BOSS Controller Cards
Dell BOSS (Boot Optimized Server Storage) Controller Cards
Dell BOSS (Boot Optimized Server Storage) controller cards provide a dedicated M.2 SSD boot solution for Dell PowerEdge servers, keeping the OS boot drives separate from the data storage backplane. A BOSS card installs in a PCIe slot (or Dell’s dedicated BOSS slot on newer models) and presents one or two M.2 SATA SSDs as a RAID-1 mirrored boot volume — providing redundant OS storage without consuming a hot-swap drive bay.
BOSS cards are supported on 14th gen (R640, R740, R740xd), 15th gen (R650, R750), and 16th gen (R660, R760) PowerEdge servers. The BOSS-S1 supports one M.2 SSD (240GB or 480GB); the BOSS-S2 supports two M.2 SSDs in RAID-1 mirroring. The BOSS-N1 (NVMe variant) provides faster boot storage on select configurations.
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Dell WX5KW Dual M.2 6G PCI-E MX Blade BOSS-S1 ControllerAvailability: Available by QuoteManufacturer: Dell Condition: Refurbished 1 Year WarrantyRequest PricingOut of stock - Dell WMWJW Dual M.2 6G PCI-E Blade BOSS-S1 Controller | PE FC640 M640Availability: Available by QuoteManufacturer: Dell Condition: Refurbished 1 Year WarrantyRequest PricingOut of stock
- Dell HM7F6 Dual Port M.2 6Gbps R750 BOSS-S2 Module CarrierAvailability: Available by QuoteManufacturer: Dell Condition: Refurbished 1 Year WarrantyRequest PricingOut of stock
- Dell 72WKY Dual M.2 6G PCI-E BOSS-S1 Controller [Low Profile]Availability: Only 1 leftManufacturer: Dell Condition: Refurbished 1 Year WarrantyBuy Now$17.98
- Dell FGNRW Dual Port M.2 BOSS-S2 Controller Module RiserAvailability: Available by QuoteManufacturer: Dell Condition: Refurbished 1 Year WarrantyRequest PricingOut of stock
- Dell NTRCY Dual M.2 SSD PCI-E Storage Adapter [Full Height] l T5820 T7820 T7920Availability: Available by QuoteManufacturer: Dell Condition: Refurbished 1 Year WarrantyRequest PricingOut of stock
- Dell FRY80 Dual Port M.2 BOSS-S2 Controller Module RiserAvailability: Only 4 leftManufacturer: Dell Condition: Refurbished 1 Year WarrantyRequest Pricing
- Dell WW56V BOSS-N1 Dual Port M.2 2280 NVMe Controller Module Riser | R660 R760Availability: Only 6 leftManufacturer: Dell Condition: Refurbished 1 Year WarrantyBuy Now$369.99
- Dell WW56V-NEW PE BOSS-N1 Dual Port M.2 2280 NVMe Controller Module Riser | R760Availability: Available by QuoteManufacturer: Dell Condition: New 1 Year WarrantyRequest PricingOut of stock
- Dell MJK9R PE BOSS-S1 Dual Slot M.2 2280 6G PCIe Controller | R450 R650xs R660xsAvailability: Available by QuoteManufacturer: Dell Condition: Refurbished 1 Year WarrantyRequest PricingOut of stock
![Dell 72WKY Dual M.2 6G PCI-E BOSS-S1 Controller [Low Profile]](https://enterasource.com/media/catalog/product/cache/edfa14e1d5b26a0f8da1ee83d5b45a31/d/a/daily-receiving-1056_small.jpg)
![Dell NTRCY Dual M.2 SSD PCI-E Storage Adapter [Full Height] l T5820 T7820 T7920](https://enterasource.com/media/catalog/product/cache/edfa14e1d5b26a0f8da1ee83d5b45a31/d/a/daily-receiving-3196_small.jpg)
BOSS Card Models and Use Cases
| Model | Interface | M.2 Slots | RAID | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BOSS-S1 | SATA M.2 | 1 | None (single drive) | Single-drive OS boot, 14th–16th gen |
| BOSS-S2 | SATA M.2 | 2 | RAID-1 mirror | Redundant OS boot; most common BOSS model |
| BOSS-N1 | NVMe M.2 | 2 | RAID-1 mirror | Faster boot storage; 15th–16th gen |
BOSS cards are the recommended boot storage solution for PowerEdge servers running VMware ESXi, Windows Server, or RHEL where preserving all front-panel drive bays for data storage is the priority. Unlike a USB boot device, BOSS provides enterprise-grade SSD reliability with RAID-1 redundancy — if one M.2 fails, the system continues running on the surviving drive.
- What is a BOSS card used for?
- A Dell BOSS controller card provides a dedicated boot device for the server operating system using M.2 SSDs, separate from the main hot-swap drive bays. This keeps all front-panel drive bays available for data storage. BOSS-S2 with two M.2 SSDs in RAID-1 is the standard OS boot solution for Dell PowerEdge servers running VMware ESXi or Windows Server.
