TAIPEI – Intel used Computex to expand its server and Ethernet network offerings.

The chip giant used Taiwan’s leading technology trade show for a full market launch of its Intel Ethernet E835 controllers and network adapters as part of expansions to its 800 Series Ethernet portfolio.

The portfolio is targeted at data center, enterprise, AI, edge, and telecom infrastructure use cases, including telecom mobile core and fixed-wireless access (FWA). The suite scales from 10-gigabit Ethernet (GbE) to 200 GbE and supports port configurations including 2x25 GbE, 4x25 GbE, 2x100 GbE, and 1x200 GbE.

Intel says the platform can use the Ethernet Port Configuration Tool to validate an initial setup and later reconfigure port counts and speeds as requirements change, giving customers a way to adapt deployments as workloads evolve.

Tim Wilson, VP and GM for data silicon engineering at Intel, said the E835 was architected for improved bandwidth per core for high core-count platforms such as the Xeon 6+ (Clearwater Forest) range, and designed for controllers, Open Compute Project (OCP) Network Interface Card (NIC) 3.0, and peripheral component interconnect express (PCIe) network adapters. Intel added it was in the process of granting qualification for E835 through its major OEM partners, with availability through the OEM network due later in the year.

Under the hood with Intel

The chip giant took Computex as an opportunity to frame its recently released Xeon 6+ chip line as suited for edge-heavy AI inferencing, with Brian Niepoky, senior director of Intel’s Ethernet product line, commenting the E835/Xeon 6+ combination “allows to deliver performance, efficient, and the flexibility that you need for typical enterprise cloud and edge work edge use cases."

Wilson added that when running at a full 200 GbE bidirectional line rate, the E835 consumes 47% less power than Nvidia's “comparable product." and 28% less than Broadcom's. Wilson did not name exact items, but presumably meant a solution from the former’s ConnectX line and the latter’s Nextreme/Thor range.

“Ultimately, this gives us 1.9-times higher performance per watt than Nvidia and 1.4-times higher than Broadcom under full workload conditions,” Wilson claimed.

While rivals offer 800 GbE capabilities, Neposky stressed that performance isn't just a bandwidth consideration for Intel, touting the E835’s security credentials.

“We also offer extended temperature range queues that go from negative 20 to 105 TJ (junction temperature), so these coupled with the 200 GbE, along with broad OS support capabilities across the major OEMs, enable the performance that we expect to see in the adoption of this product in the market,” Neposky claimed.

Computex also saw Intel introduce a new 12-core option in the Intel Xeon 6300 processor family for entry servers, raising the platform ceiling beyond eight cores for the first time. With its drop-in compatibility, the release was positioned as providing compute power and flexibility for growing small and medium business (SMB) workloads without the need for a platform change.