Sonnet Announces Dual-Port 10 Gbps PCIe Adapter Cards

There has been a rise in 10 Gbps ethernet cards lately and that’s only a good thing for us as consumers. More competition and ramped up production ends in lower prices for us. Sonnet just launched two new dual-port 10 Gbps Presto network adapters with SFP+ and 10GBASE-T respectively. These Sonnet adapter cards make it easy for users to connect their computers via optical or copper cables to high-speed network infrastructure and storage systems using the 10GbE standard.

The Presto 10GbE SFP+ is a low-profile PCIe 2.0 x8 card designed for users who need to connect through an optical network infrastructure. It is equipped with two SFP+ sockets, allowing users to select either short-range (up to 300 meters) or long-range (up to 10 kilometers) SFP+ transceivers and connect their computers to a switch or other 10GbE interface at long distances via LC optical cables. Users may also select RJ45 copper SFP+ transceivers (sold separately) to connect their computers to a switch or other 10GbE interface via inexpensive CAT-6 or CAT-6A copper cabling at distances up to 55 or 100 meters, respectively, or Twinax direct-attach copper cables for connections up to 10 meters. Plenty of options and one to suit every need.

Connecting with copper cables is easier with the Presto 10GbE 10GBASE-T tho as it is a low-profile PCIe 3.0 x4 card designed for users who need to connect to network infrastructure via common copper cabling. It is equipped with two RJ45 ports, enabling users to connect their computers to a switch or other 10GbE interface via inexpensive CAT-6 or CAT-6A copper cabling at distances up to 55 or 100 meters, respectively. It is also compatible with the 5Gbps and 2.5Gbps standards should it be connected to that kind of infrastructure.

“Modern video production facilities and many other businesses are driving the rapid adoption of 10GbE cabled networking to support specialized applications, such as HD video editing using high-performance shared storage systems. Our customers in these markets, particularly those with Macs, have asked for top-performing 10GbE cards at a more affordable price,” said Robert Farnsworth, CEO of Sonnet Technologies. “Our new Presto 10GbE SFP+ and Presto 10GbE 10GBASE-T PCIe adapter cards offer all users a cost-effective way to achieve premium performance for optical or copper 10GbE connectivity to their computers, and especially provide our Mac customers with unprecedented price-to-performance value, as well.”

The Presto 10GbE SFP+ (part number G10E-SFP-2XA-E2) is available now for $399 USD. Short-range 10GBASE-SR SFP+ transceivers (part number G10E-SFP-SR) and long-range 10BASE-LR SFP+ transceivers (part number G10E-SFP-LR) are available for $69 and $149 each, respectively. The Presto 10GbE 10GBASE-T (part number G10E-2X-E3) is also available now for $399 USD.