Cisco UCSC-PCIE-ID40GF
Intel XL710 dual-port 40G QSFP+ NIC
Product Highlights
As data center workloads grow in scale and complexity, network bottlenecks at the server edge can cripple application performance. The Cisco UCSC-PCIE-ID40GF eliminates that constraint by delivering dual-port 40 Gigabit Ethernet connectivity through industry-standard QSFP+ interfaces, all powered by the Intel XL710 controller.
Built on Intel's Ethernet 700 Series architecture, this NIC plugs into a standard PCIe 3.0 x8 slot in a compact half-height, half-length (HHHL) form factor. Each port supports 40GBASE-SR4, 40GBASE-LR4, and QSFP+ direct-attach copper cabling, giving you the flexibility to match your fiber plant or top-of-rack switching topology. Hardware-level SR-IOV, VMDq, and Flexible Port Partitioning offload virtualization overhead from the CPU, making the adapter an ideal fit for hypervisor-heavy environments running VMware, KVM, or Hyper-V.
Designed and validated for Cisco UCS C-Series rack servers — including the C220 M4, C240 M4, and C460 M4 — the UCSC-PCIE-ID40GF integrates seamlessly into Cisco's Unified Computing System management framework. Whether you're scaling out a private cloud, accelerating east-west traffic in a virtualized campus, or converging storage and data networking onto fewer adapters, this 40G NIC delivers the throughput, low latency, and operational simplicity your infrastructure demands.
Features & Benefits
High-Speed 40GbE Connectivity
Two independent 40GbE QSFP+ ports provide massive bandwidth headroom for latency-sensitive and throughput-hungry applications. Support for 40GBASE-SR4, 40GBASE-LR4, and QSFP+ direct-attach copper gives you deployment flexibility across short-reach and long-reach scenarios without swapping adapters.
Advanced Virtualization Offloads
The Intel XL710 controller includes hardware-assisted SR-IOV, VMDq, and Flexible Port Partitioning (FPP). These features let you assign dedicated virtual functions to individual VMs, reducing hypervisor switching overhead and delivering near-native network performance to each workload.
Intelligent Traffic Management
On-chip QoS and traffic management engines classify and prioritize packets in hardware, freeing host CPU cores for application processing. Receive-Side Scaling (RSS) efficiently distributes incoming traffic across multiple CPU cores, maximizing throughput on multi-processor servers.
Cisco UCS Integration
Validated for Cisco UCS C-Series rack servers, the UCSC-PCIE-ID40GF fits into Riser 1 or Riser 2 PCIe slots. It integrates with Cisco's unified management tools, simplifying provisioning, monitoring, and firmware lifecycle management across your UCS deployment.
Compact, Energy-Efficient Design
The half-height, half-length (HHHL) card profile conserves valuable riser real estate in dense rack servers. Intel's 700 Series architecture delivers double the throughput at roughly half the power draw of the previous generation, helping reduce per-port energy costs in large-scale deployments.
Deployment Scenarios
Virtualized Data Center & Private Cloud
Deploy the UCSC-PCIE-ID40GF in UCS C240 M4 servers running VMware vSphere or KVM to provide each VM with dedicated, high-bandwidth network paths via SR-IOV. Hardware offloads reduce hypervisor CPU overhead, enabling higher VM density per host without sacrificing network performance.
High-Performance Computing & Big Data Analytics
Clusters running Hadoop, Spark, or MPI workloads benefit from the adapter's low-latency 40GbE fabric. Dual ports enable separate data and management networks or active-active link aggregation, keeping inter-node data shuffles off the critical path.
Converged Storage & Data Networking
Consolidate iSCSI storage traffic and Ethernet data traffic onto a single adapter using on-chip QoS to guarantee bandwidth for each traffic class. This reduces the number of NICs and cables per server, simplifying cabling and lowering infrastructure costs.
Network Functions Virtualization (NFV)
Telecom and service-provider environments can leverage DPDK driver support and Flexible Port Partitioning to run virtualized network functions at wire speed. The XL710's Dynamic Device Personalization (DDP) enables workload-specific packet processing optimizations.
General
Networking
Interface
Virtualization & Offloads
Compatibility
Compatibility Notes
Validated Cisco UCS Platforms
- Cisco UCS C220 M4 (all variants: SFF, LFF, Entry, Value, Performance Smart Play)
- Cisco UCS C240 M4 (SFF and LFF variants)
- Cisco UCS C460 M4
Slot Requirements
- Location: Riser 1 or Riser 2
- Electrical Slot: x8
- Bus Type: PCIe 3.0 x8
- Card Height: HHHL (Half-Height, Half-Length)
Supported Optics & Cabling
- QSFP+ 40GBASE-SR4 optical transceivers
- QSFP+ 40GBASE-LR4 optical transceivers
- QSFP+ Direct Attach Copper (DAC) twinaxial cables
Note: QSFP+ transceivers and cables are sold separately. Verify firmware compatibility with your specific UCS server model and UCSM/CIMC release.
Downloads & Resources
Frequently Asked Questions
| Part Number | Product | Key Difference |
|---|---|---|
| UCSC-PCIE-ID10GF | Intel X710 Dual-Port 10G SFP+ NIC | Dual-port 10GbE SFP+ — lower bandwidth option for environments that don't require 40G per port |
| UCSC-PCIE-CSC-02 | Cisco VIC 1225 Dual-Port 10G SFP+ CNA | Cisco VIC with full UCSM policy model support and FCoE — choose when you need converged fabric management |
| UCSC-PCIE-IQ10GF | Intel X710 Quad-Port 10G SFP+ NIC | Four 10GbE ports instead of two 40GbE — better for environments needing more discrete connections at lower per-port speed |
| UCSC-MLOM-C40Q-03 | Cisco VIC 1385 Dual-Port 40G QSFP+ CNA | Cisco VIC in mLOM form factor with full UCS fabric integration — ideal when UCSM-managed converged networking is required |