Sun Neptune Explained
Neptune, also known as Sun Multithreaded 10 GbE, is a dual 10 Gbit/s, multithreaded, PCIe x8-based network interface controller for 10 Gigabit Ethernet. It was developed and originally produced by Sun Microsystems, and later licensed to Marvell Technology Group in 2007.[1]
A Neptune-based NIC is integrated in UltraSPARC T2 CPUs (Network Interface Unit, or NIU).[2]
NIC Features
Stand-alone vs on-chip (NIU) Neptune Features| Features | NIU | PCI-E NIC |
|---|
- 10GbE ports
| 2 | 2 |
- transmit DMA channels/port
| 8 | 12 |
- receive DMA channels/port
| 8 | 8 |
| Integrated on-chip? | UltraSPARC T2 | No |
| Bus interface? | No | 8 lane PCI Express |
| Bus bandwidth limit? | No | 16 Gbit/s each direction |
| Transmit packet classification | Software | Software |
| Receive packet classification | Hardware | Hardware | |
References
- News: The Register . Ashlee Vance . Ashlee Vance . April 3, 2007 . Marvell gets [SIC] on Sun's NIC: Licensee located on Neptune ]. May 22, 2013 . October 12, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20121012024405/http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/04/03/marvell_sun_nicsic/ . live .
- Web site: 10 Gigabit Ethernet on UltraSPARC T2 – weblog from Pure See . 2017-04-24 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170424090511/https://blogs.oracle.com/puresee/entry/10_gigabit_ethernet_on_ultrasparc . dead .
External links
