540-BCHD Dell Quad Port QLogic FastLinQ 41164 10G Ethernet Network Card

High-Density PCIe 10GbE SFP+ Networking Adapter for Server Uplinks with the 540-BCHD

The 540-BCHD is a Dell PCIe plug-in network interface card designed to consolidate 4x 10GbE SFP+ connectivity into a single expansion slot for rack and tower servers. Built on the QLogic FastLinQ 41164 controller, the 540-BCHD targets stable, deterministic Ethernet transport for virtualized hosts and top-of-rack uplinks where predictable throughput and port density matter more than low-latency RDMA features.

By leveraging the host platform’s PCIe I/O fabric, the 540-BCHD provides scalable bandwidth for multi-VM environments, separating traffic classes across physical ports for management, vMotion/live migration, storage access over Ethernet, and tenant segmentation. The SFP+ design supports fiber or DAC cabling strategies for short- and mid-range data centre runs, while the quad-port layout reduces adapter count, simplifies cabling plans, and preserves remaining PCIe slots for storage controllers, accelerators, or additional network fabrics.

Why Choose the 540-BCHD?

The 540-BCHD delivers an efficient density-to-performance profile for 10GbE aggregation by combining 4 ports on one Dell-qualified PCIe card. For consolidation and scale-out deployments, the 540-BCHD enables clean uplink expansion, resilient multi-path designs, and straightforward port-to-function mapping without introducing RDMA dependency, keeping integration aligned with standard Ethernet switching and operational practices.

Dell engineering focuses on platform compatibility, lifecycle control, and predictable behaviour under sustained load. The 540-BCHD aligns with enterprise data centre requirements for validated firmware, controlled supply chain, and consistent interoperability with Dell server architectures and modern top-of-rack SFP+ switching.

Key Applications:

• 10GbE server uplinks and link aggregation
• Virtualized host networking and port segmentation
• Top-of-rack SFP+ connectivity
• Multi-tenant VLAN trunking

At Happyware - Server Hardware you benefit from non-binding offers tailored to your rollout and port-density requirements for the 540-BCHD, plus bulk order discount options when standardising NIC configurations across clusters.