540-BDRD Dell Intel X710 Dual Ports SFP+ PCIE 10GbE Full Height Adapter

High-Performance Dual-Port Network Adapter

The DELL 540-BDRD Intel X710 adapter delivers exceptional 10GbE connectivity with dual SFP+ ports, ensuring swift data transmission and high-efficiency networking in enterprise environments. Designed for optimal compatibility with DELL PowerEdge systems, this PCIe full-height card enhances server communication across high-speed infrastructures.

Brand & Model Details

• Manufacturer: Dell
• Model Number: 540-BDRD
• Product Category: Network Adapter

Advanced Networking Specifications

• Installation Type: Full-height plug-in card
• Adapter Format: PCI Express interface
• Connectivity Standard: Wired Ethernet
• Port Configuration: Two 10 Gigabit SFP+ interfaces
• Data Speed: Up to 10 Gbps throughput
• Protocol Supported: 10 Gigabit Ethernet

Optimized for DELL Enterprise Systems

Tested and certified by DELL, this network interface card seamlessly integrates with a wide range of PowerEdge servers. Rely on DELL's dependable technical support for hassle-free setup and long-term reliability when used within official configurations.

Compatible PowerEdge Servers

Reliable Enterprise-Class Solution

This Intel-based server adapter empowers your data center with consistent 10GbE bandwidth, reducing latency and boosting overall system responsiveness. Its dual-port configuration enables greater link aggregation or failover capabilities, providing both speed and resilience.

The Dell 540-BDRD Adapter

• Engineered for high-density server deployments
• Ensures energy-efficient performance and reduced overhead
• Built for scalability with dual SFP+ port architecture
• Backed by full compatibility and DELL’s support services
• Enhances virtualization, cloud, and storage networking needs

Flexible and Scalable Networking Capabilities

With a plug-and-play design, the 540-BDRD adapter is ready to handle increasing network demands in growing IT environments. Ideal for virtualization, large-scale storage transfers, and high-throughput applications.

Applications Across IT Infrastructure

• Data centers with high-bandwidth requirements
• Enterprise virtualization platforms
• Cloud service infrastructure
• High-speed storage connectivity
• Redundant network configurations

540-BDRD Dell Intel X710 Dual Ports SFP+ PCIE 10GbE Adapter Overview

The 540-BDRD Dell Intel X710 Dual Ports SFP+ PCIE 10GbE Full Height Adapter represents a high-performance network interface card designed for enterprise and data center applications. Leveraging Intel’s X710 controller, this adapter provides two SFP+ ports delivering blazing-fast 10 Gigabit Ethernet speeds via PCI Express (PCIe) connectivity, specifically crafted for Dell PowerEdge servers. It offers enhanced packet processing, superior network virtualization support, and comprehensive security features.

High-Speed Connectivity with 10GbE Performance

Designed for mission-critical environments, the Intel X710 chipset enables ultra-low latency and maximum throughput. The dual-port 10GbE SFP+ configuration ensures optimal bandwidth utilization, making it ideal for applications such as high-performance computing (HPC), large-scale virtualization, cloud infrastructure, and data-intensive services.

Key Features of the 540-BDRD Adapter

• Dual SFP+ ports supporting 10GbE each
• Full-height PCIe 3.0 x8 interface
• Intel X710 controller optimized for efficiency
• Advanced virtualization and network management capabilities
• Support for SR-IOV and VMDq
• Comprehensive offloads including TCP, UDP, and IP checksums
• Compatible with a range of Dell PowerEdge servers

PCIe 3.0 Interface for Maximum Throughput

The 540-BDRD adapter connects via PCI Express 3.0 x8 interface, ensuring a high-bandwidth connection between the network adapter and the server’s motherboard. This architecture minimizes bottlenecks and supports full-duplex performance across both SFP+ ports. PCIe 3.0 provides backward compatibility, allowing it to function in PCIe 2.0 slots, although with reduced bandwidth.

Full Height Form Factor and Deployment

This adapter comes in a full-height bracket form, making it ideal for standard rack-mounted server installations. The robust build quality and Dell OEM compatibility ensure seamless integration in enterprise server chassis without modification. Full-height adapters are commonly used in professional-grade equipment due to better airflow and thermal dissipation.

Networking Technologies Supported

The Dell Intel X710 adapter supports a broad range of networking protocols and technologies, delivering flexibility and scalability for modern data centers. Among the supported features are network virtualization overlays such as VXLAN and NVGRE, and advanced traffic management features.

Network Virtualization Support

This adapter supports Single Root I/O Virtualization (SR-IOV), which allows multiple virtual machines to share a single physical NIC without performance degradation. With Virtual Machine Device Queues (VMDq), it improves network traffic handling by offloading tasks from the host CPU to the network adapter.

