NVIDIA Mellanox MCX416A-CCAT ConnectX-4 EN 100GbE Dual-Port QSFP28 PCIe 3.0 x16 Network Adapter: This is a dual-port 100GbE Ethernet Network Interface Card (NIC) based on the ConnectX-4 EN controller, with two QSFP28 cages and a PCIe Gen3 x16 host interface. It is shipped with a tall (full-height) bracket. This is an Ethernet-only adapter — it is NOT a VPI adapter and does not run InfiniBand. This is a refurbished unit, tested by T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS.
Engineering Context
The ConnectX-4 EN silicon delivers 100Gb/s per port over QSFP28 (4×25G NRZ). The PCIe Gen3 x16 host interface provides roughly 128 Gb/s of raw host bandwidth, which is the practical ceiling for one port at 100Gb/s; sustaining both ports concurrently at line rate is bound by host PCIe bandwidth on Gen3 x16. The card implements RoCE v1/v2 RDMA, stateless TCP/IP/UDP offloads, SR-IOV with multiple VFs per port, and overlay tunnel offloads (VXLAN, NVGRE, Geneve). Ethernet auto-negotiation supports 1/10/25/40/50/100GbE on QSFP28 ports.
Deployment & Use Cases
100GbE leaf-spine fabrics in modern data centers. NVMe-oF over RoCE storage targets and initiators. KVM and VMware hosts using SR-IOV passthrough on 100GbE. Cloud overlay networks needing VXLAN encapsulation offload. Backbone uplinks consolidating multiple 25/40GbE links onto single 100GbE ports.
Technical Specifications
- OEM: NVIDIA Mellanox
- Part Number: MCX416A-CCAT
- Controller: ConnectX-4 EN
- Ports: 2 × QSFP28
- Data Rate: 100GbE per port (also 1/10/25/40/50GbE)
- Host Interface: PCI Express Gen 3.0 x16
- Protocol: Ethernet only (not VPI)
- Bracket: Tall (Full-Height)
- RDMA: RoCE v1/v2
- Virtualization: SR-IOV (multiple VFs per port)
- Tunnel Offloads: VXLAN, NVGRE, Geneve
- Condition: Refurbished — Tested by T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS
Compatibility & Hard Constraints
Compatible with x86 servers (Dell PowerEdge, HPE ProLiant, Supermicro, Lenovo ThinkSystem) exposing a PCIe 3.0 x16 slot. Inbox drivers ship with modern Linux distributions and Windows Server. Requires QSFP28 transceivers or DAC/AOC cables. Does NOT support InfiniBand — VPI capability requires a ConnectX-4 VPI SKU (MCX455/MCX456 series). Sustaining both ports at 100GbE line rate simultaneously is bound by PCIe 3.0 x16 host bandwidth.
Why Choose T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS
Each adapter is bench-tested for both ports, link training, and PCIe enumeration before shipment. T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS ships globally with 1–3 business day handling and provides architectural guidance on 100GbE deployments.