Pre-purchase check: X710-DA2

[fayzulloyusupov]

Hello Intel Support,

Intent / Use case
I plan to deploy an Intel® Ethernet Converged Network Adapter X710-DA2 in a Ubuntu + DPDK environment. My goal is to scale inbound traffic across multiple RX queues using RSS (hashing on IP addresses and L4 ports) and, where needed, steer specific flows to chosen queues.

Platform details

• Motherboard: ASUS ProArt Z790-CREATOR WIFI (Intel® Z790 chipset)

• CPU: Intel® Core™ (12th/13th/14th Gen)

• PCIe slots available: 2 × PCIe 5.0 x16 (x16 or x8/x8) and 1 × PCIe 4.0 x16 (x4 mode)

• OS: Ubuntu LTS (e.g., 22.04/24.04)

• DPDK: planning a current LTS/stable release

Questions

1. Compatibility / slotting

   • Can you confirm that X710-DA2 (PCIe Gen3 x8) is fully compatible when installed in one of the motherboard’s PCIe 5.0 x16 slots (backward-compatible operation)?

   • Any chipset/desktop-board caveats with Z790 for data-center NICs (e.g., ACS/ARI, AER, VT-d/IOMMU, Above 4G Decoding, SR-IOV toggles) we should be aware of?

2. DPDK support & features

   • Please confirm DPDK PMD support for X710 (i40e) and any minimum/required NVM (firmware) versions for stable operation with recent DPDK.

   • RSS configuration: Can we select the hash fields (IPv4/IPv6, TCP/UDP ports, symmetric hash option), and what is the RETA (indirection table) size?

   • Queue scaling limits: What are the maximum Rx/Tx queues per port and MSI-X vector counts supported on X710-DA2?

   • Flow steering: For steering specific flows to specific queues, is Flow Director / rte_flow supported on X710 with DPDK? Any notable limitations (e.g., tuple depth, rules scale)?

3. Ubuntu / driver guidance

   • Recommended Ubuntu LTS and kernel versions for i40e with DPDK.

   • Any guidance on i40e kernel driver vs. DPDK PMD interactions (e.g., binding to vfio/uio) and known good NVM + driver combinations?

4. Virtualization (if needed later)

   • SR-IOV support on X710 with DPDK (PF/VF), per-VF RSS, and any Z790-specific constraints.

5. Tunneling / offloads (nice to have)

   • RSS / flow matching support for tunneled traffic (e.g., VXLAN/GENEVE) on X710 with DPDK.

6. Optics / cabling

   • Do I need to purchase SFP+ transceivers or DAC/AOC cables for the X710-DA2?

   • Could you share the compatible/validated SFP+ modules and DAC/AOC list (10G-SR/LR, part numbers, vendor coding requirements)?

7. Thermals / power

   • Any airflow or power considerations for X710-DA2 in a workstation chassis on this board?

8. Alternative Intel NIC recommendations

   • If there is an Intel Ethernet adapter that’s better suited to my goal (DPDK + RSS multi-queue scaling and optional flow steering) than the X710-DA2, please recommend the specific model(s) and explain why (e.g., higher queue counts/MSI-X, enhanced RSS/RETA, rte_flow capabilities, tunneling offloads, virtualization features, firmware maturity). If relevant, please include any platform/slot or optic/cable considerations.

If you need specifics (exact Ubuntu/DPDK versions, expected traffic profile, or intended optics type), I’m happy to provide them.
Thanks in advance for helping confirm the fit and best-practice configuration.

Best regards,
Yunusov

[Vik3]

Hello fayzulloyusupov,

Greetings from Intel,

Thank you for posting on Intel Community.

We acknowledge receipt of your concern and want to assure you that assisting you is our top priority. To effectively help you further, we require some additional information from your end. Could you please confirm if the NIC was purchased separately or pre-installed?

Regards,

Vikas

Intel Customer Support Technician

[fayzulloyusupov]

Thanks for your reply. We want to buy a NIC separately and install it in our computer.
We need a NIC that meets our requirements above.
Are these NICs Intel X710, XL710, X722, XXV710 suitable for us? Or do we need another NIC? Can you help us find out which NIC is suitable for us?

[Sachinks]

Hello fayzulloyusupov,

Thank you for the confirmation. Please find the details regarding your queries below.

1) Regarding your queries, the X710-DA2 cna card does support Ubuntu LTS 24.04.

You can check the OS and features supported for X710-DA2 card in the below link.

Link : https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/content-details/332191/intel-ethernet-controller-x710-xxv710-xl710-feature-support-matrix.html?wapkw=X710-DA2%20feature%20support%20matrix

2) Regarding your queries related to DPDK support & features ( points 2,3,4,5), we are checking it with our team and we will get back to you at the earliest.

3) Regarding the Compatibility of the cna card with the motherboard’s PCIe 5.0 x16 slots, we request you to directly check with the board vendor as they will be able to check this from their end.

4) Regarding the compatible SFP's and cables for the CNA card, you can find the details in our product compatibility tool.

Link : https://compatibleproducts.intel.com/ProductDetails?activeModule=Intel%C2%AE%20Ethernet&prdName=Intel%C2%AE%20Ethernet%20Network%20Adapter%20X710-DA2/DA4%20for%20OCP3_0

5) Regarding the thermals and power, you can find the operating temperature details and airflow details in the ''product brief'' document.

You can find the product brief document here under ''supplemental information'' : https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/products/sku/83964/intel-ethernet-converged-network-adapter-x710da2/specifications.html

Kindly let us know if the above information is helpful. We will get back to you regarding the DPDK support & features at the earliest.

Thank you for using Intel products and services.

Best Regards,

Sachin KS

Intel Customer Support Technician

[Simon-Intel]

Hi Fayzulloyusupov,

Thank you for your patience.

We have sent you an email regarding your query. I kindly request you to review it and respond via email.

We await your response.

Best regards,

Simon

Intel Customer Support Technician