540-BDHK Dell Broadcom 57414 Dual Port 10/25GB SFP28 RNDC Adapter

Dell Broadcom 57414 Dual Port 10/25GB SFP28 RNDC Adapter Overview

The 540-BDHK Dell Broadcom 57414 Dual Port 10/25GB SFP28 RNDC Adapter is a high-performance, low-latency network interface card (NIC) engineered for data-intensive environments. Ideal for enterprise servers and data centers, this dual-port adapter offers advanced networking features, high throughput, and optimal virtualization support. Supporting both 10GbE and 25GbE speeds, this SFP28 adapter is designed to meet evolving IT infrastructure needs with exceptional scalability and reliability.

Key Features of the 540-BDHK Dell Broadcom 57414 Adapter

• Dual-port SFP28 supporting 10GbE and 25GbE speeds
• Based on Broadcom BCM57414 chipset
• Optimized for rack servers with RNDC (rack network daughter card) form factor
• PCIe 3.0 x8 interface for maximum bandwidth
• Low latency and high throughput for demanding workloads
• Advanced network offloading capabilities
• Support for iSCSI, FCoE, VXLAN, NVGRE, and RDMA over Converged Ethernet (RoCEv2)
• VMware, Microsoft Hyper-V, and other virtualization platform compatibility

Technical Specifications and Architecture

Adapter Model and Form Factor

The 540-BDHK utilizes the Broadcom 57414 controller, a proven and efficient chipset tailored for enterprise-grade deployments. The RNDC (Rack Network Daughter Card) form factor allows direct integration into supported Dell PowerEdge servers, reducing PCIe slot consumption and improving airflow within the chassis.

Interface and Bus Compatibility

This adapter interfaces with the host system through an 8-lane PCI Express 3.0 (PCIe Gen 3 x8) slot. This high-speed bus ensures sufficient bandwidth for dual 25GbE operation without bottlenecks, making it a future-ready solution for hybrid data center environments.

Supported Protocols and Standards

The 540-BDHK NIC supports a wide range of networking protocols and offload capabilities to enhance efficiency and minimize CPU usage. These include:

• TCP/IP Offload
• Large Send Offload (LSO)
• Receive Side Scaling (RSS)
• IPSec Offload
• Stateless Offloads (TSO, LRO)
• Network Virtualization (VXLAN, NVGRE)
• Remote Direct Memory Access (RoCEv2)

Performance Capabilities

10/25 Gigabit Ethernet Support

The 540-BDHK is capable of running in both 10GbE and 25GbE modes depending on the transceiver or DAC cable used. The flexibility of dual-speed operation allows IT administrators to transition from 10G to 25G networks without replacing existing hardware, preserving investment while maximizing performance.

High-Throughput Networking

Leveraging advanced queue management, the adapter ensures efficient traffic distribution across processor cores, reducing latency and boosting throughput. It is engineered to sustain line-rate performance under full-duplex, bi-directional data transfers, making it ideal for storage, virtualization, and high-frequency trading platforms.

Enhanced Virtualization and VM Density

Virtualization environments greatly benefit from the adapter's support for SR-IOV (Single Root I/O Virtualization) and VMDq (Virtual Machine Device Queues). These technologies allow virtual machines direct access to the network interface, improving network I/O performance and reducing hypervisor overhead.

Use Cases and Applications

Enterprise Data Centers

Data centers with bandwidth-intensive applications such as storage replication, virtualization, and analytics benefit significantly from the 57414's dual 25GbE ports. It supports scale-out deployments and ensures minimum downtime through robust failover support and link aggregation.

Cloud and Virtualized Workloads

The adapter is ideal for private and hybrid cloud infrastructure, supporting thousands of virtual machines with dynamic bandwidth allocation and QoS. The adapter ensures consistent performance for critical applications in containerized and virtualized environments.

Software-Defined Storage and Networking

Broadcom 57414 adapters are optimized for software-defined storage (SDS) systems, enabling high-speed data access and fault tolerance. With offload support for iSCSI and NVMe over Fabrics, it enhances storage performance while reducing server CPU load.

