Identity & Definition
The Lenovo 01PG721 is a dual-port VPI (Virtual Protocol Interconnect) network adapter in the enterprise network interface card (NIC) category. This is a Lenovo ThinkSystem OEM variant of the Mellanox ConnectX-6 adapter, operating at HDR100 InfiniBand (100 Gb/s) or 100GbE Ethernet per port over a PCIe 4.0 x16 host interface. Each port uses a QSFP56 connector. This is a discrete adapter card, not a transceiver or cable. Condition: Refurbished.
Engineering Context
The VPI designation means each port can independently operate in InfiniBand or Ethernet mode, selectable at boot time via mlxconfig firmware tools. In this configuration (HDR100), each port runs at 100 Gb/s, which is half the maximum HDR rate of 200 Gb/s per port. The ConnectX-6 supports RDMA (native InfiniBand and RoCE v2 over Ethernet), GPUDirect RDMA and GPUDirect Storage for direct GPU-to-NIC and GPU-to-storage data paths, SR-IOV with up to 1024 virtual functions, and VXLAN/NVGRE overlay offload. As a Lenovo ThinkSystem OEM part, firmware may differ from generic Mellanox firmware; the equivalent Mellanox P/N is MCX653106A-HDAT or similar. Operation in PCIe 3.0 x16 slots provides approximately 126 Gb/s host bandwidth, which may bottleneck aggregate dual-port throughput.
Deployment & Use Cases
HPC clusters requiring VPI flexibility to switch between InfiniBand and Ethernet on the same adapter without hardware replacement. Lenovo ThinkSystem SR650, SR630, and SD530 server deployments with HDR100 InfiniBand connectivity to NVIDIA Quantum switches. Mixed-protocol environments transitioning from EDR InfiniBand to HDR InfiniBand or from InfiniBand to 100GbE RoCE. GPUDirect RDMA workloads in AI training clusters where low-latency GPU-to-NIC data paths are critical for NCCL collective operations.
Technical Specifications
OEM: Lenovo (ThinkSystem)
Part Number: 01PG721
Product Line: ConnectX-6
Ports: 2x QSFP56
Port Speed: HDR100 100 Gb/s (IB) / 100GbE (Ethernet) per port
Host Interface: PCIe 4.0 x16
Protocol: VPI (InfiniBand + Ethernet, per-port selectable)
RDMA: Native IB + RoCE v2
Offloads: GPUDirect RDMA, GPUDirect Storage, SR-IOV (up to 1024 VFs), VXLAN/NVGRE
Form Factor: Full-height, half-length (FHHL) PCIe card
Condition: Refurbished, Tested by T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS
Compatibility & Hard Constraints
Lenovo OEM part: 01PG721 is the Lenovo ThinkSystem part number. Lenovo firmware may differ from generic Mellanox firmware. To deploy in non-Lenovo servers (Dell, HPE, Supermicro), flash to generic Mellanox firmware using mlxfwmanager. HDR100, not full HDR: each port operates at 100 Gb/s, not the full HDR rate of 200 Gb/s. For full HDR per port, use MCX653105A-HDAT (single-port) or MCX653106A-HDAT (dual-port, generic). Predecessor: ConnectX-5 (EDR/100GbE). Successor: ConnectX-7 (NDR/400GbE). PCIe 4.0 x16 required for full bandwidth; PCIe 3.0 x16 limits host bus to approximately 126 Gb/s. PCIe x8 slots will result in significant throughput reduction. VPI mode is per-port selectable via mlxconfig; both ports can run different protocols simultaneously.
Why Choose T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS
T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS (tes-itsolutions.com) provides lab-tested, firmware-verified enterprise networking adapters. Every ConnectX-6 unit is validated for link-up, RDMA functionality, and firmware version before shipping. Technical consultation is available for firmware cross-flashing, VPI configuration, and fabric planning. Global shipping with 1-3 business day handling.