555-BCKN Dell 10GB SFP PCIE Adapter - Intel X710-da2 Dual Port

Dell 555-BCKN Dual Port 10Gb SFP+ PCIe Network Adapter

High-Performance Enterprise Network Interface Card

The Dell 555-BCKN Intel X710-DA2 is a dual-port 10 Gigabit SFP+ PCI Express network adapter engineered for high-throughput, low-latency networking environments. Designed for enterprise-grade workloads, it delivers reliable wired connectivity and scalable performance for virtualization, cloud computing, and storage-intensive applications.

Key Product Highlights

Core Specifications Summary

• Manufacturer: Dell
• Part Number / SKU: 555-BCKN
• Device Type: Network Interface Card (NIC)
• Form Factor: PCI Express Adapter
• Port Configuration: Dual Port (2 Ports)

Advanced Connectivity Features

10GbE High-Speed Data Transmission

• Equipped with 2 x 10 Gigabit SFP+ Ethernet interfaces
• Supports wired networking for stable and consistent performance
• Delivers data transfer rates up to 10 Gbps per port

Supported Network Protocols

• TCP/IP and UDP/IP for standard networking communication
• iSCSI for efficient storage networking integration

Technical Specifications Breakdown

Performance and Standards Compliance

Industry Networking Standards Supported

• IEEE 802.3 Ethernet standards
• IEEE 802.1Q VLAN tagging support
• IEEE 802.1p traffic prioritization
• IEEE 802.3ad Link Aggregation Control Protocol (LACP)
• IEEE 802.1AS time synchronization
• IEEE 802.1Qbg virtualization enhancements

Remote Management and Monitoring

Network Administration Capabilities

• SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) support
• RMON (Remote Network Monitoring) functionality
• Port status monitoring including link and activity indicators

Interface and Hardware Configuration

Physical and Electrical Interface

SFP+ Based Dual Port Design

• 2 x 10Gb Ethernet SFP+ interfaces
• PCIe slot compatibility for server integration
• Designed for high-density rack server environments

Signal and Status Indicators

Operational Visibility Features

• Port transmission speed indicators
• Link and activity LED status monitoring

Use Cases and Application Scenarios

Enterprise Deployment Environments

Ideal For:

• Data center networking infrastructure
• Cloud computing environments
• Virtualized server clusters
• High-speed storage area networks (SAN)
• Enterprise-grade application hosting

Performance Optimization Benefits

Why Choose This Network Adapter

• Enhanced bandwidth efficiency for large-scale data transfer
• Reduced network congestion in multi-user environments
• Improved reliability for mission-critical workloads
• Scalable architecture for growing IT infrastructure

Compatibility and Integration

System and Network Compatibility

Seamless Deployment Features

• Compatible with enterprise-grade Dell server systems
• Supports standard PCI Express slots
• Works with modern network operating systems and virtualization platforms

Protocol and Architecture Support

Enhanced Networking Flexibility

• Supports multiple network transport protocols
• Optimized for hybrid cloud and on-premise deployments
• Efficient handling of multi-tenant network traffic

Dell 555-BCKN Dual Port 10Gb SFP+ PCI-E Adapter Overview

The Dell 555-BCKN Intel X710-DA2 Dual Port 10Gb SFP+ PCIe Adapter is a high-performance network interface card designed for enterprise-grade server environments, data centers, virtualization infrastructures, and high-throughput computing workloads. Built on the Intel X710 Ethernet controller architecture, this adapter delivers reliable 10 Gigabit Ethernet connectivity through dual SFP+ ports, enabling scalable and low-latency networking for modern IT ecosystems. It is widely used in environments where bandwidth-intensive applications, virtual machine density, and storage networking demand consistent and efficient data transfer performance.

This adapter is engineered to integrate seamlessly with Dell PowerEdge servers and other PCIe-compatible systems, offering advanced networking features such as virtualization offloading, enhanced packet processing, and support for multiple network protocols. Its dual-port configuration allows administrators to implement redundancy, load balancing, or link aggregation strategies, improving both performance and network reliability.

Core Architecture and Intel X710 Controller Technology

Intel X710 Ethernet Controller Foundation

At the heart of the Dell 555-BCKN adapter lies the Intel X710 Ethernet controller, a widely adopted chipset known for its efficiency and flexibility in enterprise networking. The X710 architecture is optimized for 10GbE connectivity and supports advanced offload capabilities that reduce CPU overhead. This enables servers to handle more virtual machines and compute workloads without being bottlenecked by network processing tasks.

Advanced Packet Processing Engine

The adapter incorporates a sophisticated packet processing engine that enhances throughput while minimizing latency. By offloading tasks such as checksum calculation, segmentation, and reassembly from the CPU, the X710 controller ensures more efficient system resource utilization. This is particularly important in virtualized environments where multiple workloads share the same physical hardware.

