Demartek Evaluation of HP 20GbE Technology for the HP BladeSystem

9 June 2014

For blade servers, 10Gb Ethernet (10GbE) has been available as a networking interconnect speed for several years. Today, 10GbE is widely utilized in blade servers and has become the de facto standard for blade server network interconnects. However, with the increasing processing power available in the current generation of servers, along with the expanding use of server virtualization and the growing amounts of data to be processed, many IT shops require more bandwidth than a single 10GbE connection can provide.

While the future of Ethernet includes 40Gb and 100Gb technologies, many IT shops today need more than 10Gb Ethernet but are not ready to adopt 40Gb or 100Gb Ethernet at the server. In some cases, these technologies are not readily available as supported options on their existing network infrastructure or switching gear.

In order to accommodate growing demands for bandwidth, HP has introduced its 20GbE technology for the HP BladeSystem environment. This HP 20GbE technology is compatible with today’s 10GbE and 40GbE technology, and is supported in existing HP BladeSystem enclosures.

HP commissioned Demartek to analyze the performance of its 20GbE technology with its BladeSystem platform and compare it to existing 10GbE technology available today.

Update - 6 January 2015
A second evaluation of the HP 20GbE adapter technology is available at Demartek Evaluates HP 20GbE Adapters and Cisco 40GbE Adapters.

View the Demartek Evaluation of HP 20GbE Technology for the HP BladeSystem
(PDF, 517 KB)