540-BFGS Dell Intel 2 Ports E810-2CQDA2 PCI-E Network Adapter.

Dell 540-BFGS 2-Port QSFP28 PCIe 4.0 x16 Adapter Overview

The Dell 540-BFGS Intel E810-2CQDA2 is a high-performance dual-port network adapter designed for next-generation data center environments. Built to deliver ultra-low latency and extreme bandwidth capacity, this PCI Express 4.0 x16 plug-in card supports advanced Ethernet speeds up to 100GbE, making it an ideal solution for cloud infrastructure, virtualization, high-performance computing (HPC), and enterprise storage networks.

General Information

• Manufacturer: Dell
• Part Number: 540-BFGS
• Device Type: Enterprise Network Adapter
• Model: Intel E810-2CQDA2
• Ports: 2 x QSFP28
• Interface: PCIe 4.0 x16
• Maximum Data Rate: Up to 200 Gbps

Supported Ethernet Speeds

• Gigabit Ethernet (1GbE)
• 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10GbE)
• 25 Gigabit Ethernet (25GbE)
• 50 Gigabit Ethernet (50GbE)
• 100 Gigabit Ethernet (100GbE)

Benefits of PCIe 4.0 Technology

• Increased data throughput and bandwidth efficiency
• Reduced latency for real-time applications
• Enhanced scalability for enterprise environments
• Improved virtualization performance
• Future-ready infrastructure compatibility

Dual-Port Advantages

• Improved network redundancy and reliability
• Load balancing across multiple links
• Higher aggregate bandwidth capacity
• Optimized traffic distribution
• Enhanced data center efficiency

Supported Protocols

• DDP (Datagram Direct Protocol)
• iWARP (Internet Wide Area RDMA Protocol)

Supported Data Link Protocols

• Gigabit Ethernet (GbE)
• 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10GbE)
• 25 Gigabit Ethernet (25GbE)
• 50 Gigabit Ethernet (50GbE)
• 100 Gigabit Ethernet (100GbE)

Physical Specifications

• Dimensions: 6.6 in x 4.4 in
• Form Factor: Plug-in PCIe Card
• Design Type: Low-profile enterprise adapter

Dell 540-BFGS PCI-E 4.0 x16 QSFP28 Dual Port Adapter

The Dell 540-BFGS Intel E810-2CQDA2 PCI-E 4.0 x16 QSFP28 Network Adapter represents a high-performance enterprise-class network interface solution engineered for modern data-intensive infrastructures. Built on Intel’s advanced Ethernet 800 Series architecture, this dual-port QSFP28 adapter is designed to deliver ultra-low latency, high throughput, and scalable bandwidth capabilities required in hyperscale data centers, cloud computing environments, artificial intelligence workloads, and high-performance computing clusters. With PCI Express 4.0 x16 interface support, it enables maximum data transfer efficiency between server and network fabric, significantly reducing bottlenecks in mission-critical workloads.

This category of network adapters is essential for organizations that demand consistent and predictable network performance under heavy traffic conditions. As enterprise workloads continue to evolve toward distributed architectures, virtualization-heavy deployments, and real-time analytics processing, adapters such as the Dell 540-BFGS play a foundational role in ensuring seamless connectivity, high packet processing efficiency, and enhanced workload consolidation.

Advanced Intel Ethernet 800 Series Architecture

High-Performance Controller Design

At the core of the Dell 540-BFGS adapter lies the Intel E810 controller, a next-generation silicon design optimized for cloud-scale networking. This controller introduces hardware acceleration for packet processing, reducing CPU overhead and improving system efficiency. The architecture is specifically engineered to handle high-density traffic patterns commonly found in virtualization clusters and software-defined networking environments.

The Intel E810 platform integrates advanced scheduling engines and packet classification capabilities that allow network traffic to be processed with minimal latency. This ensures that both small packet workloads and large data streams are handled efficiently, maintaining consistent throughput even under peak demand conditions.

Optimized Throughput and Bandwidth Utilization

The adapter’s architecture supports extremely high aggregate bandwidth levels through dual QSFP28 ports, each capable of 100GbE connectivity depending on the transceiver configuration. This enables the adapter to function as a critical aggregation point for high-speed data pipelines, ensuring uninterrupted flow of data across distributed systems.

Bandwidth optimization features built into the controller include adaptive flow control, congestion management, and dynamic queue allocation, all of which contribute to stable performance in environments with fluctuating traffic patterns.

PCI Express 4.0 x16 Interface Integration

Next-Generation Bus Architecture

The PCIe 4.0 x16 interface is a key differentiator for this category of network adapters. It doubles the per-lane throughput compared to PCIe 3.0, allowing significantly higher data transfer rates between the network adapter and the host system. This ensures that the full capacity of dual QSFP28 ports can be utilized without internal bus constraints.

