Intel has a long history of delivering quality Ethernet products. Back in 1980, Intel teamed up with DEC* and Xerox* to publish the first Ethernet specification called DIX. The specs were later adopted by IEEE in 1982. So, Intel has been in the Ethernet business for 30 years!
Intel’s expertise in Ethernet includes a long line of Ethernet silicon and adapters. Early on, we branded our adapters with “PRO” as part of the name. The earliest use I could find of the “PRO” brand name dates back to the EtherExpress™ PRO/10 ISA adapters. The “PRO” name carried forward to many popular Intel® PRO/100 fast Ethernet and PRO/1000 gigabit Ethernet devices.
The Intel® PRO/1000 PT Quad Port Low Profile Server Adapter, which debuted in 2006, was the industry’s first low-profile quad-port NIC and the last to use “PRO” in the name. But the Intel® PRO/1000 PT Quad Port Low Profile Server Adapter was not the end of the line.
Building on our experience with both Ethernet and silicon, we continued to improve our designs. Even though the brand names no longer include “PRO” as part of the name, the newest adapters still have the same “PRO” quality and dependability, only better. The innovation has continued and includes the industry’s first integrated quad port controller with new features like virtualization.
So, if you are looking for the very latest, full-featured Intel® PRO/1000 adapters, you should be looking at the Intel® Ethernet I350 Server Adapter Family.
And for 10-Gigabit Ethernet you will want to check out our latest Converged Network adapters for the best solutions supporting unified networking. For familiar twisted-pair copper cable support that includes backwards compatibility with gigabit Ethernet, check out the Intel® Ethernet X540 Converged Network Adapter. For SFP+ solutions including direct-attach copper, short-range, and long-range support, check out the Intel® Ethernet X520 Converged Network Adapter Family.