Broadcom 57412 seen in iDRAC, not by OS in PowerEdge 540

Question

Hello All

I purchased a Broadcom 57412 10Gb NIC, Dell part 540-BBUN, to install in my PE R540.

I do not have a riser or low profile chassis, but it accommodates slimline cards. The card is installed in SLOT_4 x16, the only one that accommodates the card.

In the iDRAC System Overview panel, the NIC shows up under Network Devices, as 'NIC Slot 4'.
However, the PCIe Slots section shows Populated:NO for PCIe Slot 4.
Last, the OS does not see it at all. This is happening on both of the (identical) servers I purchased.

Any insight is helpful. Thanks

PS- I know 540-BBUN has a full-height bracket; I can alter the slot's blank plate to accomodate.

DELL-Young E · Accepted Answer

Hi, thanks for choosing Dell.

The part you’ve purchased: Dell part 540-BBUN
Part #:GMW01 / Part Desc.:CRD,NTWK,PCIE,DP,10G,57412,FH

I can’t know much from the information you gave me. But please see https://dell.to/3kx1oue

Page 32, 33 and see which one you plugged in to. (also see the attached)

Then check this out

https://dell.to/3kwcm2T

Table 2. Riser configurations: No RSR - 1 CPU
Table 3. Riser configurations: No RSR - 2 CPU
Table 4. Riser configurations: FH - 1 CPU and 2 CPU
Table 5. Riser configurations: LP + LP - 2 CPU
Table 6. Riser configurations: BTF + 3 XLP - 1 CPU
Table 7. Riser configurations: BTF + 3 XLP - 2 CPU

And find out which configuration you have.

Hope this helps.

S.Kolesar · Answer

Thanks for the reply.

I called support and we found the same thing:

The x8 NIC card I had would not fit into the system as-is without a riser card. The x16 Slot 4 is only serviced by the 2nd CPU, which is not equipped in this system.

Yes, I was plugged into the x16 slot, since x8 does not fit x4 slots. I found it interesting that the iDRAC sees the network configuration of the NIC's ports, but nothing else shows the card is installed.

I bought the card separate from Dell because the same part was US$300 LESS than your listed price. I now understand why.

The solution is as you list: I need a riser card.

Why doesn't Dell tell us up front, "you need a riser, this is why its more"?

MikeD-82 · Answer

What riser did you end up purchasing to get this to work. I just went round and round with support with a card I purchased with the server and they finally said contact your sales rep.

DELL-Chris H · Answer

MikeD-82,   I believe the riser needed would be part # 8XK04.    Let me know if this helps.

S.Kolesar · Answer

Mike, I scrapped the Dell 540-BBUN altogether, and purchased a Trendnet TEG-10GECSFP.  It uses an Aquantia network chip, and accepts up to 10Gbps SFPs.  Most importantly, it fits a PCIe x4 slot without need for a riser card.

PowerEdge Hardware General

Broadcom 57412 seen in iDRAC, not by OS in PowerEdge 540

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