Sonnet Technologies has announced the Solo10G Thunderbolt 2 Edition adapter (https://tinyurl.com/y26ujlah), the latest product in the company’s array of single- and dual-port 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10GbE) network adapters.
The Solo10G adapters add 10GbE network connectivity to a range of computers, enabling users to connect to 10GbE-enabled network infrastructure and storage systems using the 10GbE standard. Measuring 3.1 inches wide by 4.5 inches deep by 1.1 inches tall and featuring an extruded aluminum enclosure, the Solo10G Thunderbolt 2 Edition is a compact, fanless adapter for Mac and Window computers with Thunderbolt 2 ports — including Apple’s just-announced modular Mac Pro.
Equipped with a single RJ45 port, the adapter enables 10GbE connectivity via CAT 6 or CAT 6A copper cabling at distances of up to 55 or 100 meters, respectively. The adapter connects to a single Thunderbolt 2 port on the computer and is bus-powered.
The Sonnet adapter offers Mac users a plug-and-play experience with no driver installation required; Windows use requires a simple driver installation. The product is configured using operating system settings, so there’s no separate management program to install or run. The Solo10G adapter also supports NBASE-T (multigigabit) technology, the recent Ethernet standard that enables 2.5Gbps and 5Gbps speeds on existing CAT 5e (and better) cabling at distances of up to 100 meters.
This capability enables organizations with older infrastructure to simply update to multigigabit Ethernet switches and to use Sonnet’s Solo10G adapter to boost network transmission speeds up to 500% without the need to rewire, according to the folks at Sonnet. Incorporating encryption in hardware, the Sonnet network adapter is protected against malicious firmware modification. Any unauthorized attempt to modify the firmware to enable covert computer access renders it inoperable.
