Intel NIC

E1000

which will emulate a 1 Gbit Intel 82545EM card, and is available for most operating systems since the generation of Windows Server 2003.

This card is the default when creating almost all virtual machines and is by that widely used.

E1000E

emulates a newer real network adapter, the 1 Gbit Intel 82574, and is available for Windows 2012 and later.

The E1000E needs VM hardware version 8 or later.

network throughput performance

E1000 > E1000E

Intel NIC Linux Driver

igb            Intel(R) Gigabit Ethernet Network Driver

ixgbe         Intel(R) 10GbE PCI Express Linux Network Driver

2.5G

Technology: IEEE 802.3bz (2.5GBASE-T)

Realtek

Chipset: RTL8125B

NIC: TP-LINK TL-NG421

SW: TP-LINK TL-SH1008

10G

Chipset: AQC107