5C61N Dell Quad Port Broadcom 57454 10GBE Base-T NIC

Dell Quad Port 10GBE Base-T NIC

The Dell Quad Port Broadcom 57454 10GbE Base-T NIC 5C61N is a high-performance network adapter designed to deliver reliable wired connectivity with four 10GbE RJ-45 ports, making it ideal for enterprise servers and advanced IT infrastructures.

Main Information

• Brand Name: Dell
• Model Number: 5C61N
• Device Type: Network Interface Card
• Bracket Type: Full Height

Technical Specifications

Port Configuration

• Ports: 4 x 10GbE RJ-45 (10GBASE-T)
• Data Rate: Up to 10 Gigabits per second

Interface & Bus Type

• Interface: PCIe 3.0 x8
• Provides: x1 PCIe Interface

Features & Design

Performance Highlights

• Supports high-speed data transfer for demanding workloads
• Optimized for enterprise-grade networking applications
• Reliable wired connectivity with low latency

Compatibility Benefits

• Seamless integration with Dell PowerEdge servers
• Designed for scalability and long-term efficiency
• Ideal for high-performance computing environments

Supported Systems

Dell PowerEdge Compatibility

• PowerEdge R660
• PowerEdge R6615
• PowerEdge R6625
• PowerEdge R760
• PowerEdge R760xa
• PowerEdge R760xd2
• PowerEdge R7615
• PowerEdge R7625
• PowerEdge R860
• PowerEdge R960
• PowerEdge T360
• PowerEdge XR5610
• PowerEdge XR7620

Enterprise Quad-Port 10GbE Base-T Server Adapter Overview

The Dell 5C61N Quad Port Broadcom 57454 10GbE Base-T Server Adapter belongs to the enterprise-grade PCIe Ethernet network interface card category designed for high-density, high-throughput server environments. This category focuses on copper-based 10 Gigabit Ethernet connectivity using standard RJ-45 cabling while delivering advanced controller intelligence, scalable bandwidth distribution, and deep integration with modern server platforms. Quad-port adapters in this class are widely deployed in virtualization clusters, database backends, cloud infrastructure nodes, and software-defined data center architectures where consistent throughput, low latency, and operational flexibility are essential.

This category emphasizes balanced performance across multiple network links, enabling servers to handle simultaneous traffic streams such as storage access, virtual machine networking, management traffic, and application data flows. By combining multiple 10GbE Base-T ports on a single PCIe adapter, this segment reduces slot consumption, cabling complexity, and overall infrastructure cost while maintaining enterprise reliability standards.

Broadcom 57454 Controller Architecture

At the core of this category is the Broadcom 57454 Ethernet controller, a highly integrated network processor engineered for sustained 10 Gigabit Ethernet operations over copper media. The controller architecture is optimized to handle high packet rates with minimal CPU intervention, making it suitable for modern multi-core servers running dense workloads. Advanced pipeline design within the controller allows efficient packet classification, queue management, and traffic scheduling across all four ports.

The Broadcom 57454 design supports intelligent offload engines that reduce the processing burden on host CPUs. This architectural approach ensures predictable network behavior even under peak load conditions, which is critical in enterprise deployments where network congestion can directly impact application performance and service-level agreements.

Multi-Port Bandwidth Distribution

Quad-port adapters in this category are engineered to provide flexible bandwidth allocation across all available Ethernet interfaces. Each port operates independently at up to 10GbE speeds, allowing administrators to dedicate ports to specific traffic types or aggregate links using teaming and bonding technologies. This multi-port design supports scalable network topologies without requiring additional adapter cards.

By distributing traffic across four physical interfaces, servers can achieve higher aggregate throughput while maintaining isolation between workloads. This capability is particularly valuable in converged network environments where storage, compute, and management traffic coexist on shared infrastructure.

PCI Express Interface Integration

The PCIe interface used by adapters in this category ensures sufficient host bandwidth to support simultaneous high-speed data transfers across all ports. PCI Express Gen3 or newer connectivity provides low-latency communication between the network adapter and the server CPU, enabling efficient handling of large data sets and real-time workloads. Proper lane allocation and bus mastering features ensure that network performance scales with server capabilities.

