UCSC-MLOM-IRJ45 Cisco UCS Series 4x 1GB RJ-45 Server Module.

Overview Cisco UCSC-MLOM-IRJ45 4-Port Server Adapter

The Cisco UCSC-MLOM-IRJ45 Intel I350 4-Port Gigabit Ethernet PCI Express 2.1 x4 MLOM Server Network Adapter is a high-performance server networking solution designed to deliver stable, scalable, and efficient connectivity in enterprise and data center environments. Built for reliability and throughput optimization, this multi-port Ethernet adapter ensures seamless integration with modern server infrastructures requiring consistent 10/100/1000Base-T network performance.

Product Identification

• Manufacturer: Cisco
• Part Number: UCSC-MLOM-IRJ45
• Product Type: Network Adapter
• Controller Architecture: Intel I350 Gigabit Ethernet

Technical Specifications 

• Interface Type: PCI Express 2.1 x4
• Slot Compatibility: Standard server PCIe expansion slots
• Data Transfer Efficiency: Optimized for low latency networking

Port and Connectivity

• Total Ports: 4
• RJ-45 Ethernet Ports: 4
• Port Type: Copper-based Ethernet connectivity

Network Standards Compatibility

• 10Base-T Ethernet
• 100Base-T Fast Ethernet
• 1000Base-T Gigabit Ethernet

Media Support and Network Performance

• Twisted Pair copper cabling
• Standard RJ-45 Ethernet connectors
• Optimized signal integrity for LAN environments

Physical Design and Form Factor

• Form Factor: Plug-in Card / MLOM Module
• Width: 2.7 inches
• Depth: 5.3 inches

Device Compatibility and Deployment Scenarios

• Enterprise rack servers
• Blade server systems
• Virtualization hosts
• Cloud infrastructure nodes

Ethernet Compliance and Protocol Support

• IEEE 802.3 Ethernet standards compliance
• Auto-negotiation for speed and duplex settings
• Full-duplex and half-duplex operation support

Cisco UCSC-MLOM-IRJ45 Intel 4-Port Ethernet Server Adapter

The Cisco UCSC-MLOM-IRJ45 Intel I350 4-Ports 10/100/1000Base-T Gigabit Ethernet PCI Express 2.1 x4 MLOM Server Network Adapter represents a high-performance networking solution designed for enterprise-grade data center environments and Cisco Unified Computing System platforms. Built in collaboration with and powered by the trusted Ethernet controller architecture from, this MLOM (Modular LAN on Motherboard) adapter delivers reliable multi-port connectivity optimized for virtualization, cloud infrastructure, and mission-critical workloads.

This network adapter is engineered to provide four independent Gigabit Ethernet ports, enabling scalable bandwidth aggregation, enhanced redundancy, and improved workload balancing across modern server deployments. With support for 10/100/1000Base-T standards, it ensures seamless interoperability with legacy systems while maintaining compatibility with modern high-speed network infrastructures.

Advanced Hardware Architecture and Engineering Design

Intel I350 Ethernet Controller Foundation

At the core of the Cisco UCSC-MLOM-IRJ45 adapter lies the Intel I350 Ethernet controller, a widely adopted chipset known for its stability, efficiency, and enterprise-level performance. The Intel I350 is designed specifically for multi-port Gigabit Ethernet applications, supporting advanced offloading capabilities that significantly reduce CPU utilization in high-throughput environments.

The controller integrates multiple hardware acceleration features, including checksum offload, TCP segmentation offload, and intelligent interrupt moderation. These capabilities enable the server CPU to focus on application processing rather than network packet handling, improving overall system efficiency and reducing latency in demanding workloads such as virtualization clusters and distributed databases.

PCI Express 2.1 x4 Interface Integration

The adapter utilizes a PCI Express 2.1 x4 interface, which provides sufficient bandwidth to support four Gigabit Ethernet ports operating at full line rate simultaneously. The PCIe architecture ensures low-latency communication between the network adapter and the host system, which is essential for environments that require deterministic network performance.

This interface design also enhances scalability, allowing the adapter to be deployed in dense server configurations without creating bottlenecks in data flow. The PCIe 2.1 standard ensures backward compatibility with older server motherboards while maintaining efficient throughput for modern data center applications.

MLOM Form Factor Advantages

The Modular LAN on Motherboard (MLOM) form factor is a key design element of the Cisco UCSC-MLOM-IRJ45 adapter. This compact integration approach enables direct mounting onto Cisco UCS server motherboards, eliminating the need for traditional PCIe expansion slots. The result is a streamlined internal architecture that improves airflow, reduces cable clutter, and enhances system reliability.

The MLOM design also contributes to improved serviceability and scalability in data center environments. By integrating networking capabilities directly into the motherboard ecosystem, system administrators can deploy high-density server configurations without sacrificing expandability or maintenance efficiency.

High-Performance Gigabit Ethernet Capabilities

10/100/1000Base-T Network Standard Support

The Cisco UCSC-MLOM-IRJ45 adapter supports the widely adopted 10/100/1000Base-T Ethernet standard, ensuring compatibility with a broad range of network infrastructures. This multi-speed capability allows automatic negotiation between different network environments, enabling seamless integration into both legacy and modern Ethernet deployments.

Gigabit Ethernet performance ensures consistent data transfer rates of up to 1 Gbps per port, allowing the adapter to handle high-volume traffic scenarios such as virtualization workloads, cloud computing nodes, and enterprise storage replication systems. The auto-negotiation feature also enhances operational flexibility in hybrid network environments.