High-Performance Computing (HPC)

For HPC clusters, the adapter provides ultra-low latency and RDMA capabilities, making it suitable for scientific simulations, rendering farms, and complex data modeling. The support for RoCEv2 reduces CPU overhead and improves inter-node communication.

Compatibility and Supported Systems

Dell PowerEdge Server Integration

The 540-BDHK is specifically designed as an RNDC card for seamless integration with Dell PowerEdge servers. It is supported in a wide range of 13th and 14th generation servers, including R640, R740, R740xd, and others. Its form factor eliminates the need for standard PCIe slots, conserving space for other expansions.

Operating System Compatibility

This adapter is compatible with a broad spectrum of operating systems and hypervisors, including:

• Windows Server 2016/2019/2022
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
• CentOS, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES)
• Ubuntu Server
• VMware ESXi 6.5, 6.7, 7.x and 8.x
• Microsoft Hyper-V and Azure Stack HCI

Driver and Firmware Support

Dell provides comprehensive driver and firmware packages to ensure compatibility and performance optimization. Firmware updates can be managed through Dell Lifecycle Controller or OpenManage Server Administrator (OMSA), simplifying adapter lifecycle management.

Networking Standards and Connector Details

SFP28 Port Design

Each port on the adapter uses an SFP28 connector, a compact hot-pluggable transceiver interface capable of handling 25GbE speeds. The use of SFP28 allows for backward compatibility with 10GbE SFP+ modules, offering exceptional deployment flexibility.

Supported Transceivers and Cables

• 10GBASE-SR / 25GBASE-SR multimode optical transceivers
• 10GBASE-LR / 25GBASE-LR single-mode optical transceivers
• SFP28 Direct Attach Copper (DAC) cables
• Active Optical Cables (AOC)

These options allow the adapter to support short- and long-range connections, making it suitable for both top-of-rack (ToR) and end-of-row (EoR) networking architectures.

Advanced Features for Data Security and Efficiency

Traffic Segmentation and Quality of Service (QoS)

The 540-BDHK adapter includes hardware-based traffic shaping and QoS mechanisms to prioritize mission-critical traffic. Administrators can configure per-queue traffic classes, enabling intelligent bandwidth allocation based on service level agreements (SLAs).

Network Security and Isolation

With support for network segmentation using VLAN tagging (802.1Q), the adapter enhances data isolation and compliance in multi-tenant environments. Secure boot and firmware integrity checks ensure protection against firmware-level exploits.

Power Efficiency and Thermal Management

This NIC is built with energy-efficient components to lower power draw while maintaining full performance. Adaptive thermal throttling and compliance with Energy Efficient Ethernet (EEE) standards reduce operational costs in dense data center environments.

Benefits of Choosing Dell 540-BDHK with Broadcom 57414

Scalability and Investment Protection

The dual-speed capability of the 57414 NIC (10/25GbE) ensures that IT infrastructure can scale with organizational growth. Administrators can deploy at 10GbE initially and upgrade to 25GbE by simply replacing transceivers and updating network switches, avoiding full hardware refreshes.

Vendor Reliability and Technical Support

Dell’s enterprise-grade components and Broadcom’s trusted network silicon deliver long-term reliability. Dell ProSupport and ProDeploy services offer tailored deployment, monitoring, and support to minimize downtime and accelerate time-to-value.

Reduced Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)

The adapter’s efficient design and software-defined networking (SDN) features allow for centralized control and automation, reducing manual overhead and TCO. The robust architecture ensures low failure rates and reduces the need for frequent replacements or upgrades.

Ordering, Deployment, and Integration Guidance

Ordering SKU and Dell Compatibility

The Dell ordering SKU for this adapter is 540-BDHK. It is pre-qualified for select Dell PowerEdge server models. When ordering through Dell or authorized partners, customers can ensure firmware compatibility and receive bundled support options.

Deployment Tips

• Ensure firmware is updated using Dell Repository Manager
• Use matched transceivers recommended by Dell for optimal performance
• Verify BIOS and iDRAC settings to enable virtualization and offload features
• Implement teaming or link aggregation via LACP for redundancy