Network Daughter Cards
A network daughter card (NDC) is Dell's integrated LAN card: it mounts on its own connector on the system board and carries the server's built-in network ports. Dell builds rack NDCs (rNDC) for PowerEdge rack servers such as the R730 and R740 and blade NDCs (bNDC) for M-series blades such as the M630 and M640, in quad-port 1GbE, 2x 10GbE plus 2x 1GbE, quad-port 10GbE and dual-port 25GbE versions on Broadcom, Intel, QLogic and Mellanox controllers. Each NDC is tested in our lab twice, on receipt and before shipping.
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Dell 165T0 Quad Port 2x 1GBASE-T + 2x 10GB SFP+ rNDC | Broadcom 57800SAvailability: Available by QuoteManufacturer: Dell Condition: Refurbished 1 Year WarrantyRequest PricingOut of stock - Dell R1XFC Quad Port 1GBASE-T rNDC | Intel I350-T4Availability: Only 6 leftManufacturer: Dell Condition: Refurbished 1 Year WarrantyBuy Now$18.98
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- Dell XWKGY Dual Port 10GB Blade bNDC | Intel X520Availability: In StockManufacturer: Dell Condition: Refurbished 1 Year WarrantyBuy Now$12.94
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rNDC, bNDC or OCP 3.0
Which card a Dell server takes depends on its form and generation. Rack servers of the 13th and 14th generations use the rack NDC (rNDC), M-series blades such as the M630 and M640 use the blade NDC (bNDC), and rack servers from the 15th generation on use OCP 3.0 NICs:
| Card | Server generations | Port options Dell lists | Host link (Dell) |
|---|---|---|---|
| rNDC | 13th generation rack | 4 x 1GbE, 4 x 10GbE, or 2 x 10GbE + 2 x 1GbE | PCIe Gen 3, up to x8 |
| rNDC | 14th generation rack | 4 x 1GbE, 4 x 10GbE, 2 x 10GbE + 2 x 1GbE, or 2 x 25GbE | PCIe Gen 3, up to x8 |
| OCP 3.0 NIC | 15th generation rack and later | By card model | PCIe Gen 4, up to x16 |
A daughter card is not a PCIe card
An NDC mounts on its own connector on the system board, so it neither takes a PCIe slot nor fits one: Dell describes network daughter cards as a way to choose the network fabric without using up a PCI slot. The 14th-generation cards also support switch-independent partitioning, which Dell describes as sharing and managing bandwidth on 10GbE connections.
Replacing a daughter card
An NDC swap is a powered-down job. Dell's R740 manual has you follow its before-working-inside-the-system steps, remove expansion riser 2 if it is in the way, loosen the captive screws that hold the card to the system board, lift it off its connector and slide it toward the front until the Ethernet connectors clear the back panel, then reverse the steps with the new card.
Shared LOM and iDRAC
The daughter card also carries iDRAC's shared LAN-on-motherboard port. Dell's R750 guide marks shared LOM as supported on the rNDC, OCP 2.0 and OCP 3.0 forms alike, describes it as iDRAC port redirect, and notes that each form draws auxiliary power for it, so management access over a shared port follows the card you install.
OCP 3.0 and OCP 2.0 cards are covered on mezzanine adapters, and PCIe network cards under server adapters and converged network adapters. SFP+ and SFP28 ports need optical transceivers or direct-attach cables; complete systems are on Dell PowerEdge servers.
