Dell VV004 Dual Port Network Adapter 10 Gbe Unified Wire P Chelsio T520-cr High Performance

High-Performance Networking with Dell VV004 Dual Port Network Adapter

The Dell VV004 Dual Port Network Adapter featuring the Chelsio T520-CR chipset is a cutting-edge 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10GbE) solution designed to meet the demanding requirements of enterprise data centers and cloud computing infrastructures. With its PCI Express x8 interface and support for optical fiber connections, this high-performance adapter delivers unparalleled speed, scalability, and unified wire architecture, making it ideal for applications requiring low latency, high throughput, and advanced networking capabilities.

Advanced Chelsio T520-CR Chipset Capabilities

At the core of the Dell VV004 lies the Chelsio T520-CR chipset, renowned for its high efficiency and hardware offload capabilities. This controller enables the network adapter to support a wide range of protocols including TCP/IP, iSCSI, FCoE, and RDMA over Converged Ethernet (RoCE), all while minimizing CPU utilization. This unified wire approach ensures optimal resource allocation and enables seamless convergence of storage, networking, and compute workloads.

Offload Engine Optimization

One of the key features of the Chelsio T520-CR is its sophisticated offload engine, which handles network protocol processing directly on the adapter. This includes TCP segmentation offload (TSO), Large Send Offload (LSO), and Large Receive Offload (LRO), reducing server CPU overhead and enhancing application performance across virtualized and bare-metal environments.

Support for RDMA and iWARP

The integrated RDMA over Ethernet support ensures ultra-low-latency data transfers, which is critical for high-performance computing (HPC), financial trading systems, and real-time analytics. With iWARP protocol compatibility, the Dell VV004 adapter enables efficient data movement over standard Ethernet infrastructures without requiring specialized network configurations.

Dual-Port 10GbE Fiber Optic Connectivity

The Dell VV004 adapter is equipped with dual SFP+ ports, allowing for simultaneous 10GbE optical connections that support long-range and high-bandwidth data transfers. This makes it suitable for deployment in data centers that rely on high-speed fiber optic networking to maintain fast and reliable communication between servers, storage systems, and switches.

Flexible Network Topologies

With dual ports and support for multiple networking protocols, the Dell VV004 facilitates complex topologies such as link aggregation (LACP), multi-path I/O, and high-availability configurations. These capabilities are vital in large-scale environments where uptime, redundancy, and bandwidth optimization are essential.

Hot-Pluggable SFP+ Transceivers

The SFP+ interface supports a wide variety of hot-swappable optical transceivers and DAC cables, offering deployment flexibility and easy integration with existing network infrastructure. Administrators can choose between short-range (SR) and long-range (LR) modules to suit specific network distance requirements.

PCI Express Gen2 x8 Interface for Peak Performance

Featuring a PCIe Gen2 x8 host interface, the Dell VV004 ensures high bandwidth communication with server motherboards and peripheral subsystems. This design not only supports full-duplex 10GbE speeds per port but also provides the necessary bus throughput for advanced offload operations without introducing bottlenecks.

Compatibility Across Dell PowerEdge Servers

The adapter is fully qualified for a range of Dell PowerEdge servers, ensuring plug-and-play compatibility and optimal system integration. Whether in rack-mounted or blade server configurations, the Dell VV004 offers a reliable and scalable upgrade path for organizations aiming to modernize their networking capabilities.

Energy Efficient and Thermal Optimized

Designed with efficiency in mind, the adapter uses intelligent power management and features optimized thermal design to reduce energy consumption and heat generation. This makes it an ideal solution for densely packed server environments where cooling and power usage are critical considerations.

Use Cases and Deployment Scenarios

The Dell VV004 with Chelsio T520-CR chipset excels in a variety of enterprise and cloud scenarios where high-speed, low-latency networking is a must. From traditional server networking to hyper-converged infrastructure, this adapter delivers consistent performance and reliability.

