P21583-001 HPE Intel FPGA PAC N3000 N3000V Network Accelerator Card.

Explore the P21583-001 HPE Intel FPGA PAC N3000 N3000V Network Accelerator Card

The P21583-001 HPE Intel FPGA PAC N3000 N3000V Network Accelerator Card is a high-performance programmable acceleration card designed to meet the ever-evolving demands of next-generation data centers. Built on Intel’s industry-leading FPGA technology and offered through Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), this network accelerator card delivers unparalleled speed, programmability, and scalability for a variety of workloads including 5G core networks, virtualized edge, and high-frequency trading environments.

HPE Intel FPGA PAC N3000 N3000V

The HPE Intel FPGA PAC N3000 N3000V, part number P21583-001, is a network interface card that integrates Intel Arria 10 GX FPGA with HPE systems. It is purpose-built to offload and accelerate intensive network functions, enabling real-time packet processing, low-latency data handling, and flexible customization through reprogrammable logic. Unlike fixed-function network adapters, this card offers the flexibility to adapt to evolving standards and application requirements without hardware replacement.

Intel Arria 10 GX FPGA Technology

The core of the N3000 PAC is the Intel Arria 10 GX FPGA, offering up to 1.5 million logic elements and integrated transceivers supporting up to 28 Gbps per channel. This enables the PAC N3000 to perform real-time, line-rate packet inspection and filtering, compression, encryption, and protocol bridging, all while reducing CPU overhead.

Programmable Acceleration Capabilities

The FPGA’s reconfigurability allows enterprises to tailor data processing and networking functions specific to their unique workloads. Developers can deploy custom IP cores or leverage Intel’s growing library of pre-built acceleration functions optimized for use cases such as virtual Evolved Packet Core (vEPC), Open vSwitch (OvS) offload, and deep packet inspection (DPI).

High-Speed Connectivity

The dual QSFP28 ports on the N3000V model offer up to 200Gbps aggregate throughput, ensuring minimal network bottlenecks. These ports are ideal for data center environments that require high bandwidth, such as video transcoding, network packet brokering, and AI/ML data preprocessing pipelines.

Memory and Data Handling

With support for up to two DDR4 memory modules and additional QDR-IV memory, the PAC N3000 offers fast data buffering and streaming capabilities. This is critical for scenarios requiring real-time analytics, such as fraud detection or network threat mitigation, where latency and jitter must be minimized.

Use Cases and Applications

The HPE Intel FPGA PAC N3000 N3000V is designed to support a wide range of high-throughput, low-latency applications in modern IT infrastructure. These include:

5G Core and Edge Networks

The network acceleration capabilities make this card particularly suited for vRAN, vEPC, and MEC (Multi-access Edge Computing). By offloading intensive packet processing, telecom providers can deliver ultra-low latency communication and support massive IoT deployments at scale.

Financial Trading Platforms

For high-frequency trading (HFT) firms, microsecond-level latency can significantly impact profitability. The N3000V allows firms to implement deterministic packet filtering, time stamping, and protocol acceleration at the hardware level, ensuring the lowest possible latency between decision-making and order execution.

AI and Machine Learning Inference

When paired with preprocessing workloads for ML pipelines, the PAC N3000 can filter, compress, and direct data with high speed and accuracy. The flexibility of the FPGA fabric enables customized preprocessing for different data types before passing to GPUs or CPUs for inference or training.

Security and Network Monitoring

Deep Packet Inspection (DPI), anomaly detection, and firewall functions can be offloaded to the FPGA, reducing CPU usage and enhancing throughput. Enterprises can implement real-time DDoS detection and mitigation strategies directly on the NIC, providing a hardware-enforced layer of security.

Compatibility and Integration

The P21583-001 is fully validated by HPE for use in a wide array of ProLiant and Apollo servers. The card integrates seamlessly into HPE infrastructure, supported by HPE’s management software stack and hardware compatibility layers, ensuring minimal deployment overhead and high reliability in production environments.

Integration with HPE OneView and iLO

With support for remote monitoring through HPE iLO and integration into HPE OneView, administrators can track device performance, thermal statistics, and firmware updates in real-time, streamlining data center management operations.

Security and Compliance

The Intel PAC N3000 N3000V offers advanced security features, including secure boot, root-of-trust support, and authentication of firmware images. These capabilities ensure that the acceleration logic is protected against tampering and that data handled by the card meets compliance standards.

Secure Device Manager (SDM)

The SDM embedded in the FPGA enables cryptographically verified image loading and integrity verification. This functionality helps safeguard applications handling regulated or sensitive data, such as health records, financial transactions, or classified government workloads.

FPGA Development Environment

Developers can create custom acceleration functions using the Intel Acceleration Stack for FPGAs, which includes:

• Intel Quartus Prime Design Software
• OpenCL SDKs
• Intel OPAE (Open Programmable Acceleration Engine)
• Pre-verified IP Cores

This environment enables C/C++ and RTL developers to build, simulate, and deploy acceleration workloads efficiently. Prebuilt acceleration stacks can be modified to meet unique enterprise needs, promoting rapid development cycles.

Advantages of Using the HPE Intel FPGA PAC N3000 N3000V

Unparalleled Flexibility

Unlike ASIC-based solutions, the reconfigurability of the FPGA ensures that the PAC N3000 can evolve as standards and workloads change, extending hardware lifecycle and ROI.

Cost-Effective Performance

By offloading compute-intensive tasks to the accelerator card, organizations can reduce the need for additional servers and licensing costs. This translates to lower CAPEX and OPEX over time.

Low Latency and High Throughput

The combination of dedicated hardware acceleration and high-speed interfaces ensures optimal performance for latency-sensitive applications such as VoIP, online gaming, real-time video analytics, and financial services.

Environmental and Power Efficiency

The passive cooling design and efficient power usage make the P21583-001 suitable for high-density data center environments. The FPGA architecture also allows dynamic power management based on workload characteristics, reducing unnecessary energy consumption.

Procurement and Availability

The P21583-001 HPE Intel FPGA PAC N3000 N3000V is available through HPE’s global distribution channels and authorized resellers. It is also offered as a component in certain HPE server bundles targeted at edge computing, telco, and AI workloads.

Licensing and Support

Support for the card includes firmware updates, driver packages, and security patches provided through HPE’s enterprise support programs. Optional premium support tiers are available for mission-critical deployments.

Developer and Community Resources

HPE and Intel maintain comprehensive documentation, tutorials, and SDK packages to support developer adoption. The growing ecosystem of third-party IP providers and open-source acceleration libraries further enhances the card’s value proposition.

Comparing the PAC N3000 vs N3000V Models

Both models are based on the same FPGA architecture but differ in memory configurations, port enablement, and certain firmware capabilities:

• N3000: Base model, often used for lower bandwidth or general-purpose acceleration.
• N3000V: Enhanced version with verified firmware and full dual-port enablement for advanced networking and telco deployments.

Common Industries Using the P21583-001 Accelerator

Industries benefiting from the deployment of this FPGA card include:

• Telecommunications and 5G
• Cloud Service Providers (CSPs)
• Financial Services and Insurance (FSI)
• Government and Defense
• Healthcare and Medical Imaging
• Media and Entertainment