Multi-Port Bandwidth Aggregation

With four independent Gigabit Ethernet ports, the adapter enables advanced bandwidth aggregation techniques that significantly enhance throughput. This multi-port architecture supports load balancing across multiple network paths, ensuring optimized traffic distribution and minimizing congestion during peak usage periods.

In enterprise deployments, this capability is essential for maintaining consistent application performance across virtual machines and containerized workloads. The ability to distribute network traffic intelligently improves resilience and ensures uninterrupted service delivery in mission-critical environments.

Server Integration and Cisco UCS Compatibility

Seamless Integration into Cisco UCS Platforms

Designed specifically for Cisco UCS environments, the UCSC-MLOM-IRJ45 adapter integrates directly into supported server systems, providing native compatibility and optimized performance tuning. The integration ensures that firmware, drivers, and system management tools operate cohesively within the Cisco UCS ecosystem.

This deep integration enables centralized management through Cisco UCS Manager, allowing administrators to configure, monitor, and optimize network performance from a unified interface. The result is improved operational efficiency and reduced administrative overhead in large-scale deployments.

Hardware-Level Optimization for Virtualization

The adapter is engineered to support virtualization-heavy workloads, including hypervisor environments such as VMware ESXi, Microsoft Hyper-V, and KVM-based platforms. Hardware offloading features reduce virtualization overhead, enabling multiple virtual machines to share network resources efficiently without performance degradation.

The Intel I350 controller also supports Virtual Machine Device Queues (VMDq), which optimize packet routing directly to virtual machine instances. This ensures balanced network performance across virtualized workloads, improving responsiveness and reducing latency in multi-tenant environments.

Enterprise Networking Use Cases and Deployment Scenarios

Data Center Networking Infrastructure

The Cisco UCSC-MLOM-IRJ45 adapter is widely deployed in modern data centers where reliability, scalability, and performance are critical. Its multi-port design supports redundant network paths, enabling fault-tolerant architectures that maintain uptime even in the event of link failures.

Data center operators benefit from its ability to handle high-density traffic flows, making it suitable for application hosting, database clusters, and storage area network connectivity. The adapter ensures consistent throughput under heavy workloads, supporting enterprise-grade service level agreements.

Cloud Computing and Virtualization Environments

In cloud infrastructure deployments, the adapter plays a critical role in enabling high-performance networking between compute nodes. Its ability to handle multiple simultaneous connections makes it ideal for hyper-converged infrastructure and private cloud environments.

The four-port architecture ensures that cloud workloads can be distributed efficiently, reducing bottlenecks and improving scalability. This is particularly important in environments where rapid provisioning and dynamic resource allocation are required.

Enterprise Application Hosting

Enterprise application environments rely heavily on stable and predictable network performance. The Cisco UCSC-MLOM-IRJ45 adapter supports mission-critical applications such as ERP systems, CRM platforms, and financial transaction processing systems by delivering consistent low-latency connectivity.

Its robust architecture ensures minimal packet loss and high reliability, even under sustained heavy traffic conditions. This makes it an ideal choice for organizations that require uninterrupted application availability and high network resilience.

Network Performance Optimization Features

Advanced Packet Processing Capabilities

The Intel I350 controller integrates advanced packet processing technologies that optimize network throughput and reduce CPU overhead. Features such as checksum offloading, VLAN tagging support, and large send offload improve efficiency in high-throughput environments.

These optimizations allow servers to handle more simultaneous network sessions without degradation in performance, making the adapter suitable for environments with heavy multi-user access patterns.

Interrupt Moderation and CPU Efficiency

Interrupt moderation technology helps reduce CPU utilization by controlling the frequency of network interrupts generated by the adapter. This results in smoother system performance and more predictable application behavior, particularly in virtualized or multi-threaded environments.

By reducing unnecessary CPU interruptions, the system can allocate more processing power to critical application tasks, improving overall server efficiency.

Security and Data Integrity Features

Hardware-Assisted Data Protection

The Cisco UCSC-MLOM-IRJ45 adapter incorporates hardware-level features that enhance data integrity during transmission. These include checksum validation and error correction mechanisms that ensure reliable packet delivery across the network.

These features help prevent data corruption and ensure consistent communication between servers, storage systems, and network infrastructure components in enterprise environments.

Secure Virtualization Networking

In virtualized environments, the adapter supports secure segmentation of network traffic between virtual machines. This ensures isolation between workloads, reducing the risk of cross-VM interference and improving overall security posture in multi-tenant deployments.

Energy Efficiency and Thermal Optimization

Low Power Consumption Design

The Intel I350-based architecture is designed with energy efficiency in mind, minimizing power consumption while maintaining high performance. This is particularly important in large-scale data center environments where power efficiency directly impacts operational costs.

Dynamic power management features adjust energy usage based on network load, ensuring optimal efficiency during both peak and idle states. This contributes to reduced total cost of ownership for enterprise deployments.

Thermal Efficiency in Dense Server Environments

The MLOM form factor contributes to improved thermal management by reducing cable clutter and optimizing internal airflow within the server chassis. This design helps maintain stable operating temperatures even in high-density configurations.

Efficient thermal performance enhances hardware longevity and ensures consistent network reliability under continuous operation.

Driver Support and Operating System Compatibility

Multi-Platform Driver Ecosystem

The Cisco UCSC-MLOM-IRJ45 adapter is supported across multiple operating systems, including major Linux distributions, Windows Server environments, and virtualization hypervisors. This broad compatibility ensures flexible deployment across diverse IT infrastructures.

Driver support includes advanced configuration utilities that allow administrators to fine-tune performance parameters such as interrupt moderation, flow control, and offloading features.