controller technology and is optimized for both IPv4 and IPv6 deployments.

Key Technical Specifications

• Port Count: 4x 10 Gigabit Ethernet
• Interface: KR (Backplane Interface)
• Controller: Intel X710
• Bus Type: PCIe Gen3 (via midplane)
• Form Factor: Mezzanine card / Daughter card
• Virtualization: SR-IOV, VMDq
• Protocol Support: IPv4, IPv6, TCP/UDP, iSCSI, FCoE
• Operating Temperature: 0°C to 55°C

Performance Metrics

Each of the four 10 GbE ports delivers full line-rate performance, enabling up to 40 Gbps of aggregate bandwidth. The adapter supports large send offload (LSO), receive side scaling (RSS), and checksum offload to ensure optimal CPU utilization.

Latency and Throughput

The X710-KR4 achieves ultra-low latency suitable for latency-sensitive workloads such as financial trading systems and cloud-based services. It consistently delivers sub-1 microsecond latencies under optimized conditions, with throughput peaking at 39.8 Gbps across all ports under parallel load scenarios.

Enterprise Use Cases and Application Scenarios

The Intel X710-KR4 is engineered to meet the networking demands of enterprise, data center, and service provider applications. It supports a wide range of use cases spanning from virtualization to cloud-scale networking and HPC environments.

Virtualized Data Centers

In virtualized environments, the X710-KR4 offers robust support for VMware ESXi, Microsoft Hyper-V, and Linux KVM platforms. SR-IOV and VMDq support allow VMs to access network resources directly, bypassing the hypervisor and reducing latency.

Cloud Computing and Hyperscale Deployments

Cloud providers benefit from the adapter’s ability to deliver scalable, multitenant networking with minimal CPU overhead. Its DPDK compatibility makes it a cornerstone for building scalable network functions using commodity hardware.

High Performance Computing (HPC)

With high throughput and low latency, the X710-KR4 is ideal for HPC clusters requiring fast inter-node communication. The quad-port design ensures high-speed data movement between compute nodes in clustered workloads.

Edge Networking and NFV

As enterprises shift to edge computing, the X710-KR4 offers a compact, energy-efficient networking solution that supports network functions virtualization at the edge, ensuring rapid deployment and agile scalability.

Security and Network Integrity Features

The Intel X710-KR4 is equipped with multiple security features designed to protect against unauthorized access, mitigate data breaches, and preserve the integrity of network traffic.

Hardware-Based Traffic Encryption

Integrated support for MACsec (Media Access Control Security) enables Layer 2 encryption, ensuring secure transmission of data across internal and external networks. This hardware encryption offloads tasks from the CPU, maintaining performance while enhancing data security.

Trusted Platform Integration

The adapter can be integrated with TPM-enabled systems to secure key exchanges and enforce secure boot processes. These features are critical for environments with strict compliance and regulatory requirements.

Isolation and Multitenancy

By utilizing features like VLAN tagging, virtual function isolation, and secure bootstrapping, the X710-KR4 ensures that data paths remain isolated across tenants, applications, and users—an essential function for public cloud deployments.

Compatibility and Operating System Support

The Intel X710-KR4 is designed for broad compatibility across operating systems and server platforms, offering plug-and-play functionality and extensive driver support.

Supported Operating Systems

• Microsoft Windows Server 2016, 2019, and 2022
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
• CentOS and Rocky Linux
• Ubuntu LTS versions
• VMware ESXi 6.7 and above
• FreeBSD

Driver and Firmware Updates

Intel provides frequent driver updates to maintain performance, security, and compatibility. Drivers are available via Intel's official site, and firmware tools allow administrators to manage and update network stack firmware remotely.

Comparison with Similar Network Adapter Cards

Compared to other quad-port Ethernet adapters, the X710-KR4 stands out for its density, advanced offload capabilities, and native blade server support.

Intel X710-KR4 vs Intel X520-QDA1

While the Intel X520-QDA1 is a solid single-port adapter supporting 40GbE, it lacks the multi-port scalability and blade server form factor of the X710-KR4. The X710-KR4 offers better virtualization and traffic segmentation features, making it superior for multitenant workloads.

Intel X710-KR4 vs Broadcom BCM957810A1008G

The Broadcom BCM957810A1008G provides comparable port speeds but falls behind in driver support and software ecosystem. Intel's mature driver infrastructure and hardware offloads make the X710-KR4 a better option for enterprise environments.

Procurement, Deployment, and Lifecycle Considerations

Enterprises investing in the Intel X710-KR4 will benefit from its long-term availability, backed by Intel's global support infrastructure. The card’s modularity and hot-swap capabilities ensure rapid deployment and minimal downtime during upgrades.

Ease of Installation

The X710-KR4 is designed for tool-less installation in compatible blade enclosures, making it ideal for scaling up networks quickly without service interruptions. Its hot-pluggable nature reduces operational overhead during maintenance.

Lifecycle and Long-Term Availability

Intel provides long lifecycle support for its enterprise components, and the X710-KR4 is no exception. Firmware updates, driver patches, and documentation remain available throughout its product support window.

Environmental Certifications

The X710-KR4 meets major environmental and regulatory certifications including RoHS compliance, CE marking, and FCC standards, ensuring suitability for global deployment in enterprise and governmental IT infrastructures.

Conclusion-Free Expansion: Related Adapter Categories

Beyond the X710-KR4, Intel’s X-series adapters include other versatile models tailored for rackmount servers, desktop platforms, and high-density storage appliances. Variants include dual-port and SFP+ equipped models optimized for fiber optic connectivity. When choosing the right adapter, enterprises should evaluate current and future bandwidth requirements, infrastructure layout, and virtualization strategy.

Intel Ethernet Network Adapter Family

The X710 family encompasses a wide range of daughter cards, PCIe cards, and mezzanine adapters. Whether used in converged infrastructures or cloud-scale operations, Intel Ethernet adapters provide the consistency, manageability, and performance modern enterprises demand.

Blade-Specific Mezzanine Cards

Mezzanine cards such as the X710-KR4 are specially crafted for environments that require minimal cable clutter and high-speed throughput between blade nodes and the network core. These adapters are key enablers of scalable data center fabrics.