X2542 Solarflare Xtremescale 100 Gigabit PCI E 3.1 X16 QSFP28 Network Adapter

Solarflare Xtremescale QSFP28 Network Adapter

The Solarflare X2542 Xtremescale 100 Gigabit PCIe 3.1 X16 QSFP28 x2 Network Adapter is engineered for ultra-fast connectivity, delivering exceptional performance for modern data centers and enterprise environments.

General Information

• Brand: Solarflare
• Model Number: X2542
• Category: High-Speed Network Adapter

Technical Specifications

Form Factor & Interface

• Plug-in card design for seamless installation
• Interface type: PCI Express 3.1 X16
• PCIe specification revision: PCIe 3.1

Port Configuration

• Dual QSFP28 connectors
• Supports 100 Gigabit Ethernet

Supported Data Link Protocols

• Gigabit Ethernet
• 10 Gigabit Ethernet
• 25 Gigabit LAN
• 40 Gigabit LAN
• 50 Gigabit LAN
• 100 Gigabit Ethernet

Network & Transport Protocols

• TCP/IP
• UDP/IP

Processor Details

• Equipped with 1 x Solarflare SFC9250 processor

Compliance & Standards

Industry Certifications

• IEEE 802.1Q (VLAN tagging)
• IEEE 802.1p (Traffic prioritization)
• IEEE 802.3ad (Link Aggregation Control Protocol - LACP)
• IEEE 802.1ax (Link aggregation)
• IEEE 1588-2008 (Precision Time Protocol)
• IEEE 802.3-2012 (Ethernet standards)
• IEEE 802.3bx (Extended Ethernet standards)

X2542 Xtremescale 100Gigabit PCI E Network Adapter Overview

The category encompassing the Solarflare X2542 Xtremescale 100 Gigabit PCIe 3.1 X16 QSFP28 X 2 Network Adapter represents a specialized class of ultra-high-performance Ethernet interface solutions designed for environments where deterministic latency, sustained throughput, and advanced packet processing are essential. This category focuses on enterprise, cloud, telecommunications, and high-performance computing infrastructures that require reliable 100 Gigabit Ethernet connectivity with advanced offload capabilities. Network adapters within this category are engineered to serve as foundational components in data centers, financial trading platforms, research clusters, and virtualization-heavy deployments, where network performance directly impacts application responsiveness and overall system efficiency.

This category emphasizes not only raw bandwidth but also intelligent acceleration, scalability, and compatibility with modern server architectures. The Solarflare X2542 Xtremescale adapter typifies this segment by combining dual QSFP28 100 Gigabit ports with a PCIe 3.1 x16 interface, ensuring maximum data transfer rates between the network interface and host system. Such adapters are not commodity NICs but purpose-built devices that integrate sophisticated firmware, programmable pipelines, and hardware-based offload engines to reduce CPU overhead and improve application performance.

Xtremescale Architecture and Category Differentiation

The Xtremescale architecture defines a subcategory within high-speed network adapters that prioritizes scalability and programmable acceleration. Products in this subcategory are designed to evolve alongside changing workloads, allowing network operators to adapt to new protocols, traffic patterns, and security requirements without frequent hardware replacement. The Solarflare X2542 belongs to this architectural class, providing a flexible foundation for advanced networking use cases that go beyond basic packet forwarding.

Xtremescale network adapters are characterized by their ability to handle massive packet rates while maintaining ultra-low and consistent latency. This is achieved through a combination of hardware pipelines, intelligent buffering, and direct memory access optimizations. In this category, adapters are not passive interfaces but active participants in data processing, capable of offloading tasks such as checksum calculation, segmentation, virtualization switching, and traffic steering directly to the NIC hardware.

100 Gigabit Ethernet as a Category Standard

The adoption of 100 Gigabit Ethernet is a defining feature of this category, reflecting the increasing demands of modern data-intensive applications. Network adapters like the Solarflare X2542 provide dual QSFP28 interfaces, enabling either redundant connectivity or aggregated bandwidth configurations depending on deployment requirements. This level of throughput supports large-scale virtualization, high-frequency trading, real-time analytics, distributed storage, and AI workloads that require rapid data movement across compute nodes.

Within this category, 100 Gigabit Ethernet is not merely about peak throughput but about sustained performance under load. Adapters are designed to handle continuous high-bandwidth traffic without degradation, ensuring predictable behavior in production environments. This reliability is essential for mission-critical systems where network bottlenecks can lead to significant operational and financial impact.

PCIe 3.1 x16 Interface Integration

The PCIe 3.1 x16 interface is a core attribute of this category, providing the necessary host bandwidth to support dual 100 Gigabit ports. Network adapters in this segment are optimized to leverage the full potential of the PCIe bus, minimizing contention and latency between the NIC and system memory. The Solarflare X2542 exemplifies this design approach by aligning its internal architecture with PCIe 3.1 specifications to ensure efficient data transfer and compatibility with a wide range of enterprise server platforms.

