NVIDIA Mellanox MCB193A-FBAT Connect-IB Single-Port FDR 56Gb/s QSFP HCA, PCIe 3.0 x16: This is a single-port InfiniBand FDR (56Gb/s) host channel adapter built on the NVIDIA Mellanox Connect-IB silicon, with a QSFP cage and a PCI Express 3.0 x16 host interface. It is an HCA card — not a switch, not a NIC for general Ethernet, and not a ConnectX-series adapter. This unit is supplied refurbished in tested working condition.
Engineering Context. Connect-IB is the NVIDIA Mellanox HCA architecture that introduced the Dynamically Connected Transport (DCT) service and was designed to scale RDMA semantics to very large clusters while sustaining FDR line rate. The MCB193A-FBAT pairs that controller with a single FDR QSFP port and a PCIe Gen3 x16 host link, providing the PCIe bandwidth headroom needed to keep a 56Gb/s port saturated under MPI and RDMA workloads.
Deployment & Use Cases. Typical deployments include FDR-generation HPC compute nodes, MPI clusters running OpenMPI or MVAPICH2 over OFED, RDMA-accelerated parallel storage clients (Lustre, GPFS, BeeGFS), and lab environments validating InfiniBand verbs, RoCE bridging, or DCT-aware applications.
Technical Specifications:

MPN: MCB193A-FBAT
Controller: NVIDIA Mellanox Connect-IB
Ports: 1 (single-port)
Connector: QSFP
Protocol: InfiniBand FDR (56Gb/s)
Host Interface: PCI Express 3.0 x16
RDMA Features: Dynamically Connected Transport (DCT), RDMA verbs
Form Factor: Standard PCIe add-in card
Brand: NVIDIA Mellanox
Condition: Refurbished, tested

Compatibility & Constraints. Requires a host with a free PCIe 3.0 x16 slot to reach full bandwidth — installing into a Gen2 or x8 slot will cap effective throughput. Driver support is provided through Mellanox OFED / MLNX_EN on supported Linux distributions and Windows builds; verify the target OS is on the supported matrix for the firmware level you intend to run. Connect-IB is a distinct generation from ConnectX-3/4/5 and uses its own driver and firmware family. The QSFP port accepts FDR-capable copper or AOC media; FDR10 cables also link but cap the line rate.
Why TES. T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS supplies tested refurbished NVIDIA Mellanox HCAs and switches to enterprise and HPC buyers across Europe. Stock is held in our warehouse with 1–3 business day handling on confirmed orders. Request a quote for volume pricing or driver and slot compatibility checks.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the MCB193A-FBAT NOT compatible with?
It is an HCA card — not a switch, not a NIC for general Ethernet, and not a ConnectX-series adapter. Confirm fitment against your platform before ordering MCB193A-FBAT.
What condition is the MCB193A-FBAT supplied in, and who sells it?
The MCB193A-FBAT is supplied in Refurbished condition by T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS from EU stock, with 1-3 business day handling and worldwide B2B shipping. See https://www.tes-itsolutions.com/product-page/mellanox-mcb193a-fbat-connect-ib-channel-adapter-single-port-qsfp-fdr-56gb-s-pci.