VXLAN and NVGRE Support

VXLAN (Virtual Extensible LAN) and NVGRE (Network Virtualization using Generic Routing Encapsulation) are network overlay technologies that enable the expansion of L2 networks over L3 infrastructure. This makes the 540-BDRD adapter ideal for scalable cloud deployments and SDN (Software Defined Networking) infrastructures.

Energy Efficient Ethernet and Advanced Offloads

Intel's X710 controller in this adapter includes Energy Efficient Ethernet (EEE), which reduces power consumption during low data activity. It also supports TCP segmentation offload (TSO), large send offload (LSO), and receive-side scaling (RSS), all designed to reduce CPU usage and improve overall system efficiency.

Compatibility with Dell PowerEdge Servers

The 540-BDRD is tested and validated for Dell PowerEdge servers, ensuring reliable operation and full integration with Dell’s system management tools such as iDRAC and Lifecycle Controller. It’s compatible with a wide range of PowerEdge models such as R640, R740, R540, T640, and more.

Firmware and Driver Availability

Dell provides certified firmware and driver updates via the Dell Support portal. These drivers are optimized for operating systems including Microsoft Windows Server, Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), VMware ESXi, and SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES), ensuring stable performance across diverse environments.

Hot-Pluggable SFP+ Modules

The adapter supports hot-swappable SFP+ modules, enabling seamless upgrades or replacements without system downtime. These modules include SR (Short Range), LR (Long Range), and Direct Attach Copper (DAC) cables, depending on the deployment needs and transmission distances.

Use Cases for the 540-BDRD Dell Intel X710 Adapter

This dual-port SFP+ adapter is a perfect fit for use cases requiring ultra-reliable and high-throughput network connectivity. It is deployed in:

• Virtualized environments and hyper-converged infrastructure (HCI)
• Private and hybrid cloud networks
• Data replication and backup servers
• Streaming and multimedia delivery systems
• Financial transaction servers with ultra-low latency requirements

High Availability Networking

With dual ports, the adapter supports link aggregation (LACP) and failover configurations, enabling continuous network availability and redundancy. This ensures that even if one link fails, the server maintains connectivity through the secondary port.

Data Center Scalability

With its support for VLAN tagging, jumbo frames, and QoS (Quality of Service), the 540-BDRD adapter allows administrators to manage large-scale environments with precise traffic shaping and control. Its ability to scale is crucial for enterprises planning infrastructure growth.

Performance and Benchmarking Insights

In real-world deployments, the 540-BDRD Dell Intel X710 adapter consistently delivers near-line-rate performance across both ports simultaneously. When used with high-quality SFP+ transceivers and fiber infrastructure, it offers:

• Sub-millisecond latency in high-frequency trading applications
• Up to 20 Gbps aggregated throughput in full-duplex mode
• Reduced CPU overhead by offloading checksum and segmentation tasks

Thermal and Power Efficiency

The Intel X710 chipset is built with efficiency in mind. It includes dynamic thermal and power management capabilities to maintain optimal performance under variable workloads. When installed in a properly ventilated chassis, the full-height adapter dissipates heat efficiently to ensure long-term reliability.

Advanced Flow Control Features

The adapter supports IEEE 802.3x flow control, ensuring reliable data transfer without packet loss during peak traffic. This is particularly beneficial in real-time environments where packet integrity and zero downtime are crucial.

Security Features and Management Tools

Security is an integral part of the Intel X710’s feature set. The 540-BDRD offers built-in hardware root-of-trust, secure firmware update processes, and support for features like MAC address filtering and VLAN isolation. This helps prevent spoofing, sniffing, and man-in-the-middle attacks.

Management with Intel and Dell Utilities

Administrators can configure and manage the adapter using Dell's OpenManage and Intel's PROSet tools. These platforms provide detailed diagnostics, adapter teaming configuration, and monitoring of link status, temperature, and firmware versions.

The 540-BDRD Intel X710 SFP+ Adapter

This adapter is not just a piece of hardware—it's a strategic investment in networking infrastructure. With its high-speed dual-port design, compatibility with advanced virtualization, and rock-solid reliability under Dell’s OEM support, it provides a solid foundation for modern networking needs.

Certified Reliability from Dell and Intel

Combining Dell’s server-grade engineering with Intel’s trusted networking technology ensures maximum uptime and consistent performance. This adapter undergoes rigorous testing and validation to meet the demands of 24/7 enterprise workloads.

Flexible Connectivity Options

Whether your data center uses fiber optics or Direct Attach Copper (DAC) cables, the 540-BDRD accommodates both, giving you flexibility in network architecture without compromising performance.