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
NIC Features
| 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 |
References
References
- Ashlee Vance (April 3, 2007). "Marvell gets [SIC] on Sun's NIC: Licensee located on Neptune". The Register. Archived from the original on October 12, 2012. Retrieved May 22, 2013.
- "10 Gigabit Ethernet on UltraSPARC T2 – weblog from Pure See". Archived from the original on 2017-04-24.