HPE P10097-B21 Dual-Port 10GbE BASE-T OCP 3.0 Network Adapter

The HPE P10097-B21 is a dual-port 10 Gigabit Ethernet network adapter built on the Broadcom BCM57416 chipset and conforming to the OCP 3.0 mezzanine form factor — a straightforward fit for HPE ProLiant and other OCP 3.0-compliant server platforms where you need high-throughput copper connectivity without adding a discrete PCIe card to an already-constrained riser slot. If your server build is targeting a converged NIC approach inside an OCP bay, this adapter is worth a close look.

Key Features

• Broadcom BCM57416 Chipset: The BCM57416 is a proven silicon in enterprise server deployments — widely supported across Linux and Windows Server driver stacks, which means shorter time-to-production when provisioning new hosts. No hunting for obscure NIC drivers on a 2 AM deployment.
• Dual-Port 10GbE BASE-T: Two independent 10 Gigabit ports over standard copper (RJ-45) give you link redundancy, NIC teaming, or separate network segments (e.g., management vs. storage traffic) from a single adapter slot. BASE-T interoperability means you can connect directly to existing 10GbE network switches without SFP+ module budget or fiber runs — particularly practical in data centers that have already invested in Category 6A structured cabling infrastructure.
• PCIe Gen3 x8 Bus Interface: The x8 lane width delivers enough bandwidth headroom that the dual 10GbE ports won't be bottlenecked by the bus — both ports can sustain full line rate simultaneously without one starving the other. This matters in NVR storage-server builds or backup-target appliances where both ports are active under load.
• OCP 3.0 Form Factor: OCP (Open Compute Project) 3.0 adapters seat into the server's dedicated mezzanine slot rather than consuming a standard PCIe riser slot. For network video recorders and storage appliances built on OCP-compatible rack servers, this means the standard PCIe expansion slots remain available for other cards — capture cards, HBAs, or GPU accelerators — without a slot conflict.
• BASE-T Copper Connectivity: RJ-45 ports support standard copper cabling up to 100 meters per run, eliminating the need for optical transceivers and the associated media-converter cost. In warehouse, campus, and multi-floor deployments where cable runs can be long, copper BASE-T keeps the per-port cost of connectivity down versus SFP+ fiber alternatives.
• Single-Slot OCP 3.0 Footprint: OCP 3.0 standardizes the mechanical and electrical interface, which simplifies spare-part stocking and hot-swap procedures. A standardized mezzanine adapter is easier to replace in the field than a brand-specific proprietary module, and the HPE network adapter lineup shares this management logic across compatible server generations.

Integration & Compatibility

The P10097-B21 (often searched as P10097 B21) is designed for HPE ProLiant servers with an OCP 3.0 mezzanine slot. Verify your specific server model's OCP bay compatibility in HPE's server configuration guide before ordering — not all ProLiant generations expose an OCP 3.0 slot, and OCP 2.0 and 3.0 are not mechanically interchangeable.

From a network infrastructure standpoint, BASE-T 10GbE interoperates with any IEEE 802.3an-compliant switch at 10GBASE-T speeds. Auto-negotiation supports fallback to 1GbE and 100Mbps if connected to lower-speed switch ports, so phased infrastructure upgrades don't require a hard cutover. On the software side, the BCM57416 is supported by Broadcom's enterprise NIC drivers (bnxt_en on Linux, native inbox driver on Windows Server), and integrates with standard NIC teaming frameworks including LACP bonding and Microsoft NIC Teaming.

For security and surveillance infrastructure — including IP camera server backends and centralized recording platforms — this adapter suits hosts where both management and high-bandwidth video ingest need dedicated ports on a single card without consuming discrete PCIe expansion slots.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What servers is the HPE P10097-B21 compatible with?

A: The P10097-B21 is designed for HPE ProLiant servers with an OCP 3.0 mezzanine slot. Compatibility varies by server model and generation — consult HPE's server configuration guide for your specific platform before ordering. OCP 3.0 and OCP 2.0 slots are not interchangeable.

Q: Does the P10097-B21 support NIC teaming or link aggregation?

A: Yes. The dual-port design supports standard NIC teaming configurations including LACP (802.3ad) bonding on Linux and Microsoft NIC Teaming on Windows Server, enabling active-active aggregation or active-passive failover depending on your switch configuration.

Q: What cabling does the P10097-B21 require?

A: The P10097-B21 uses BASE-T copper RJ-45 ports and is compatible with Category 6A cabling for 10GbE at distances up to 100 meters. It also auto-negotiates to 1GbE (Cat5e or Cat6) or 100Mbps on lower-grade infrastructure.

Q: Is the P10097-B21 compatible with OCP 2.0 slots?

A: No. OCP 3.0 and OCP 2.0 are different mechanical and electrical standards. The P10097-B21 requires an OCP 3.0-compliant mezzanine slot. Verify your server's OCP generation before purchasing.

Q: What operating systems are supported by the BCM57416 chipset?

A: The Broadcom BCM57416 is supported on major enterprise operating systems including Linux (via the bnxt_en driver, included in mainline kernels) and Windows Server (via inbox or downloadable Broadcom drivers). Confirm driver availability for your specific OS version with HPE's software support matrix.

James Everett

The P10097-B21 is one of those adapters that solves a specific architectural problem cleanly: you need two 10GbE copper ports on a ProLiant host without burning a PCIe slot. The OCP 3.0 mezzanine interface on the BCM57416 is the mechanism — it plugs into the server's dedicated OCP bay, and your four PCIe risers stay available for storage HBAs, GPU cards, or whatever else the build calls for. That's the spec that drives the purchase decision on this part, not the raw throughput number.

Technical Highlights:

• PCIe Gen3 x8 Host Interface: x8 lane width provides 64 Gbps of theoretical bidirectional bandwidth — well above the 20 Gbps dual 10GbE line rate. Both ports can push full 10G simultaneously without bus contention, which matters on active recording servers with simultaneous ingest and backup traffic.
• BASE-T Copper Ports: RJ-45 at 10GbE means Cat6A runs up to 100m are all that's required. No SFP+ transceivers, no fiber budget, no media converters — a real cost factor when you're wiring a 20-camera NVR rack into an existing copper plant.
• Broadcom BCM57416 Silicon: Mature chipset with broad driver coverage — bnxt_en is in mainline Linux kernels since 4.11, so there's no driver sourcing delay for standard OS deployments. IPMI and bare-metal provisioning workflows pick it up without manual intervention on most distributions.

Deployment Considerations:

• Confirm OCP 3.0 slot availability on your target ProLiant model before purchasing — not every ProLiant generation ships with an OCP 3.0 bay, and some are OCP 2.0 only. The mechanical connectors are incompatible; there's no adapter.
• 10GBASE-T has higher latency (~2.6µs) compared to SFP+ DAC or optical (~0.3µs). For standard video ingest and storage workloads this difference is negligible, but it's worth flagging for latency-sensitive applications like iSCSI primary storage.

Deploy the P10097-B21 on ProLiant-based NVR server builds where OCP bay availability is confirmed and the infrastructure is already cabled for Cat6A copper — it frees the PCIe slots for storage controllers while delivering full-duplex 10GbE on both ports under sustained recording load.