2DRW9 Dell Intel X710 Dual Port 10GBE Adapter

High-Performance Networking with Dell Intel X710 Dual Port 10GBE SFP+ PCIe Full Height Adapter

The 2DRW9 Dell Intel X710 Dual Port 10GBE SFP+ PCIe Full Height Adapter stands out as a high-performance network interface card (NIC) designed for modern data centers, enterprise environments, and virtualization workloads. With dual 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10GbE) SFP+ ports and support for PCIe 3.0 x8, this adapter delivers exceptional throughput, low latency, and advanced network features that meet the demands of today’s high-bandwidth applications.

Overview of the 10GbE SFP+ PCIe Network Adapter Category

The category of 10GbE SFP+ PCIe network adapters, such as the Dell Intel X710 Dual Port adapter, is purpose-built to provide faster data transfer rates, reduced network congestion, and better scalability than traditional 1GbE adapters. These network interface cards are widely used in virtualized servers, storage systems, and cloud computing infrastructures where reliable, high-speed connectivity is essential.

Advantages of 10GbE Over Traditional 1GbE Adapters

The move from 1GbE to 10GbE represents a tenfold increase in network bandwidth, which is crucial for applications like big data analytics, video streaming, real-time data processing, and database replication. Enterprises that invest in 10GbE NICs experience:

• Significantly faster data transmission speeds
• Lower CPU utilization thanks to advanced offloading features
• Reduced bottlenecks in multi-user and storage-heavy environments
• Enhanced virtual machine (VM) performance and migration speeds

Technical Specifications of the Dell Intel X710 Dual Port Adapter (2DRW9)

The Dell-branded Intel X710 Dual Port 10GbE SFP+ adapter offers reliable performance in a wide range of server models and is tailored to meet the requirements of enterprise networking. Key specifications include:

Key Technical Features

• Ports: Dual SFP+ (10GbE)
• Interface: PCIe 3.0 x8
• Form Factor: Full Height Bracket
• Chipset: Intel Ethernet Controller X710
• Compatibility: Dell PowerEdge and other enterprise-class servers
• Virtualization Support: SR-IOV, VMDq, VXLAN, NVGRE
• Advanced Features: DPDK support, QoS, load balancing, and failover

Compatibility with Dell PowerEdge Servers

The 2DRW9 adapter is validated for a wide range of Dell PowerEdge servers including rack, tower, and blade models. Its full-height bracket makes it suitable for standard PCIe slots in full-profile servers, ensuring a seamless fit and optimized airflow within the chassis.

Deployment Scenarios for the 2DRW9 Dell Intel X710 Dual Port Adapter

This adapter is designed for enterprise scenarios that require consistent, high-throughput data transmission. Below are common deployment environments:

Virtualized Data Centers

Virtualization relies heavily on network performance to manage VM density and ensure workload efficiency. With support for SR-IOV and VMDq, the X710 Dual Port adapter minimizes overhead and latency by offloading switching functions from the host CPU, allowing virtual machines to communicate more directly with the NIC hardware.

Software-Defined Networking (SDN)

The adapter supports features such as VXLAN and NVGRE, which are essential for software-defined environments. These encapsulation protocols allow greater flexibility in deploying network overlays across physical infrastructure, enabling dynamic provisioning of network resources.

High-Performance Storage Networking

In storage area networks (SANs) and network-attached storage (NAS) systems, the adapter's high-speed SFP+ ports facilitate rapid data access and backup operations. Whether used for iSCSI or NFS traffic, the dual-port design allows redundancy and link aggregation to increase both reliability and performance.

Clustered Computing and HPC

In high-performance computing environments, low-latency and high-bandwidth communication between nodes is critical. The Intel X710 chipset ensures minimal delay and jitter, making it suitable for workloads such as scientific modeling, financial simulations, and AI model training.

Advanced Network Features for Enterprise Environments

The Dell Intel X710 2DRW9 NIC includes numerous enterprise-grade features that provide enhanced control, monitoring, and optimization for IT administrators.

