Flex System CN4052S 2-Port 10Gb Virtual Fabric Adapter Advanced

Modern data centers demand high throughput and flexible I/O to keep pace with virtualization and cloud workloads. The Lenovo Flex System CN4052S 2-Port 10Gb Virtual Fabric Adapter Advanced addresses this challenge by delivering dual 10 Gigabit Ethernet ports with advanced virtual fabric capabilities, enabling efficient bandwidth allocation and reduced hardware sprawl in Lenovo Flex System environments.

Who is it for

This adapter is ideal for IT professionals managing Lenovo Flex System compute nodes who need to consolidate network and storage traffic, improve performance for virtualized applications, and simplify infrastructure management. It suits enterprises deploying private clouds, virtual desktop infrastructure, or high-performance computing clusters.

Main features

• Two 10GbE ports with aggregate full-duplex throughput up to 20 Gbps
• Virtual Fabric technology allows partitioning each physical port into multiple virtual NICs (vNICs) for flexible bandwidth allocation
• Hardware offload for TCP/IP, FCoE, and iSCSI reduces CPU overhead and boosts performance
• SR-IOV and NPIV support enable direct I/O virtualization and improved VM density
• Data Center Bridging (DCB) and Quality of Service (QoS) ensure lossless Ethernet for converged traffic
• Jumbo frame support up to 9KB enhances large transfer efficiency
• PXE boot support simplifies OS deployment in diskless configurations

Specifications

• Brand: Lenovo
• Model: Flex System CN4052S 2-port 10Gb Virtual Fabric Adapter Advanced
• MPN: 01CV783
• Adapter Type: Virtual Fabric Adapter (VFA)
• Port Speed: 10 Gigabit Ethernet
• Number of Ports: 2
• Interface Type: PCIe 2.0 x8 (internal)
• Form Factor: Flex System Mezzanine Card
• Supported Protocols: Ethernet, Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE), iSCSI
• Offload Capabilities: TCP/IP, FCoE, iSCSI
• Virtualization Support: SR-IOV, NPIV
• Compatibility: Lenovo Flex System compute nodes (e.g., x240, x440)
• Connector Type: Internal (connects to Flex System midplane)
• Data Rate: 20 Gbps (aggregate full duplex)
• Jumbo Frame Support: Yes (up to 9KB)
• PXE Boot Support: Yes
• Chipset: Emulex (VFA5.2)
• Advanced Features: Virtual Fabric, Data Center Bridging (DCB), Quality of Service (QoS)
• Management: UEFI, CIM, standard network management tools

Tips

To maximize the benefits of Virtual Fabric, plan your vNIC allocation based on workload requirements. Ensure your Flex System chassis and compute nodes have the latest firmware to fully support SR-IOV and DCB features. For converged environments, configure QoS policies to prioritize storage traffic and avoid packet loss.