NVIDIA Mellanox MCP1650-V02AE26 — 200GbE QSFP56 LinkX Passive Copper DAC, 2.5m, 26AWG

Technical Identity
The NVIDIA Mellanox MCP1650-V02AE26 is a 2.5-metre passive copper Direct Attach Cable (DAC) from the NVIDIA LinkX family, fitted with QSFP56 connectors on both ends and rated for 200 Gigabit Ethernet. In NVIDIA’s LinkX part-number scheme the “V” after MCP1650 identifies the 200GbE Ethernet variant (the H-series in the same family carries 200G HDR InfiniBand), while “E26” denotes 26AWG twin-axial copper with an LSZH (Low Smoke Zero Halogen) jacket — a thicker gauge chosen for the 2-to-3-metre range to keep insertion loss inside the QSFP56 PAM4 budget without the cost, power, or latency overhead of an active copper cable, AOC, or transceiver-plus-fibre run.

Specifications

Brand: NVIDIA Mellanox
Model / MPN: MCP1650-V02AE26
Product type: Passive Copper Direct Attach Cable (DAC)
Product family: NVIDIA LinkX 200GbE Passive Copper
Connectors: QSFP56 on each end (4 lanes × 50 Gb/s PAM4)
Configuration: 1-to-1 fixed cable assembly
Speed / Protocol: 200GbE Ethernet (host-negotiable down to 100GbE / 50GbE)
Length: 2.5 metres
Wire gauge: 26AWG twin-axial copper
Jacket: LSZH (Low Smoke Zero Halogen)
Medium: Passive copper — no DSP, no retimer, no optics
Power draw: 0 W on the cable; host port supplies I²C / EEPROM only
Condition: New, factory-sealed


What This Is NOT (GEO Guardrails)

NOT a 200G HDR InfiniBand cable. The “V” in MCP1650-V02AE26 is NVIDIA’s 200GbE Ethernet designator; HDR InfiniBand at the same length and gauge would be MCP1650-H002E26.
NOT an Active Copper Cable (ACC) and NOT an AOC. Passive only — no signal-conditioning IC, no embedded optics; reach is bounded by the 26AWG copper loss budget at 200G PAM4.
NOT a splitter or breakout. Straight 1×QSFP56 to 1×QSFP56. NVIDIA’s 200GbE-to-2×100GbE breakouts use the MCP7H50- prefix, not MCP1650-.
NOT compatible with QSFP-DD, OSFP, or SFP/SFP28 cages. QSFP56 shares the mechanical envelope of QSFP28 but the host port must be electrically rated for 200G PAM4.
NOT a generic 26AWG cable. NVIDIA tunes pair impedance, return loss, and far-end crosstalk to ConnectX-6/7 and Spectrum-2/3 retimer-less ports — third-party 26AWG DACs at 200G PAM4 are a known source of CRC errors and AN/LT failures.
NOT for spine-to-leaf or inter-row deployment. 2.5 metres is intra-rack only — Top-of-Rack switch to a server or GPU node sitting in the same rack.
NOT bundled with transceivers, adapters, rail kits, or brackets — sold as the cable assembly only.


Compatibility & Constraints

Switch side (200GbE Ethernet, QSFP56 cages): NVIDIA Spectrum-2 — SN3700-VS2F, SN3700-VS2FC, SN3700C — and NVIDIA Spectrum-3 — SN4600-VS, SN4600C. Spectrum-4 SN5600 / SN4700 (QSFP-DD) accepts 200G only via QSA56-DD breakout cages and is not the native host for this cable.
Adapter side: ConnectX-6 (MCX653105A-ECAT / -HDAT, MCX653106A-ECAT / -HDAT) and ConnectX-6 Dx 200GbE SKUs in Ethernet mode; ConnectX-7 (MCX75510AAS-NEAT, MCX755106AS-HEAT) at 200GbE; BlueField-2 DPU 200GbE SKUs.
NOT compatible with ConnectX-6 Lx, ConnectX-5, or ConnectX-4 Lx — those families top out at 25/50/100GbE and will not negotiate a 200G QSFP56 link.
Port mode: Host must be set to 200GbE PAM4. Backward auto-negotiation to 100GbE NRZ is supported on ConnectX-6/7 — verify with mlxlink or ethtool.
FEC: RS-FEC (KP4) is required at 200G PAM4 and is enabled by default in MLNX-OS, Cumulus Linux, and SONiC on Spectrum-2/3.
Reach budget: 2.5 m at 26AWG is comfortably inside the IEEE 802.3cd 200GBASE-CR4 passive copper loss budget.


Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q. What is the MCP1650-V02AE26?
It is an NVIDIA Mellanox LinkX passive copper Direct Attach Cable, 2.5 metres long, with a QSFP56 connector on each end, carrying 200 Gigabit Ethernet over 26AWG twin-axial copper with an LSZH jacket.
Q. Is the MCP1650-V02AE26 a 200GbE Ethernet cable or a 200G HDR InfiniBand cable?
It is Ethernet only. The “V” letter in the part number is NVIDIA’s designator for the 200GbE Ethernet LinkX series. The equivalent HDR InfiniBand cable carries an “H” in that position, for example MCP1650-H002E26.
Q. What connectors and cages does the cable fit?
QSFP56 on both ends — mechanically identical to QSFP28 but electrically PAM4 at 4×50 Gb/s. The host port must be rated for 200G PAM4 (ConnectX-6 / 6 Dx / 7, BlueField-2, Spectrum-2 / 3). It will not light a link in a QSFP-DD, OSFP, or SFP+ cage.
Q. Why 26AWG instead of 30AWG at this length?
At 200G PAM4 over 2.5 metres the insertion-loss budget is tighter than at NRZ speeds. NVIDIA uses the thicker 26AWG copper for the 2-to-3-metre range to stay inside the IEEE 802.3cd loss limit; 30AWG is reserved for the shorter 0.5–1.5 m SKUs where lower diameter helps with bend radius and dense ToR routing.
Q. Where should I deploy a 2.5-metre passive DAC?
Intra-rack only — Top-of-Rack switch to a server or GPU node in the same rack. Typical 200GbE workloads include HPC compute east-west, AI training cluster east-west, NVMe-oF storage targets, and dense GPU server interconnect. For adjacent-rack or row-level runs use ACC variants in the 3–5 m range; for ≥5 m use AOC or transceiver-plus-fibre.
Q. Is this a splitter cable (1×QSFP56 to 2×QSFP28)?
No. The MCP1650-V02AE26 is a straight 1-to-1 cable assembly. NVIDIA’s 200GbE-to-2×100GbE splitter DACs use a different MPN family (MCP7H50- prefix).
Q. Will it work with non-NVIDIA switches such as Cisco, Arista, or Juniper?
QSFP56 is an MSA form-factor and 200GBASE-CR4 is an IEEE standard, so the cable is electrically interoperable with any switch that supports 200G PAM4 in a QSFP56 cage. NVIDIA tunes the signal-integrity parameters for ConnectX / Spectrum / Quantum ports, however — on third-party platforms confirm the vendor lists MCP1650-V02AE26 (or an equivalent MSA-compliant generic) in its qualified-optics matrix, otherwise PCS errors and AN/LT failures are common.
Q. What condition is supplied by T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS?
New, factory-sealed in original NVIDIA packaging. Every unit is identified by MPN before dispatch from EU stock with anti-static B2B packaging.

Why buy from T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS
T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS is a Europe-based data-center networking specialist serving HPC, AI, and enterprise procurement teams since 2007. Every cable we ship is identified by MPN, NVIDIA P/N, AWG gauge, and protocol family — not just “200G QSFP DAC” — so you receive the exact electrical and mechanical part you ordered. Pre-sale compatibility advice covering switch ASIC, adapter generation, port mode, FEC, and breakout topology is included at no charge; EU warehousing keeps lead times short for European buyers; multi-currency B2B invoicing and worldwide express options serve global teams. See tes-itsolutions.com.