- Network Admin
How to Segment Your Network for Better Security
24 Nov, 2025

£663.91 inc. VAT
AI-generated summary
For £553.26 ex‑VAT, this Lenovo-branded internal fiber NIC had better be going into a very specific kind of setup. If you’ve got a server that already supports Lenovo’s preferred internal networking, this kind of card can be a solid, “it just works” option—especially in environments where you care about reliability and vendor alignment (managed estates, standardised builds, existing Lenovo hardware). The main value here is not raw speed on paper, it’s fit, driver maturity, and fewer headaches when you’re rolling lots of machines and want predictable support paths.
That said, I’d be cautious if you’re buying it as a one-off for a generic server. Internal fiber NICs are easy to get wrong on compatibility (PCIe generation/slot constraints, firmware expectations, and the optics/cabling side of things). If you don’t already know the exact transceiver type and whether your server backplane/BIOS recognises the card cleanly, you could end up paying “server tax” in troubleshooting time. In short: **buy it if you’re standardising Lenovo server networking and you’re confident about slot/driver/optics fit**. **Skip it if you need flexibility across mixed hardware or you’re still figuring out the fibre side**—for that, a more straightforward, broadly compatible option usually ends up costing less overall.

Lenovo
Lenovo ThinkServer RAID 520i Adapter - Storage controller (RAID) - 8 Channel - SATA / SAS 12Gb/s - low profile - RAID 0, 1, 10, JBOD - PCIe 3.0 x8 - for ThinkServer RD350, RD450, RD550, RD650, RS160, TD350, TS150, TS460

Kensington
Kensington CA1100E USB-C to Ethernet Adapter - Network adapter - USB-C 3.1 - Gigabit Ethernet x 1

Dell
Broadcom 57412 - Customer Install - network adapter - OCP 3.0 - 10 Gigabit SFP+ x 2

STARTECH
StarTech.com 1 Port PCIe Network Card - 2.5Gbps 2.5GBASE-T PCIe Network Card x4 PCIe - PCI Express LAN Card - RTL8125 (ST2GPEX) - Network adapter - PCIe x4 low profile - 10M/100M/1G/2.5 Gigabit Ethernet x 1