Exablaze ExaNIC X40 Low Latency QSFP+ Network Interface Card
SUB-MICRO TCP HALF RTT* 10/40GBE NETWORK INTERFACE CARD
[EXANICX40]
Details
Ultra Low Latency Network Interface Card
The ExaNIC is a 10/40Gbps PCI Express network card interface card specifically optimized for low latency environments.
While initially conceived and built for use in latency-sensitive financial applications such as high frequency trading, the ExaNIC has appeal that extends to any environment where latency is key. On an Intel Ivy Bridge test system, median latency from application to network to application is 800 nanoseconds for small packets. Half round trip TCP latencies are as low as 950 nanoseconds for small payloads.
EASY TO USE
In addition to a standard Linux driver, a transparent TCP and UDP acceleration library is included, as well as a library for low-level access.
A transparent socket acceleration library allows applications to benefit from the low latency of kernel bypass, in most cases without modifications to the applications. For the most latency sensitive applications, a library called ‘libexanic’ allows direct low-level access to the ExaNIC hardware and includes simple functions for sending and receiving Ethernet frames. With the optional firmware development kit, it is even possible to extend the ExaNIC firmware and add your own logic to the onboard FPGA.
ADVANCED CAPTURE
Flow steering delivers packets to the right application’s receive buffer.
Filters can be defined over Ethernet frame components such as SRC/DST MAC, SRC/DST IP etc, and a receive buffer associated with that filter. As packets come off the wire, the ExaNIC will analyze the traffic and deliver packets the match filters directly to the correct receive buffer. Non-matched packets are delivered to the default buffer. This flow steering is done inline at line rate, adding no additional latency. Flow hashing distributes packets evenly across multiple buffers, allowing CPU load to be spread for demanding capture and analysis applications.
TIMESTAMPING
Built-in timestamping functionality records each frame’s arrival time to a granularity of 6.2ns.
These timestamps are available through the API and through a capture utility which can write tcpdumpcompatible capture files. Additionally, the ExaNIC has a Pulse-Per-Second (PPS) input which can be used to synchronize the ExaNIC clock with a PPS source such as a GPS receiver, allowing users to meaningfully compare captured timestamps across multiple servers and geographic locations. The PPS input can also act as a PPS output for instances where one ExaNIC should act as the PPS source for other devices in a rack.
HIGH PORT DENSITY
Dual QSFP+ ports in a half height form factor provide eight 10GbE interfaces.
Through the use of QSFP+ breakout cables, the ExaNIC X40 can connect to eight SFP+ ports. This enables a range of high performance applications such as packet capture across multiple connections, or market data line arbitration across many different feeds.
| Manufacturer | exablaze |
|---|---|
| Part No. | EXANICX40 |
| End of Life? | No |
| Width | 68 |
| Depth | 150 |
| Advanced Network Features | FPGA Development Kit:
|
| Bandwidth | 40GbE, 10GbE, 1GbE, 100M Fast Ethernet |
| Host OS Support | Linux x86_64 (all distributions); Microsoft Windows |
| PCI Slot(s) | Low profile PCI Express Card |
| Ports | 2 QSFP+; SMA for PPS in/out |
| Port-Port Latency | Sub Micro Second |