Intelligent Offloads and CPU Efficiency

The adapter supports various hardware offloads that reduce CPU overhead and improve packet processing efficiency. These include:

• TCP Segmentation Offload (TSO)
• Large Receive Offload (LRO)
• Receive Side Scaling (RSS)
• Checksum Offloads (IPv4, IPv6, TCP/UDP)

These technologies help offload intensive network processing from the CPU, freeing up resources for application workloads and improving server performance.

Quality of Service (QoS) and Traffic Management

The adapter provides robust QoS mechanisms, enabling prioritization of critical traffic such as VoIP, database operations, and real-time analytics. IT teams can fine-tune network performance based on application priority, bandwidth demands, and service level agreements (SLAs).

Redundancy and Failover Support

With its dual-port design, the 2DRW9 adapter can be configured for link redundancy using failover teaming or NIC bonding. This ensures uninterrupted network access in case one link becomes unavailable, enhancing the availability and reliability of critical business services.

Security Enhancements Built into the X710 Adapter

Security is integral in enterprise networking. The X710 chipset includes a suite of hardware and firmware-level features designed to protect data in transit and prevent unauthorized access.

Secure Boot and Firmware Integrity

The adapter supports secure boot, ensuring only digitally signed firmware and drivers can be loaded. This prevents tampering at the boot level and protects against malicious firmware injections.

IEEE 802.1AE MACsec Support

MACsec (Media Access Control Security) provides point-to-point encryption on Layer 2 links. This protects Ethernet frames from interception, tampering, and replay attacks, safeguarding data in transit between servers and switches.

Flexible Network Management and Integration

The 2DRW9 Dell Intel X710 adapter supports multiple management standards for seamless integration with enterprise monitoring and configuration tools.

Support for Out-of-Band Management

Integrated support for Dell’s iDRAC, as well as SNMP, allows network administrators to monitor and control adapter performance remotely. Events such as port failures, traffic anomalies, and firmware updates can be handled proactively without interrupting workloads.

Compatibility with Windows, Linux, and VMware

The adapter is fully compatible with mainstream operating systems, including Microsoft Windows Server editions, leading Linux distributions (such as Red Hat, SUSE, Ubuntu), and VMware ESXi hypervisors. This cross-platform support ensures versatility in mixed-OS environments and simplifies deployment.

Energy Efficiency and Thermal Performance

The adapter’s design emphasizes low power consumption while maintaining peak performance. Thermal-efficient components reduce heat generation, enabling deployment in high-density data centers without added cooling burden.

Smart Power Management

The X710 chipset supports Energy Efficient Ethernet (EEE) and dynamic link power management. These features adjust power consumption based on traffic load and reduce energy costs during idle periods.

Why Choose the 2DRW9 Dell Intel X710 Dual Port 10GbE SFP+ Adapter?

Choosing the Dell-branded version of Intel's X710 adapter ensures compatibility, firmware integration, and optimized performance within Dell infrastructure. From future-ready features to deployment-ready firmware, this adapter is ideal for modern IT environments that demand robust, scalable, and secure networking solutions.

Cost-Effective Scalability

Enterprises investing in 10GbE infrastructure benefit from higher bandwidth without the need for extensive switch upgrades. The adapter supports both direct server-to-server connectivity using DAC cables and switch-based networking via SFP+ optical transceivers, providing deployment flexibility.

Broad Ecosystem Support

The X710 is supported by a wide range of industry-standard networking software, APIs, and orchestration platforms. Whether deploying with OpenStack, Kubernetes, or traditional virtualization stacks, it seamlessly integrates into enterprise workflows.

Future-Proof with Firmware Updates and Backward Compatibility

Ongoing firmware updates provided by Dell ensure the NIC remains secure and up to date with evolving network standards. Additionally, its backward compatibility with 1GbE links provides investment protection during phased infrastructure upgrades.

Ideal Use Cases for the 2DRW9 NIC in Enterprise Infrastructure

• Multi-tenant cloud platforms requiring isolated high-speed networks
• Video production and content delivery networks (CDNs)
• Big data clusters requiring fast inter-node communication
• High-throughput backup and disaster recovery systems
• Remote branch office servers with SD-WAN integration