NVIDIA Mellanox MCX383A-FCNA ConnectX-3 VPI Single-Port QSFP+ FDR 56Gb/s Mezzanine Card — Lot of 5: This is a single-port QSFP+ ConnectX-3 VPI mezzanine adapter built specifically for Dell PowerEdge C-series servers (C6220, C6220 II, C8220, C6320, FC430). It supports InfiniBand FDR (56Gb/s) and Ethernet up to 10GbE through the same QSFP+ port. This is a Dell-keyed mezzanine card, NOT a standard PCIe slot card. This listing is a lot of five refurbished units.
Engineering Context
The MCX383A-FCNA is built on the Mellanox ConnectX-3 VPI ASIC and uses a PCIe 3.0 x8 (8GT/s) host interface delivered through the Dell C-series mezzanine connector. It supports RDMA, RoCE (RDMA over Converged Ethernet), and kernel bypass to lower CPU overhead in latency-sensitive workloads. Hardware offloads include T10/DIF, TCP/UDP/IP stateless offload, and SR-IOV for virtualized environments. The card draws power and management signals through the mezzanine connector rather than an auxiliary PCIe power lead.
Deployment & Use Cases
HPC clusters built on Dell PowerEdge C6220/C8220 nodes with FDR InfiniBand fabric. Financial trading and quant compute platforms that require sub-microsecond RDMA latency. GPU and AI training nodes where InfiniBand is preferred for collective operations. Storage front-end on C-series chassis using SRP, iSER, or NVMe-oF over RDMA.
Technical Specifications
OEM: NVIDIA Mellanox (Dell-keyed mezzanine variant)
Part Number: MCX383A-FCNA
Controller: ConnectX-3 VPI
Form Factor: Dell C-series Mezzanine (not standard PCIe)
Ports: 1 × QSFP+
InfiniBand Rate: FDR 56Gb/s
Ethernet Rate: 10GbE
Host Interface: PCIe 3.0 x8 (8GT/s)
Protocol Mode: VPI (InfiniBand or Ethernet, configurable)
Offloads: RDMA, RoCE, SR-IOV, stateless TCP/UDP/IP
Pack Size: Lot of 5 units
Condition: Refurbished — Tested by T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS
Compatibility & Hard Constraints
Compatible with Dell PowerEdge C6220, C6220 II, C8220, C6320, and FC430 servers through the Dell mezzanine slot. Not compatible with standard PCIe slots in 1U/2U rack servers. Not compatible with HP, Lenovo, Supermicro, or generic OCP chassis — the mezzanine connector and keying are Dell-specific. Requires a Mellanox or compatible SwitchX/SwitchX-2 FDR switch and FDR-rated QSFP+ DAC or active optical cables to reach 56Gb/s. Falls back to FDR10 or QDR rates with older cables and switches.
Why Choose T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS
T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS power-tests every adapter, verifies link bring-up at FDR, and inspects the mezzanine connector before shipment. We provide global shipping, expert pre-sale consultation on Dell C-series fabric design, and a 1–3 business day handling time. Visit tes-itsolutions.com for full inventory.