Why use PCI network adapters

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Managing PCI functions on Linux® on IBM Z® is similar to managing PCI functions on Linux® on other hardware platforms, largely using the same tools. With PCI network adapters, you are in line with networking in the distributed world and set to benefit from developments in that area.

PCI network adapters have low latency and depending on your workload, can offer performance advantages.

Apart from TCP/IP connections, PCI network adapters for IBM Z® and LinuxONE support RDMA protocols, including Shared Memory Communications Remote (SMC-R) connections, which tend to be advantageous for long-lasting connections with large data transfers, see Connection types.

PCI network adapters provide network interfaces that benefit from the hardware environment and offer state-of-the-art networking capabilities, see PCI network adapter capabilities.

For a comparison of PCI network adapter with other adapter options, see Exploring the performance of network adapters for Linux on IBM Z, available at: https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/linuxonibm/pdf/z_performance_of_network_adapters_Linux_on_IBM_Z.pdf.