The AQtion NIC cards support 5G and 2.5Gbps Ethernet speeds over standard Cat 5e and Cat 6 copper cables. Compliant to IEEE 802.3bz standard ratified in September 2016, these adapters are also backward-compatible with legacy 1000BASE-T Ethernet. The AQtion AQN-107 NIC has the added benefit of supporting 10GBASE-T Ethernet in compliance with the IEEE 802.3an standard. By supporting PCI Express x4 and x1 versions with a single RJ45 port, these new Aquantia NICs can be used to easily upgrade existing PCs and new models to fully utilize the bandwidth capabilities of modern CPUs and GPUs.
“Aquantia expects to see a strong ramp in demand for Multi-Gig Ethernet LAN for client platforms used by power-users, professionals, gamers, prosumers and any individual who wants to enjoy fast data-transfer and quick response-times,” said Kamal Dalmia, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Aquantia Corp. “Proliferation of Mulit-Gig Ethernet is the logical next step as Enterprise and home networks get upgraded from legacy Gigabit technology.”
Cloud computing, big data analytics and virtualization have long pushed higher data rates, and the global trend towards video and social media is accelerating the market demand for faster wired connectivity at the network access level, towards Multi-Gig Ethernet connectivity. AQtion NICs are compactly engineered and based on a single-chip, integrated physical layer (PHY) controller solution. The high-performance AQtion NIC product line is built for individuals seeking the best available networking solution for data intensive computing – whether for multimedia, education, medical or gaming applications.
“Historically, networking capabilities, such as Gigabit Ethernet introduced in PCs in 2000, defined a significant stepping stone in the PC evolution. But for the past 17 years, that Ethernet port has stagnated at 1 Gigabit, and become a bottleneck for IT professionals, gamers, and performance users at large,” said Linn Huang, IDC Research Director. “With data workloads increasing rapidly and with PC gaming rising in popularity, breaking the gigabit plane and moving to multi-gigabit PC Ethernet speeds should be a game changer for high-performance users.”
Users looking for an immediate upgrade can purchase the standalone AQtion NICs in the Americas and Europe through Arrow Electronics. The AQtion AQN-107 10GbE NIC is available today for $129.00, and the AQtion AQN-108 5GbE NIC is available for $99.00.