StarTech.com Quad Port 10G SFP+ Network Card - Intel XL710 Open SFP+ Converged Adapter - PCIe 10 Gigabit Fiber Optic Server NIC - 10GbE

The StarTech.com Quad Port 10G SFP+ Network Card is engineered for performance-driven networks that demand higher density, lower latency, and scalable bandwidth. Built around the Intel XL710 chipset, this PCIe network interface card delivers four independent 10 Gigabit SFP+ ports, transforming a standard server or workstation into a flexible, high-throughput data conduit. Whether you’re consolidating storage networks, accelerating hyper-converged infrastructures, or powering a virtualized environment, this card provides the speed and reliability needed to keep demanding workloads moving at wire speed. The open SFP+ slots give you the freedom to choose the exact fiber options you need—from short-range DACs for in-rack deployments to multi-mode or single-mode fiber transceivers for longer distances—without sacrificing performance or compatibility.

• High-density 4-port 10G SFP+ connectivity: Each card offers four independent 10 Gigabit Ethernet ports, enabling you to scale out your network topology with ease. This dense configuration is ideal for server virtualization, high-throughput databases, large-scale backups, and fast storage networks. By aggregating four 10GbE links, you can create robust, fault-tolerant paths, support heavy I/O, and segment traffic efficiently across multiple VLANs and workloads. The open SFP+ slots unlock a spectrum of connector options, ensuring you stay adaptable as your fiber infrastructure evolves.
• Intel XL710 chipset for superior performance and offloads: The integration of the Intel XL710 provides advanced hardware offloads and intelligent traffic management. Expect improved CPU efficiency, multi-queue support for parallelized processing, and enhanced virtualization capabilities such as RSS (Receive-Side Scaling) and virtualization-friendly features. This foundation helps reduce CPU overhead under heavy workloads, improve throughput, and deliver consistent latency—crucial for virtualization hosts, storage nodes, and data-center-grade deployments.
• Flexible, future-proof Open SFP+ connectivity: With four Open SFP+ ports, you have the flexibility to pair with a broad ecosystem of SFP+ transceivers and DAC cables. Choose Direct Attach Copper (DAC) for short-distance, rack-wide deployments or optical transceivers for longer links across data centers. This adaptability makes it easy to align with your existing fiber infrastructure and to plan for future networking needs without purchasing a new NIC.
• PCIe interface and broad compatibility: Designed for modern servers and workstations, this card plugs into a PCIe bus (with a PCIe 3.0-compatible host interface) to deliver reliable, high-speed data delivery. The XL710-based design is supported by a wide range of operating systems and drivers, including mainstream Windows and Linux distributions. This ensures straightforward deployment in virtualized environments (VMware, Hyper-V, KVM) and physical server setups alike, minimizing downtime and easing integration with existing management stacks.
• Reliability, manageability, and enterprise features: The Quad Port adapter is built for reliability in demanding environments. It supports essential data-center features such as Jumbo Frames for more efficient large-block transfers, VLAN tagging for network segmentation, and NIC teaming for bandwidth aggregation and failover. These capabilities empower administrators to design resilient networks, simplify traffic management, and optimize performance across workloads ranging from high-performance computing to dense storage access and cloud-native applications.

Technical Details of StarTech.com Quad Port 10G SFP+ Network Card

• Chipset: Intel XL710
• Ports: 4 x SFP+ (open) for 10GbE connectivity
• Interface: PCIe (PCIe 3.0-compatible host interface) to motherboard or riser card
• Data rate: 10 Gigabit Ethernet per port
• Form factor: PCIe network card designed for servers and high-performance workstations
• Networking features: supports open SFP+ flexibility, VLAN tagging, Jumbo Frames, NIC teaming, multi-queue offloads

How to install StarTech.com Quad Port 10G SFP+ Network Card

• Power down the system and unplug all power sources before installation.
• Open the chassis and locate an appropriate PCIe slot that matches your motherboard or riser configuration. Insert the StarTech Quad Port card firmly into the PCIe slot until the retention mechanism clicks into place.
• Secure the card with a screw to the chassis backplane if required by your enclosure, then reconnect the system power.
• Power on the system and install the appropriate drivers. Check for driver availability from StarTech and Intel, ensuring compatibility with your operating system (Windows, Linux, or virtualization platforms).
• Connect your SFP+ transceivers or DACs to the four open ports, then configure your network settings. Create NIC teams for bandwidth aggregation or enable VLAN tagging to segment traffic per workload. Verify link status and run basic throughput tests to confirm the expected 10GbE performance across all ports.

Frequently asked questions

• Q: Does this card support virtualization environments? A: Yes. Built on the Intel XL710 platform, it is designed to work well with virtualization platforms such as VMware, Hyper-V, and KVM, supporting multi-queue offloads and NIC teaming to optimize virtual networking.
• Q: Can I use different SFP+ transceivers on different ports? A: Absolutely. The open SFP+ ports let you mix transceivers or DAC cables to match the distance and fiber type for each port, giving you flexible, per-port connectivity.
• Q: What operating systems are supported? A: The card is designed for broad compatibility, with drivers available for major Windows and Linux distributions. Verify driver availability for your exact OS version before deployment.
• Q: Can I aggregate the four 10G links? A: Yes. NIC teaming or link aggregation configurations can combine multiple ports to increase bandwidth or provide failover capabilities depending on your network design.
• Q: What are typical use cases? A: This card is well-suited for hyper-converged infrastructure, fast storage networks (iSCSI/NAS traffic), virtualization hosts, high-performance databases, and data-center backbone networking where four 10G links provide ample headroom for simultaneous workloads.