Guidance on Using 10 Gigabit Ethernet for Ettus Open Source USRP

Solution

USRP
- X3xx or N3xx serial or USRP-2974
FPGA Image
- HG bit: Port 0 must be 1 GbE, and Port 1 must be 10 GbE.
- XG bit: Both ports 0 and 1 must be 10 GbE.
Host PC
- CPU motherboard
  - CPU frequency: Above 3GHz per core
  - Motherboard: PCIe 3.0
  - Some motherboards do not provide enough PCI Express (PCIe) bus bandwidth to support higher sample rates. Motherboards with PCIe 3.0 are required, and the PCIe architecture of the motherboard should be carefully considered. Slots with dedicated PCIe lanes should be used for 10 GbE cards that will be connected to the USRP.
- NIC
  - Intel and Myricom 10 GbE cards are recommended.
  - Mellanox, SolarFlare, and Chelsio 10 GbE cards are not currently recommended. The Ethernet card should be plugged into the slot that has the most direct connection with the CPU (PCIe lanes are not shared with another slot).
  - The Intel X520 and X710 card works very out of the box.
  - You can purchase Intel NIC from Ettus website.
- SFP+ module and cable for NIC
  - Maximum suggested length for 10 GbE SFP+ copper cable is 3 m (10 ft).
  - You can purchase a copper cable with SFP+ terminations from Ettus website.
  - Much longer ranges are possible with multimode optical fiber.
  - Intel SFP+ optical module is a must choice for Intel NIC for the optical connection.

Below is the link for performance tuning suggestions for the 10GE application.