IBM Ethernet Expansion Card At-a-glance Manual

Ethernet Expansion Card (CFFv) for IBM BladeCenter

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Ethernet Expansion Card (CFFv) for IBM BladeCenter

IBM BladeCenter at-a-glance guide

The Ethernet Expansion Card (CFFv) has two 1 Gb Ethernet ports that are designed for IBM BladeCenter 

servers with CFFv expansion slots. It is based on proven Broadcom 5704 ASIC technology and offers 

value added features such as BladeCenter Open Fabric Manager and software-based iSCSI support.

This card is installed into the CFFv slot of the supported blade server. It provides connections to 

Ethernet-compatible modules that are in bay 3 and bay 4 of the supported BladeCenter chassis. The 

CFFv slot is a PCI-X 1.0 slot. Figure 1 shows the Ethernet Expansion Card (CFFv).

Figure 1. Ethernet Expansion Card (CFFv)

Did you know?

Today's virtualized servers require a larger number of network adapters. The Ethernet Expansion Card 

(CFFv) adapter is a perfect fit for these environments because it can enable up to eight Ethernet ports per 

blade server.

Are you planning to implement an iSCSI storage area network (SAN)? Did you know that iSCSI 

implementations require data on a separate LAN? The Ethernet Expansion Card (CFFv) adapter is an 

important part of any iSCSI implementation. By using this adapter, you can separate the Ethernet traffic 

and SAN traffic into different networks.

When using the Ethernet Expansion Card (CFFv) adapter, you can simultaneously use a CFFh adapter to 

enable more types of I/O to supported blade servers, such as the HS21, when installed in the IBM 

BladeCenter H chassis. The innovative design of the Ethernet Expansion Card (CFFv) adapter is 

designed to work with the CFFh adapter to support this combination workload.