About PCI network adapters
Depending on your environment and requirements, PCI network adapters can be an alternative to network adapters that are
attached as IBM Z® channel
devices .
Why use PCI network adapters PCI network adapters , you are in line with networking in the distributed world and set to benefit from developments in that area.Physical functions, virtual functions, and ports For Network Express and RoCE Express 2 and RoCE Express 3, each physical adapter port is associated with one physical function (PF) while virtual functions (VF) are associated with a parent PF and thus are indirectly associated with an adapter port. Each virtual or physical function is controlled by either a system firmware or a guest system. Connection types network adapter PCI functions have modes for two connection types: IP-based connections and RDMA-based connections. z/OS connectivity z/OS® requires channel based network devices (OSD devices provided by an OSA Express adapter or OSH devices provided by a Network Express adapter in hybrid mode) for TCP/IP connections to an external LAN.PCI network adapter capabilities network adapter PCI functions support most of the typical network interface capabilities. PCI network adapter limitations RoCE Express and considerations of Network Express .Management and configuration tools smc-tools package, distribution tools, and generic PCI management commands to manage and configure network adapter PCI functions .