Broadcom BCM57416 vs Intel X550-T2? Which 10GbE Adapter?

TXAG26

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Does anyone know how the new Broadcom BCM57416 10Gbe network adapter compares to the Intel X550 series 10Gbe adapters? It appears Supermicro may only be listing the BCM57416 on their add-on networking card list (for 10Gbe adapters). There appears to be about a $50 price difference between the Broadcom and Intel based adapters.

Supermicro Broadcom BCM57416 Dual-Port 10Gbe Network Adapter (AOC-STG-b2T) $216
https://www.supermicro.com/manuals/other/datasheet-AOC-STG-b2T.pdf

http://www.wiredzone.com/supermicro-components-network-adaptors-wired-aoc-stg-b2t-10027927


Supermicro Intel X550-T2 Dual-Port 10Gbe Network Adapter (AOC-STGS-i2T) $265
https://www.supermicro.com/manuals/other/datasheet-AOC-STGS-i2T.pdf

http://www.wiredzone.com/supermicro-components-network-adaptors-wired-aoc-stgs-i2t-o-10025892
 
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TXAG26

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The $50 cost difference between the dual port Broadcom and newest X552 dual port Intel adapter has me wondering if Supermicro is transitioning away from the Intel NICs and if so, is it simply because of cost or do the new Broadcom parts offer performance/feature improvements over Intel?
 

blanchet

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Whatever the operating system is, Intel NICs have the best software support. It is particularly true for VMware ESXi.
Therefore, if you can choice, pick the Intel NICs.
 

TXAG26

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ESXI support is important. I haven’t had much luck finding more about the Broadcom BCM57416. I’m even more interested in the Broadcom BCM57416 as it looks like a number of Supermicro’s new H12 motherboards for the AMD Epyc Rome 7002 series CPU’s may come with onboard dual port Broadcom BCM57416, instead of the Intel X550 found on the Xeon boards. Anyone kicked the tires on a Broadcom BCM57416?
 

Jessep

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The R640/R740 Dells we have at work use the 57412 cards (SFP+ vs 10Gb Base-T) and work fine with Windows and VMware ESXi 6.7 U2 (note there was a firmware issue with VMware that was resolved with updating the firmware on the NIC).
 

TXAG26

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The R640/R740 Dells we have at work use the 57412 cards (SFP+ vs 10Gb Base-T) and work fine with Windows and VMware ESXi 6.7 U2 (note there was a firmware issue with VMware that was resolved with updating the firmware on the NIC).

Any luck getting the 57412 to work in Windows 10? If so, could you post a link to the drives you're using?

Curiosity got the best of me. I found an inexpensive used Broadcom BCM57416 based dual port 10GBe adapter and from what I can tell after testing tonight in my workstation computer, the Broadcom BCM57416 chipset is NOT supported in Windows 10. It seems that there are only Windows Server based (2012/2016/2019) drivers available for this card and I was not successful in getting Windows 10 (1903) to recognize any of those drivers from Supermicro, Lenovo, HPE, or Dell. I also had another ethernet card active and Windows was unable to locate/pull a drive from Microsoft or anywhere online.

I had high hopes that this might be an inexpensive 10Gbe option for Windows 10 workstations, but unless someone can point me to some actual Windows 10 drivers, I don't think it will pan out. :mad:

I should have time later in the week to throw it into an ESXI 6.7 U3 system to see how the BCM57416 works.
 
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