From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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]
Stand-alone vs on-chip (NIU) Neptune Features[2]
| 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
|
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