IBM EN1L PCIe4 32Gb 4-port Optical Fibre Channel Adapter

The IBM EN1L PCIe4 32Gb 4-port Optical Fibre Channel Adapter is a high-performance, quad-port 32 Gb/s Fibre Channel host bus adapter designed for the latest IBM Power Systems servers. This PCIe Gen4 x16 adapter provides four 32 Gb/s FC ports for ultra-high-throughput, ultra-low-latency storage connectivity to modern Fibre Channel SANs, supporting enterprise storage arrays (FlashSystem 5600/7600/9600, DS8000, Storwize/SVC), tape libraries, and full NVMe over Fibre Channel (NVMe/FC) in Gen7 SAN fabrics, ideal for AIX, IBM i, Linux, and VIOS environments in high-performance computing, AI, analytics, and mission-critical data centers.

Product Description

The IBM EN1L (feature code EN1L, CCIN 2CFC or related, part number 03HD014 or similar variants) is a PCIe Gen4 x16 quad-port 32 Gb/s optical Fibre Channel adapter that occupies a single PCIe slot on the host server. It features four SFP28 ports supporting auto-sensing speeds of 32 Gb/s, 16 Gb/s, and 8 Gb/s Fibre Channel (backward compatible with older FC infrastructure), delivering up to 128 Gbps aggregate bandwidth across all ports. The adapter uses Broadcom-based controllers (typically Emulex LPe35004 or equivalent) with advanced offload features including NPIV (N_Port ID Virtualization), large queue depths, hardware-assisted zoning, fabric management, and full NVMe/FC protocol support. It enables boot-from-SAN, multipath I/O (MPIO), and full IBM qualification for reliability, power management, and firmware integration. The EN1L is optimized for next-generation SAN attachment in Power10 systems (and select Power9 models with Gen4 slots), providing the highest FC performance for flash-optimized block storage, virtualization (PowerVM, VMware), AI workloads, and disaster recovery/replication in modern data centers.

Features

Four SFP28 ports supporting 32 Gb/s, 16 Gb/s, and 8 Gb/s Fibre Channel auto-sensing.
PCIe Gen4 x16 host interface (backward compatible with Gen3/Gen2 slots at reduced bandwidth).
Up to 128 Gbps aggregate bandwidth (4 × 32 Gb/s).
Full NVMe over Fibre Channel (NVMe/FC) support with Gen7 SAN switches.
NPIV support for virtualized environments (PowerVM, VMware).
Hardware offload for checksum, header splitting, large send/receive, and fabric services.
Support for boot-from-SAN, multipath I/O (MPIO), and advanced zoning.
Hot-plug SFP28 transceivers (short-wave/long-wave/multimode/single-mode).
LED indicators for link/activity and speed per port.
Full IBM driver and firmware support for AIX, IBM i, Linux, VIOS.

Technical Specifications

Feature Code: EN1L
CCIN: 2CFC
Part Number: 03HD014
Interface (Host): PCIe Gen4 x16
Interface (Storage): 4 × SFP28 Fibre Channel ports
Data Rates: 32 Gb/s, 16 Gb/s, 8 Gb/s auto-sensing
Form Factor: PCIe full-height, half-length card
Controller: Broadcom/Emulex LPe35004 or equivalent
Transceivers: Supports 32 Gb/s short-wave (SWL) and long-wave (LWL) SFP28 modules
Cabling: Multimode fiber (OM4/OM5) for SWL; single-mode for LWL
Power Consumption: ~20–35 W typical
Cooling: Passive heatsink; relies on server airflow
Compatibility: Power10 (primary), select Power9 with PCIe Gen4 slots

Compatibility

The IBM EN1L PCIe4 32Gb 4-port Optical Fibre Channel Adapter is compatible with:

Power Systems Models:
- Power10: S1012/S1014/S1022/S1022s/S1024 (scale-out), E1080 (enterprise), and other Power10 models with PCIe Gen4 slots
- Power9: Select models with PCIe Gen4 slots (e.g., S922/S924/E950/E980 with Gen4-capable slots)
Operating Systems: AIX 7.2+ / 7.3+, IBM i 7.4+ / 7.5+, Linux (RHEL/SUSE/Ubuntu), VIOS
Attachment: PCIe Gen4 x16 slot on host server; connects to Gen7 FC switches (32/16/8 Gb/s), storage arrays (FlashSystem 5600/7600/9600, DS8000, Storwize/SVC), tape libraries (TS4500/TS7700)
Transceivers/Cables: IBM-qualified 32 Gb/s SFP28 SWL/LWL modules; OM4/OM5 multimode or single-mode fiber
Limitations: Requires compatible 32 Gb/s SFP28 transceivers; performance limited in Gen3 slots; full NVMe/FC requires Gen7 SAN switches and firmware; not supported in Gen2 slots

Verify exact slot requirements, transceiver part numbers, firmware levels, and OS patch levels via IBM Sales Manual or resources for your specific Power Systems model.

IBM EN1L PCIe4 32Gb 4-port Optical Fibre Channel Adapter

Product Description