Energy Efficient Design

Intel has designed the X710 series with power efficiency in mind, allowing the Dell 555-BCKN adapter to maintain high throughput while consuming minimal energy. This contributes to lower operational costs in data centers where hundreds or thousands of NICs may be deployed simultaneously.

Dual Port 10Gb SFP+ Connectivity

High-Speed Optical Networking Capability

The dual SFP+ ports on the Dell 555-BCKN adapter provide support for 10 Gigabit Ethernet connections using optical fiber transceivers. This enables long-distance, high-bandwidth communication between servers, switches, and storage systems. SFP+ technology is widely preferred in enterprise environments due to its flexibility, allowing different types of transceivers to be used depending on distance and cabling requirements.

Redundancy and Link Aggregation

With two independent ports, administrators can configure redundancy to ensure network uptime even in the event of a port or cable failure. Alternatively, both ports can be combined using link aggregation protocols such as LACP, effectively doubling available bandwidth for supported workloads.

Low Latency Communication

The adapter’s architecture is optimized for minimal latency, making it suitable for time-sensitive applications such as financial trading platforms, real-time analytics, and distributed storage systems. The use of SFP+ optical modules further reduces signal degradation over distance compared to traditional copper-based connections.

PCI Express Interface and System Integration

PCIe Slot Compatibility

The Dell 555-BCKN adapter utilizes a PCI Express interface, ensuring compatibility with a wide range of server motherboards and expansion slots. Typically designed for PCIe 3.0 x8 or higher slots, it provides sufficient bandwidth to support dual 10GbE traffic without congestion.

Bandwidth Efficiency

PCIe architecture ensures that data transfer between the network adapter and system memory is fast and efficient. This reduces bottlenecks in high-throughput environments such as virtualization clusters, cloud hosting platforms, and storage replication systems.

Hot-Plug and Server Deployment

In supported server environments, the adapter can be installed or replaced without significant system downtime. This feature is essential for enterprise operations that require continuous availability and minimal service interruption.

Virtualization and Offload Capabilities

SR-IOV Support for Virtual Environments

Single Root I/O Virtualization (SR-IOV) is one of the most important features of the Intel X710 controller used in this adapter. SR-IOV allows a single physical NIC to appear as multiple virtual NICs, each assigned directly to virtual machines. This significantly improves network performance in virtualized environments by bypassing hypervisor overhead.

Improved VM Density and Performance

By offloading network processing directly to hardware, the Dell 555-BCKN adapter enables higher virtual machine density on a single host server. Each VM benefits from near-native network performance, making it suitable for cloud computing, software-as-a-service platforms, and enterprise virtualization clusters.

Reduced CPU Utilization

The hardware offloading capabilities reduce the need for CPU involvement in packet processing, freeing computational resources for application workloads. This improves overall system efficiency and scalability.

Advanced Networking Features

Support for Multiple Protocols

The adapter supports a wide range of networking protocols including IPv4, IPv6, TCP, UDP, and advanced tunneling protocols used in cloud environments. This ensures compatibility with modern enterprise networking stacks.

QoS and Traffic Management

Quality of Service (QoS) features allow administrators to prioritize network traffic based on application requirements. This ensures critical workloads receive sufficient bandwidth even under heavy network load conditions.

Checksum and Segmentation Offload

Hardware-based checksum offloading and TCP segmentation offload reduce CPU workload and improve packet processing efficiency. These features are particularly useful in high-throughput data environments such as backup systems and storage replication networks.

Use Cases in Enterprise and Data Center Environments

Cloud Computing Infrastructure

The Dell 555-BCKN adapter is commonly deployed in cloud computing environments where scalable and reliable networking is essential. Its dual-port configuration supports high availability and load balancing for cloud workloads.

Virtualization Clusters

In VMware, Hyper-V, and KVM-based environments, the adapter ensures consistent network performance for virtual machines. Its SR-IOV capabilities further enhance efficiency in large-scale virtualization deployments.

Storage Area Networks (SAN)

The adapter is also suitable for storage networking applications such as iSCSI and NFS. Its low latency and high throughput capabilities ensure efficient data transfer between storage arrays and compute nodes.

High-Performance Computing (HPC)

HPC clusters rely on fast inter-node communication, and the Dell 555-BCKN adapter provides the necessary bandwidth and reliability for scientific computing, simulations, and AI workloads.

Compatibility with Dell Server Platforms

PowerEdge Server Integration

This network adapter is optimized for Dell PowerEdge servers, ensuring seamless compatibility with BIOS, firmware, and management tools. It is commonly used in rack-mounted servers deployed in enterprise data centers.

Firmware and Driver Support

Dell and Intel provide regular driver and firmware updates to ensure stability, security, and performance optimization. Proper driver installation is essential for unlocking advanced features such as SR-IOV and offloading.

Remote Management Integration

Integration with Dell iDRAC and other remote management systems allows administrators to monitor network performance and troubleshoot connectivity issues without physical access to the server.