In high-performance server environments, PCIe bandwidth often becomes a limiting factor for network throughput. The Dell 540-BFGS eliminates this bottleneck by leveraging the expanded bandwidth capabilities of PCIe 4.0, ensuring optimal performance in data-heavy workloads such as virtualization clusters, storage replication, and distributed computing frameworks.

Reduced Latency and Improved Responsiveness

By utilizing PCIe 4.0 x16 lanes, the adapter minimizes data traversal delays between the CPU, memory, and network interface. This reduction in latency is particularly beneficial for applications requiring real-time responsiveness, such as financial trading systems, AI inference pipelines, and large-scale database synchronization.

QSFP28 Dual-Port Connectivity Design

High-Speed Optical and Direct Attach Support

The QSFP28 interface enables flexible connectivity options, supporting both optical fiber transceivers and direct attach copper (DAC) cables. This flexibility allows system architects to design network topologies that meet specific latency, distance, and bandwidth requirements.

Each port can operate independently, enabling redundant network paths or aggregated high-bandwidth configurations. This dual-port design enhances fault tolerance and improves overall network reliability in enterprise deployments.

Scalable Network Fabric Integration

In modern data centers, network scalability is a critical requirement. The QSFP28-based architecture of the Dell 540-BFGS supports seamless integration into spine-leaf network topologies, enabling efficient east-west traffic flow between servers and storage systems.

This design is particularly effective in cloud environments where workload distribution and microservices communication require consistent low-latency interconnectivity.

Data Center and Cloud Computing Optimization

Hyperscale Infrastructure Compatibility

The Dell 540-BFGS adapter is optimized for hyperscale environments where thousands of virtual machines or containers operate simultaneously. Its hardware offload capabilities reduce CPU utilization, allowing compute resources to be allocated more efficiently to application workloads.

This is especially important in cloud-native architectures, where infrastructure efficiency directly impacts operational costs and service scalability.

Support for Multi-Tenant Environments

In multi-tenant cloud infrastructures, network isolation and performance consistency are critical. The adapter supports advanced virtualization features that enable secure and efficient traffic separation between tenants while maintaining high throughput.

Virtualization and SR-IOV Capabilities

Enhanced Virtual Machine Networking

Single Root I/O Virtualization (SR-IOV) support allows the Dell 540-BFGS adapter to present multiple virtual functions directly to virtual machines. This reduces hypervisor overhead and enables near-native network performance for virtualized workloads.

By bypassing traditional software-based network stacks, SR-IOV improves latency-sensitive applications and ensures predictable performance across virtual environments.

Efficient Resource Allocation

The adapter allows dynamic allocation of virtual functions, enabling administrators to assign dedicated network resources to specific workloads. This improves isolation, security, and performance consistency in shared infrastructure environments.

RDMA and Low-Latency Communication

RoCE Support for High-Speed Data Transfer

Remote Direct Memory Access over Converged Ethernet (RoCE) is a key feature supported by this category of adapter. It enables direct memory-to-memory data transfer between systems without involving CPU intervention, significantly reducing latency and improving throughput.

This capability is particularly beneficial in distributed storage systems, high-frequency trading platforms, and AI training clusters where microsecond-level latency improvements can have substantial performance impacts.

Accelerated Distributed Workloads

By minimizing CPU involvement in network operations, RDMA-enabled communication ensures that compute resources are dedicated primarily to application processing rather than data movement.

Enterprise Compatibility and Deployment Scenarios

Dell Server Ecosystem Integration

Designed for seamless integration with Dell PowerEdge server platforms, the adapter ensures full compatibility with enterprise hardware configurations. This simplifies deployment and reduces compatibility risks in large-scale infrastructures.

Multi-Platform Support

Beyond Dell ecosystems, the adapter is compatible with a wide range of x86 server architectures, making it suitable for heterogeneous data center environments.

Reliability and Thermal Efficiency

Enterprise-Grade Durability

The adapter is engineered for continuous operation in demanding environments. Its components are designed to withstand high workloads and sustained throughput without degradation in performance.

Thermal Optimization

Efficient thermal design ensures stable operation under heavy loads. Heat dissipation mechanisms are optimized to maintain consistent performance in densely packed server racks.

High-Performance Computing and AI Workloads

AI Training and Inference Acceleration

In artificial intelligence environments, high-speed interconnects are essential for distributed training workloads. The Dell 540-BFGS adapter enables rapid data exchange between compute nodes, reducing synchronization delays.

Scientific Computing Applications

High-performance computing clusters benefit from the adapter’s low-latency and high-bandwidth capabilities, enabling faster simulation processing and data analysis.

System Scalability and Future-Proof Design

Expandable Network Infrastructure

The Dell 540-BFGS is designed with scalability in mind, enabling organizations to expand network capacity without replacing core infrastructure components. Its architecture supports evolving data center requirements.

Next-Generation Readiness

With PCIe 4.0 and Intel E810 technology, the adapter is positioned to support future workloads that demand even higher bandwidth and lower latency.