Dell NC5VD Broadcom BCM57416 2Port 10GB Pci-E Ethernet NIC

Dell NC5VD Broadcom BCM57416 2-Port 10GB PCI-E Ethernet Low Profile NIC Overview

The Dell NC5VD Broadcom BCM57416 2-Port 10GB PCI-E Ethernet Low Profile NIC is a high-performance network interface card designed to deliver blazing-fast connectivity for enterprise environments. This dual-port, 10Gb Ethernet NIC is based on the Broadcom BCM57416 chipset, ensuring excellent speed, reliability, and performance for demanding networking tasks. Offering a low-profile design, this NIC is ideal for space-constrained server chassis and can easily be integrated into Dell PowerEdge and other compatible servers to upgrade their networking capabilities.

Whether used in data centers, corporate networks, or high-performance computing environments, the Dell NC5VD offers an ideal combination of cost-efficiency, scalability, and future-proofing with 10Gb Ethernet support. It supports the latest PCIe Gen 3 interface, enabling higher throughput and reduced latency in enterprise applications like virtualization, cloud computing, big data, and server-to-server communication. This NIC also features advanced offload capabilities to reduce CPU utilization, ensuring that servers can maintain optimal performance even during peak workloads.

Key Features of the Dell NC5VD Broadcom BCM57416 2-Port 10GB PCI-E Ethernet NIC

Dual 10Gb Ethernet Ports

The Dell NC5VD adapter is equipped with two 10Gb Ethernet ports, providing superior bandwidth and reliability for a variety of high-performance applications. These dual ports ensure enhanced network throughput, efficient load balancing, and provide redundancy to avoid network disruptions. This is especially useful in environments where uptime is critical, such as cloud computing, virtualization, and storage networks.

Low-Profile Design

One of the standout features of the Dell NC5VD Broadcom NIC is its low-profile design, which allows it to fit into smaller server chassis with limited space for expansion cards. This design ensures that users can add high-performance networking capabilities without compromising on physical space or airflow. It’s ideal for use in 1U or compact server setups, where traditional full-height adapters may not be compatible.

Broadcom BCM57416 Chipset

At the heart of the Dell NC5VD is the Broadcom BCM57416 chipset, known for its exceptional performance, scalability, and low-latency features. This chipset supports advanced networking technologies, including TCP/IP offload engine (TOE), iSCSI offload, and other advanced features that help offload processing from the server CPU, allowing the system to focus on other critical tasks.

PCIe Gen 3 Interface

The adapter supports the PCIe Gen 3 interface, providing a maximum theoretical throughput of 8 GT/s (gigatransfers per second) per lane. This interface is crucial for delivering the high data transfer rates required for demanding workloads like database queries, real-time data processing, and virtualized environments. The PCIe Gen 3 interface ensures that the NIC can scale with future networking demands as bandwidth needs increase.

Optimized for Virtualization

Virtualization technologies are becoming increasingly essential for businesses looking to streamline operations and optimize resource usage. The Dell NC5VD Broadcom NIC supports various virtualization offloads like VMware NetQueue, Microsoft VMQ, and SR-IOV. These features allow virtual machines (VMs) to take full advantage of the 10Gb Ethernet connection, reducing network congestion and providing low-latency communication between VMs, hypervisors, and storage systems.

Power Efficiency and Low Latency

In addition to its high performance, the Dell NC5VD NIC also focuses on energy efficiency. With its advanced power management features, the NIC minimizes power consumption while still delivering high-speed network performance. It’s designed to operate at lower power levels, reducing operational costs and contributing to a greener IT infrastructure. Additionally, its low-latency design ensures that network communication is fast and responsive, which is critical for real-time applications like VoIP, video conferencing, and trading applications.

Performance Specifications of the Dell NC5VD Broadcom NIC

10Gb Ethernet Speed

The Dell NC5VD is designed to handle data transfer speeds up to 10Gbps, providing high bandwidth for demanding applications. Whether you are running high-performance computing applications, large-scale data transfers, or virtualized environments, this NIC offers the necessary speed for uninterrupted network communication. The dual 10Gb ports enable efficient data management, helping reduce bottlenecks in enterprise networks and ensuring fast access to data across multiple devices.

