Intel E810-CQDA2 Dual-Port 100GbE QSFP28 Adapter

Brand: Intel | Category: Network Adapters & NICs

SKU: INTELE810CQDA2DUALPORT100GBEQSFP28 | Part #: E810-CQDA2 | MPN: E810-CQDA2

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The Intel E810-CQDA2 is a dual-port 100GbE network adapter built for data centre environments where throughput density and PCIe efficiency matter. This is the card that network infrastructure teams reach for when they need to consolidate 200 Gbps of aggregate bandwidth into a single PCIe 4.0 slot without sacrificing deterministic latency or manageability. Before any purchasing decision, however, you need to confirm platform compatibility. The E810-CQDA2 comes coded for specific OEM platforms—primarily Dell PowerEdge, HPE ProLiant, and Cisco UCS environments—and while Intel's firmware tooling allows some flexibility, the out-of-box driver and BIOS support matrix is your starting point. If your switches, load balancers, or hypervisors are not on the supported platform list, you risk discovery delays and firmware customisation costs.

Intel designed the E810-CQDA2 around the principle that high-speed Ethernet adapters should not consume server real estate or power budgets inefficiently. Running at roughly 18 watts under sustained load, this adapter sits well within the thermal envelope of most enterprise server designs, and its PCIe 4.0 footprint means it doesn't starve other I/O devices of bandwidth. The dual QSFP28 ports operate independently, so you can cable each to different leaf switches in a spine-leaf topology or use them as redundant paths to the same fabric. Each port supports 100 GbE negotiation, delivering 200 Gbps total throughput, which makes it suitable for workloads ranging from high-frequency trading platforms to distributed machine learning inference clusters. Network engineers installing these in production often pair them with high-quality QSFP28 direct-attach cables or compatible transceivers to avoid the interoperability surprises that plague cheaper optics.

The E810-CQDA2 includes Intel's established management and diagnostic tooling, accessible via SNMP, which allows your operations team to monitor link health, error counters, and thermal status without dedicated out-of-band networks. This matters in dense rack deployments where every second of unplanned downtime cascades through dependent services. Operating across the 0–55°C range, the card remains stable even in warm-aisle deployments or less precisely controlled edge environments, though data centre best practices still call for intake air closer to 20–24°C.

Data centre architects, network operations centre staff, and cloud infrastructure teams typically own the decision to standardise on Intel E810-class adapters within their fleets because the consistency reduces troubleshooting friction and training overhead. A single network engineer working across 50 servers benefits enormously from having identical adapter firmware and driver versions. The Intel E810-CQDA2, paired with proven switching infrastructure like NVIDIA Spectrum or Broadcom Tomahawk platforms, forms the foundation of low-latency, high-capacity networks in financial services, hyperscale cloud, and research computing sectors. What makes the adapter reliable in these roles is not exotic performance claims but rather its proven compatibility matrix and the breadth of ecosystem support that Intel and its partners have built around the architecture.

If you are evaluating this adapter for deployment in a large-scale network modernisation project or a new data centre build, we welcome your detailed RFQ. Contact us with your platform specifications, volume requirements, and deployment timeline so we can confirm stock availability and arrange the logistics that fit your project schedule.

Interface & Connectivity Specifications

• Dual-port QSFP28 configuration supporting 100 GbE per port, 200 Gbps aggregate throughput
• PCIe 4.0 form factor with low power consumption at approximately 18 watts sustained operating load
• Operating temperature range 0–55°C accommodates both controlled data centre environments and edge deployments
• Intel management tools and SNMP support for remote monitoring of link status and error telemetry
• RoHS and WEEE compliance ensures alignment with enterprise procurement and environmental standards
• Part number E810-CQDA2 supported on Dell PowerEdge, HPE ProLiant, and Cisco UCS platforms out of the box