Dell 8GB Dual Channel PCI-Express 8X Fibre Channel Host Bus Adapter

The Dell RW9KF is a host bus adapter that links rack mounted servers or professional workstations to a Fibre Channel storage area network through a PCI Express x8 slot. It equips your system with enterprise level connectivity, allowing large databases, virtual machine images, and backup jobs to move between the server and external storage without bottlenecks.

Two fully independent Fibre Channel ports, each rated at 8 gigabits per second, sit on the card. Administrators can cable the ports to separate switches for path redundancy or combine them to double available bandwidth. Because the adapter follows standard Fibre Channel protocols, it slips into an existing SAN fabric without forcing changes to zoning, cabling, or storage arrays.

The design suits many environments. In a data center, the adapter feeds a virtualization cluster that must pull disk images from a shared array with steady low latency. In a post-production studio, it lets editors stream large video files directly from central storage. On a backup server, it ensures that nightly jobs finish on time by delivering consistent, high speed block level transfer.

Installation is straightforward: seat the card in an open PCI Express x8 slot, connect optical or copper Fibre Channel cables, and present the ports to the SAN. Once installed, the operating system treats remote LUNs as if they were local drives, freeing Ethernet networks from heavy storage traffic and preserving bandwidth for other tasks.

• Two independent ports, each running at 8 Gb/s, enable path redundancy or combined throughput
• Plugs into a standard PCI Express x8 slot for quick expansion
• Delivers stable, high throughput for storage area networks in enterprise or professional settings
• Integrates smoothly with existing Fibre Channel switches, zoning policies, and storage arrays