10GbE Base-T Connectivity and Cabling Advantages

This category is defined by its use of 10GBASE-T technology, which enables 10 Gigabit Ethernet transmission over standard twisted-pair copper cabling. The Dell 5C61N adapter and similar products support Category 6 and Category 6A cabling, allowing organizations to leverage existing structured cabling infrastructure while upgrading network speeds. This backward-compatible approach reduces deployment costs and simplifies data center upgrades.

Base-T connectivity provides operational familiarity for network teams accustomed to RJ-45 connectors, auto-negotiation, and link management features common in traditional Ethernet environments. The ability to integrate seamlessly with existing copper switches makes this category especially attractive for enterprises transitioning from 1GbE or 10GbE SFP+ environments.

Auto-Negotiation and Link Flexibility

Adapters in this category support auto-negotiation across multiple Ethernet speeds, enabling interoperability with a wide range of network equipment. This flexibility allows servers to connect to switches operating at different speeds without manual configuration changes. Auto-MDI/MDIX functionality further simplifies cabling requirements by eliminating concerns about crossover cables.

Such link adaptability ensures smooth integration into mixed-speed network environments and supports gradual infrastructure upgrades without disrupting production workloads.

Performance Characteristics and Throughput Optimization

The enterprise quad-port 10GbE adapter category is engineered for sustained high throughput and consistent low latency. With each port capable of delivering line-rate 10GbE performance, these adapters support bandwidth-intensive applications such as high-performance computing, real-time analytics, and large-scale virtualization. Hardware-based traffic processing ensures stable performance even when handling small packet sizes and high connection counts.

Advanced buffering mechanisms and intelligent queue management within the Broadcom 57454 controller help prevent packet loss during traffic bursts. This results in smoother application performance and improved quality of service for latency-sensitive workloads.

TCP/IP and Network Offload Capabilities

Network adapters in this category include comprehensive offload features designed to reduce CPU utilization. These capabilities typically include TCP segmentation offload, receive-side scaling, checksum offload, and large receive offload. By shifting routine network processing tasks from the CPU to the adapter hardware, servers can allocate more processing power to applications and virtual machines.

This offload-centric design is essential in dense server environments where CPU efficiency directly impacts consolidation ratios and overall infrastructure cost.

Virtualization-Aware Networking

Virtualized data centers demand network adapters that can efficiently handle traffic from multiple virtual machines and containers. The Dell 5C61N category supports virtualization features such as SR-IOV, virtual LAN tagging, and advanced queue allocation. These capabilities allow each virtual workload to receive dedicated network resources, improving isolation and predictability.

Hardware-assisted virtualization support also reduces hypervisor overhead, enabling higher VM densities without compromising network performance.

Operating System and Platform Compatibility

Enterprise server adapters in this segment are designed for broad compatibility across major operating systems and server platforms. Support typically includes leading Linux distributions, Microsoft Windows Server editions, and popular virtualization hypervisors. This cross-platform compatibility ensures consistent network behavior across heterogeneous data center environments.

Integration with Dell PowerEdge servers and other industry-standard platforms provides validated firmware, driver support, and lifecycle management benefits. Such alignment reduces deployment risk and simplifies ongoing maintenance.

Driver Maturity and Stability

The Broadcom 57454-based adapter category benefits from mature driver ecosystems that are regularly updated to address performance optimizations, security enhancements, and compatibility improvements. Stable driver support is critical in enterprise environments where downtime and network instability can have significant operational consequences.

Consistent driver behavior across operating systems simplifies troubleshooting and reduces the learning curve for system administrators.

Security and Traffic Isolation Capabilities

Enterprise network adapters are expected to support secure data transmission and traffic segmentation. The Dell 5C61N category includes features that enable VLAN tagging, priority-based traffic handling, and integration with data center security policies. These capabilities help enforce network isolation between workloads and reduce the attack surface within shared infrastructure.

Hardware-assisted filtering and classification enhance security by ensuring that only authorized traffic reaches specific workloads or network segments.

Power Efficiency and Thermal Design

Despite delivering high throughput across multiple ports, adapters in this category are designed with power efficiency in mind. Advanced silicon manufacturing processes and intelligent power management features help minimize energy consumption during periods of low network activity. This efficiency supports data center sustainability goals and reduces operational costs.

Thermal design considerations ensure reliable operation in densely populated server chassis, with effective heat dissipation mechanisms that maintain optimal operating temperatures.