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.
A Neptune-based NIC is integrated in UltraSPARC T2 CPUs (Network Interface Unit, or NIU).
NIC Features
+ Stand-alone vs on-chip (NIU) Neptune 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
External links Sun's Neptune Specs