Reduced CPU Utilization with Offload Capabilities

The Broadcom BCM57416 chipset includes various offload technologies that reduce the burden on the host server's CPU. These features include TCP/IP Offload Engine (TOE) and iSCSI offload, which offload network processing tasks from the server’s CPU to the NIC, freeing up valuable processing power for other tasks. This is especially beneficial in highly virtualized environments where CPU resources are in high demand.

Network Adapter Fault Tolerance

Network fault tolerance is an essential feature for ensuring continuous network connectivity in mission-critical environments. The Dell NC5VD NIC includes several advanced features that enhance fault tolerance, including support for failover and load balancing. If one of the network paths fails, the other port automatically takes over, ensuring uninterrupted service.

Advanced Driver and Software Support

The Dell NC5VD Broadcom NIC is supported by a comprehensive range of drivers and software tools for multiple operating systems, including Linux, Windows Server, VMware, and others. This enables seamless integration into existing IT environments and provides the flexibility to support a variety of server platforms and configurations.

Applications of the Dell NC5VD Broadcom BCM57416 NIC

Data Centers

Data centers are the backbone of modern enterprise IT infrastructure, and the Dell NC5VD Broadcom NIC is an excellent choice for upgrading network connectivity. With its 10Gb Ethernet support and low-latency design, the adapter ensures high-speed communication between servers and storage systems in data centers. The dual-port configuration also provides redundancy, which is vital for ensuring uptime and high availability in mission-critical operations.

High-Performance Computing (HPC)

For high-performance computing (HPC) applications, such as scientific simulations, financial modeling, and real-time data processing, fast and reliable network connections are crucial. The Dell NC5VD adapter delivers the performance required for large-scale parallel computing, ensuring that data can be quickly transmitted across clusters of servers. The dual 10Gb ports help achieve low-latency and high-bandwidth connectivity necessary for HPC environments.

Virtualized Environments

Virtualization relies on efficient network connectivity between hypervisors, virtual machines, and storage devices. The Dell NC5VD Broadcom NIC provides the necessary bandwidth and low-latency capabilities for virtualized workloads, supporting features such as VMware NetQueue and SR-IOV. This helps ensure that virtual machines have access to the network resources they need without compromising performance, enabling smooth and responsive virtualization operations.

Cloud Computing

Cloud computing platforms demand high-speed networking to facilitate quick access to virtualized resources and distributed data. With its 10Gb Ethernet ports and offload capabilities, the Dell NC5VD NIC is perfect for cloud infrastructures that require low-latency, high-throughput connectivity between virtualized environments, storage systems, and clients. The adapter helps ensure that cloud-based services perform at optimal speeds, enhancing the overall user experience.

Storage Networks

The Dell NC5VD Broadcom NIC is also ideal for connecting servers to storage area networks (SANs). Its high bandwidth ensures quick data transfers between storage arrays and servers, which is critical for environments where fast access to large datasets is required. Additionally, the offload capabilities of the adapter help optimize data transfer processes, reducing CPU overhead and improving overall system efficiency.

Advantages of the Dell NC5VD Broadcom BCM57416 2-Port 10GB PCI-E NIC

Cost-Effective Networking Solution

While 10Gb Ethernet solutions are often considered premium offerings, the Dell NC5VD NIC offers an affordable way to upgrade network speeds without the need for a complete overhaul of your infrastructure. By offering dual 10Gb Ethernet ports, this adapter allows businesses to scale their network bandwidth as needed, ensuring long-term cost savings by future-proofing their systems.

Improved Network Resilience

The dual-port design of the Dell NC5VD provides excellent fault tolerance and load balancing, ensuring that network traffic is always directed over the most reliable path. This feature is crucial for businesses that require constant connectivity for their operations, as it minimizes downtime and improves network resilience.