Data Center Applications

In data centers, the VV004 supports fast east-west traffic between servers as well as high-throughput north-south communication with core switches. Its dual-port configuration supports fault tolerance and load balancing, which are essential for maintaining service continuity in mission-critical applications.

Virtualization and Cloud Computing

Virtualized workloads can leverage the adapter's SR-IOV (Single Root I/O Virtualization) support for direct VM access to the hardware, reducing latency and improving VM-to-VM throughput. It is compatible with major hypervisors like VMware ESXi, Microsoft Hyper-V, and Linux KVM.

Software-Defined Networking (SDN)

For SDN deployments, the Dell VV004 supports OpenFlow and other SDN protocols, enabling dynamic and policy-driven traffic management. Its programmability allows data center operators to scale services and automate network functions efficiently.

Storage Networking with Unified Wire

As a unified wire adapter, the VV004 consolidates networking and storage traffic over a single infrastructure. It supports iSCSI and FCoE (Fibre Channel over Ethernet), offering flexibility for enterprise storage connectivity without the need for dedicated adapters or fiber channel HBAs.

iSCSI Offload Performance

Built-in iSCSI offload engines reduce CPU overhead, enabling faster and more efficient block-level storage transactions. This is especially beneficial in database environments and virtualized storage deployments that demand high IOPS performance.

FCoE Integration

FCoE support allows seamless integration into Fibre Channel SANs using existing Ethernet cabling. With lossless Ethernet capabilities, the adapter ensures storage reliability and data integrity across virtualized and converged infrastructures.

Security and Manageability Features

Enterprise environments demand not only performance but also robust security and manageability features. The Dell VV004 adapter includes advanced mechanisms for traffic control, access management, and system diagnostics.

Traffic Filtering and VLAN Tagging

The adapter supports VLAN tagging (IEEE 802.1Q), traffic prioritization (QoS), and MAC address filtering, enabling secure and efficient network segmentation. These features are critical in multi-tenant environments where traffic isolation is a compliance requirement.

Remote Management Compatibility

Integration with Dell’s OpenManage suite and support for out-of-band management protocols ensure easy monitoring and configuration. Administrators can remotely update firmware, monitor port statistics, and perform diagnostics to maintain operational continuity.

Reliability and Long-Term Value

The Dell VV004 Dual Port Adapter is built for long-term deployment in enterprise-grade environments. With its robust construction, broad compatibility, and comprehensive feature set, it provides an excellent return on investment and contributes to infrastructure longevity.

Enterprise-Grade Component Quality

Engineered with high-quality components, the VV004 offers high MTBF (Mean Time Between Failures) and reliability under sustained high-load operations. It's designed to function seamlessly in both Tier 1 enterprise environments and smaller scale deployments requiring rock-solid performance.

Future-Proof Investment

As enterprises transition toward faster networking standards and converged infrastructures, the Dell VV004 ensures organizations are not locked into legacy technology. Its forward-looking design accommodates current needs while remaining compatible with next-generation data center architectures.

Compatibility and Operating System Support

The Dell VV004 is compatible with a wide range of operating systems and virtualization platforms, making it a versatile addition to any IT environment.

Supported Operating Systems

• Windows Server 2012, 2016, 2019, and 2022
• Linux distributions including Red Hat, CentOS, Ubuntu, and SUSE
• VMware vSphere/ESXi
• FreeBSD and other Unix variants

Driver Availability and Updates

Chelsio provides regularly updated drivers and firmware for the T520-CR chipset, ensuring compatibility with evolving OS kernels and hypervisor platforms. Dell support also offers comprehensive documentation and troubleshooting resources.

Form Factor and Installation Flexibility

The low-profile form factor of the Dell VV004 adapter ensures it fits into both standard and compact server enclosures. It includes both full-height and low-profile brackets, allowing quick installation across various Dell and non-Dell platforms.

Plug-and-Play Simplicity

The adapter is designed for straightforward installation, requiring minimal configuration for basic connectivity. For advanced users, it provides a suite of tuning and optimization options via CLI and GUI tools.