This interface choice allows the adapter to sustain high packet rates without saturating the host bus, which is critical in environments where multiple high-performance devices coexist within the same system. The category places strong emphasis on balanced system design, ensuring that network performance scales in harmony with CPU, memory, and storage subsystems.

Low-Latency Networking and Deterministic Performance

A defining characteristic of the Solarflare X2542 category is its focus on ultra-low and deterministic latency. In contrast to general-purpose network adapters, products in this category are engineered to minimize jitter and ensure consistent response times. This is particularly important for latency-sensitive applications such as electronic trading, telecommunications signaling, and real-time control systems.

Low latency is achieved through streamlined packet paths, hardware-based processing, and advanced interrupt moderation techniques. Network adapters in this category often support kernel bypass technologies and user-space networking frameworks, allowing applications to interact directly with the NIC hardware. This reduces context switching and operating system overhead, resulting in faster and more predictable data delivery.

Hardware Offload and Acceleration Capabilities

The category emphasizes extensive hardware offload capabilities that shift processing tasks from the CPU to the network adapter. These capabilities include TCP and UDP offloads, large send and receive offloads, and advanced segmentation features. By handling these functions in hardware, adapters like the Solarflare X2542 free up CPU resources for application logic, improving overall system efficiency.

In addition to standard offloads, this category supports more advanced acceleration features such as flow steering, packet filtering, and application-aware traffic management. These functions enable precise control over how traffic is distributed across CPU cores and virtual machines, reducing contention and enhancing scalability in multi-tenant environments.

Deterministic Packet Processing

Deterministic packet processing is a key value proposition of this category. Network adapters are designed to process packets in a predictable manner, avoiding the variability that can arise from software-based networking stacks. This predictability is essential for applications that rely on consistent timing and cannot tolerate unpredictable delays.

The Solarflare X2542 category achieves deterministic behavior through fixed-function pipelines, precise scheduling, and efficient buffer management. These design elements ensure that packets are handled consistently even under heavy load, providing a stable networking foundation for demanding workloads.

Virtualization, Cloud, and Multi-Tenant Environments

Network adapters in the Solarflare X2542 category are optimized for virtualization and cloud computing environments, where multiple workloads share the same physical infrastructure. These adapters support advanced virtualization features that enable efficient traffic isolation, resource allocation, and performance consistency across virtual machines and containers.

By integrating hardware support for virtual switching and traffic steering, this category reduces the overhead associated with software-based virtual networking. This results in lower latency, higher throughput, and improved scalability in virtualized data centers.

Containerized and Microservices Workloads

As containerization and microservices architectures become increasingly prevalent, this category addresses the unique networking demands of these environments. Network adapters like the Solarflare X2542 are designed to handle large numbers of short-lived connections and high packet rates, which are common in microservices deployments.

Advanced traffic steering and flow classification capabilities enable efficient handling of container traffic, ensuring that networking does not become a bottleneck as applications scale horizontally. This makes the category well suited for modern cloud-native architectures.

Reliability, Scalability, and Enterprise Deployment

Reliability is a fundamental requirement for network adapters in this category. The Solarflare X2542 Xtremescale adapter exemplifies the focus on continuous operation, fault tolerance, and long-term stability. These adapters are designed for 24/7 operation in enterprise and service provider environments, where downtime can have severe consequences.

Scalability is achieved through a combination of high port density, advanced traffic management, and compatibility with large-scale orchestration systems. The category supports deployments ranging from single high-performance servers to large clusters with thousands of nodes.

Use Cases Driving Category Adoption

The Solarflare X2542 Xtremescale 100 Gigabit network adapter category is driven by a diverse set of use cases that demand exceptional networking performance. High-frequency trading platforms rely on the ultra-low latency and deterministic behavior offered by this category to execute transactions with minimal delay. Scientific research and high-performance computing environments benefit from the high throughput and efficient data movement capabilities when processing large datasets.

Telecommunications and service provider networks leverage this category to support high-bandwidth, low-latency services, including 5G infrastructure and real-time communications. Enterprise data centers adopt these adapters to enable scalable virtualization, cloud services, and storage networking with predictable performance.

Category Value Proposition and Market Position

The value proposition of the Solarflare X2542 Xtremescale 100 Gigabit PCIe 3.1 X16 QSFP28 X 2 Network Adapter category lies in its ability to deliver uncompromising network performance while offering flexibility, scalability, and reliability. This category occupies a premium position in the networking market, targeting organizations that view networking as a strategic asset rather than a commodity.

By combining advanced hardware design, programmable capabilities, and deep ecosystem integration, this category addresses the evolving needs of high-performance and cloud-centric environments. The Solarflare X2542 exemplifies how network adapters in this segment enable organizations to build infrastructure that can adapt to future demands while delivering exceptional performance today.