Broadcom Launches Portfolio of Best-in-Class 1G and 10G Ethernet Solutions for HP ProLiant Gen8 Servers

IRVINE, Calif., March 7, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- 

News Highlights:

• Broadcom selected by HP for its new generation of FlexNet LOMs and adapters
• Broadcom 10G connectivity in flexible LOM and Mezzanine form factors leveraged by HP ProLiant Gen8 Servers
• Broadcom single-chip Ethernet solutions deliver industry-leading performance and enhanced virtualization

Broadcom Corporation (NASDAQ: BRCM), a global innovation leader in semiconductor solutions for wired and wireless communications today unveiled a new portfolio of Ethernet LOMs (LAN on motherboard) and adapters for HP's new ProLiant Generation 8 (Gen8) servers. Broadcom's latest generation of 1GbE and 10GbE NetXtreme® controllers provide increased performance, efficiency and scalability for HP Gen8 servers in enterprise networks. For more news from Broadcom visit our newsroom.

Broadcom is offering five new adapters for HP ProLiant Gen8 servers, available in a variety of dual-port and quad-port network interface cards (NICs), as well as FlexNet cards and mezzanine cards.  These solutions are designed for a wide range of network configurations and provide full compatibility with HP's new servers.

Rising demand for server virtualization, cloud computing, and I/O intensive applications are driving the need for greater processing capabilities in enterprise networks and data centers.  A recent survey by IDC concludes that top priorities for IT managers in 2012 are virtualization, improving system management and adding new servers.(1)  Broadcom's latest Ethernet adapter solutions are engineered to help IT managers meet these demands while leveraging features and benefits unique to HP's ProLiant Gen8 servers.

Based on NetXtreme Ethernet controllers, Broadcom's new adapters and LOMs are engineered for use with HP's servers, delivering full line-rate throughput across all ports. To support enterprise and data center efficiency and scalability requirements, Broadcom's NetXtreme family offers advanced functionality including Energy Efficient Ethernet (EEE) and IEEE 1588 time synchronization. The new adapter portfolio also leverages Broadcom's highly-integrated 40nm PCIe single-chip solutions that enable lower power consumption (up to 42 percent), contributing to reduced IT operating costs.*

Industry Leading 10GbE Performance
Broadcom's new line of 10GbE adapters deliver the industry's highest level of throughput performance and packet routing as validated by third-party analyst firm Demartek.(2)  Optimized for virtualization by uniting data and storage networks on a common 10GbE fabric, the10GbE adapters allow the server to adapt to a broad range of bandwidth configurations that reduce power and cooling costs while minimizing overall system complexity.

For a full list of Broadcom-powered products for HP, visit www.broadcom.com.

Key Features:

• PCI Express^® (PCIe™) Gen2.0
• Full line-rate performance across all ports
• Broad OS and hypervisor support
• Full TCP/IP hardware offload* engine (TOE)
• Flex-10 partitioning - up to four partitioning assignments per 10GbE link*
• SR-IOV ready*
• Energy Efficient Ethernet (EEE)*
• IEEE 1588 time precision protocol*

Market Drivers:

• Increasing traffic and richer content continues to grow on the Internet(3)
• Adoption of virtualization and other new server technologies/solutions viewed a priority by IT managers(1)
• Server-class network ports growing with total shipments expected to reach in excess of 20 percent in 2011(3)
• Increase in server-to-server communications(3)
• Ethernet adapters optimized for HP's Gen8 servers — a clear requirement for next-generation networks

Availability
All Broadcom devices mentioned above are now shipping.

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Quotes:

Jim Ganthier, Vice President of Marketing, Industry Standard Servers, HP
"Enterprises are looking to increase administrator productivity by automating tasks and simplifying operations. By incorporating Broadcom's single chip solutions into HP ProLiant Gen8 servers, customers achieve a broader range of bandwidth configurations, minimizing complexity as well as improving uptime."

Jim Pappas, Director of Technology Initiatives, Intel Corporation

"We are pleased to see vendors like Broadcom take advantage of the new I/O performance features of the Intel^® Xeon^® processor E5-2600 product family – helping to build a rich Xeon^® Server ecosystem. As the Intel^® Xeon^® processor E5-2600 product family raises the performance bar, it offers vendors such as Broadcom the ability to enable higher performing networking solutions, with the shared goal of driving towards a rich end-user experience."

Seamus Crehan, Crehan Research, Inc.
"According to our most recent report, Broadcom maintained a strong 10GbE position in the Server-class LAN-on-Motherboard (LOMs) & Controllers segment for 2011.  While we expect very robust growth in 10GbE server-class controller shipments, we also forecast that 1GbE will remain the majority of port shipments for some time. Hence, a broad portfolio of high-performance feature-rich offerings, such as Broadcom's, should enjoy considerable success with the ramp of the Romley/Sandy Bridge servers."

Vinod Lakhani, General Manager, High Speed Controllers, Broadcom Corporation
"Broadcom's latest generation of Ethernet solutions deliver the most advanced performance of their kind and the richest set of features the industry has seen. Optimized for HP's ProLiant Gen8 line, these devices provide unsurpassed speed, efficiency, and scalability for the enterprise data center. Combine that with Broadcom's integrated MACs and PHYs and the company's overall expertise in networking technology, you end up with a series of network adapters that are backed by an industry leader along with performance that maximizes the ROI on new server investments."

Resources:
NetXtreme Featured Products Page
Broadcom News Room
B-Connected Broadcom Blog
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About Broadcom
Broadcom Corporation (NASDAQ: BRCM), a FORTUNE 500® company, is a global leader and innovator in semiconductor solutions for wired and wireless communications. Broadcom® products seamlessly deliver voice, video, data and multimedia connectivity in the home, office and mobile environments.  With the industry's broadest portfolio of state-of-the-art system-on-a-chip and embedded software solutions, Broadcom is changing the world by Connecting everything®. For more information, go to www.broadcom.com.

Broadcom®, the pulse logo, Connecting everything®, and the Connecting everything logo are among the trademarks of Broadcom Corporation and/or its affiliates in the United States, certain other countries and/or the EU.  Any other trademarks or trade names mentioned are the property of their respective owners.

*Available on select products

(1) IDC's Top-10 Enterprise Server Predictions 2012
(2) Demartek benchmark tests
(3) Crehan Research, Inc. – Server I/O Considerations – January 2012

SOURCE Broadcom Corporation; BRCM Infrastructure & Networking