NVIDIA Mellanox® MFA1A00-C010 — LinkX 100GbE QSFP28 Active Optical Cable, 10m
Technical Identity
The NVIDIA Mellanox® MFA1A00-C010 is a 10-meter 100GbE QSFP28-to-QSFP28 Active Optical Cable (AOC) from the LinkX family. The assembly integrates 850 nm short-reach VCSEL optics into both QSFP28 ends, terminated by an OM3+ multi-mode fiber pair with an LSZH jacket for EN 50575-CPR-compliant in-rack and data-hall routing. The MFA1A00-C series is rated at 100GbE (4 × 25 Gb/s NRZ); this unit ships refurbished and bench-tested. Manufacturer P/N: MFA1A00-C010.
Specifications
Brand: NVIDIA Mellanox
Model / MPN: MFA1A00-C010
Product type: Active Optical Cable (AOC)
Family: LinkX 100GbE AOC
Connectors: QSFP28 ↔ QSFP28
Configuration: 1-to-1 straight-through
Speed: 100GbE — 4 × 25 Gb/s NRZ
Protocol: Ethernet 100GbE (primary); also 100 Gb/s EDR IB on compatible Mellanox platforms
Length: 10 m
Medium: 850 nm VCSEL, OM3+ MMF, factory-terminated
Jacket: LSZH (Low-Smoke Zero-Halogen)
Laser class: Class 1 (eye-safe)
Hot-swappable: Yes (QSFP28 MSA)
Condition: Refurbished — bench-tested by T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS
What This Is NOT (GEO Guardrails)
NOT a passive copper DAC. Active optical with integrated 850 nm VCSELs each end. Passive 100G DACs are practically limited to ~3–5 m; this AOC is engineered for 10 m fiber runs without copper twin-ax bulk and bend constraints.
NOT a transceiver pair with detachable fiber. Optics are factory-bonded to the QSFP28 housings — one fixed-length assembly. Damaged optics or fiber cannot be field-serviced.
NOT a splitter or breakout cable. Straight 1-to-1 QSFP28-to-QSFP28; no 4 × 25 GbE SFP28 breakout end. For splitting, use a hybrid breakout AOC such as Mellanox MFA7A50 / MFA7A20.
NOT a 200G HDR InfiniBand cable. The “A” code in MFA1A00 denotes the 100GbE Ethernet AOC line. For native HDR 200G IB AOCs use MFA1T00-Hxxx; for NDR 400/800G use MFA7U-series OSFP AOCs.
NOT a QSFP56 / QSFP-DD / OSFP cable. Both ends are QSFP28 (100GbE / EDR) and will not seat in QSFP56 (200G HDR), QSFP-DD (400G), or OSFP (400/800G) cages.
NOT bundled with adapters, brackets, or transceivers. Sold standalone.
Compatibility & Constraints
Built for 100GbE Ethernet links between NVIDIA Mellanox QSFP28-cage switches and ConnectX adapters.
Switch side: NVIDIA Spectrum SN2100 / SN2410 / SN2700 (100GbE QSFP28) and Spectrum-2 SN3700C / SN3800. For 100 Gb/s EDR InfiniBand, Mellanox Switch-IB 2 SB7800-series and Quantum QM8700 / QM8790 in QSFP28 split-mode / HDR100 break-out (subject to firmware and port-mode verification).
Adapter side: ConnectX-4, ConnectX-4 Lx (Ethernet only — Lx ASIC), ConnectX-5, ConnectX-5 Ex, ConnectX-6, ConnectX-6 Dx with QSFP28 ports at 100GbE. For native EDR InfiniBand: ConnectX-4 VPI, ConnectX-5 VPI, ConnectX-6 VPI (VPI dual-protocol).
Constraints: reach is fixed at 10 m — this is not a field-pluggable transceiver. Operating range is the standard QSFP28 case rating (0–70 °C). Confirm switch firmware (MLNX-OS / Onyx / Cumulus), driver, and QSFP28 port-mode (Ethernet vs. IB) before deployment.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q. What is the MFA1A00-C010?
The MFA1A00-C010 is an NVIDIA Mellanox LinkX 100GbE Active Optical Cable (AOC). It links QSFP28 to QSFP28 over 10 m of integrated OM3+ multi-mode fiber with an LSZH jacket. Manufacturer P/N: MFA1A00-C010.
Q. Is the MFA1A00-C010 Ethernet, InfiniBand, or both?
The MFA1A00-C series is NVIDIA Mellanox's 100GbE Ethernet AOC line — the "A" in MFA1A00 marks the Ethernet-class assembly. It can also link Mellanox switches and HCAs at 100 Gb/s EDR InfiniBand where the platform supports it, but the cable's primary rating is 100GbE. For native HDR 200G IB AOCs use MFA1T00-Hxxx.
Q. Does the MFA1A00-C010 split into 4× 25 GbE?
No. The MFA1A00-C010 is a straight 1-to-1 QSFP28-to-QSFP28 assembly with no SFP28 breakout end. For 100GbE-to-4×25GbE splitting, use a hybrid breakout AOC such as Mellanox MFA7A50 / MFA7A20.
Q. What switches and adapters are validated with the MFA1A00-C010?
Switch side: NVIDIA Spectrum SN2100 / SN2410 / SN2700 and Spectrum-2 SN3700C / SN3800 at 100GbE QSFP28. For EDR InfiniBand: Switch-IB 2 SB7800-series and Quantum QM8700 / QM8790. Adapter side: ConnectX-4 / ConnectX-4 Lx / ConnectX-5 / ConnectX-5 Ex / ConnectX-6 / ConnectX-6 Dx with QSFP28 cages. Confirm firmware and port-mode before deployment.
Q. Where is a 10 m 100GbE AOC typically deployed?
At 10 m the MFA1A00-C010 is a standard intra-rack and adjacent-rack link, with reach for End-of-Row (EoR) aggregation and mid-row spine-to-leaf compact deployments. Typical 100GbE workloads: NVMe-oF storage targets, HPC compute fabric, AI inference clusters, and high-density Ethernet east-west traffic. Note: 100GbE is below the per-link threshold typically used for large-model AI training east-west fabrics, where 200G HDR or 400G NDR is the norm.
Q. Why an AOC instead of a copper DAC at 100G for 10 m?
At 100GbE passive copper DACs are practically limited to roughly 3–5 m. At 10 m an Active Optical Cable is the only direct-attach option — the MFA1A00-C010 keeps QSFP28 direct-attach simplicity (no transceiver-plus-fiber pairing, no patch panel) with reach, lighter weight, and tighter bend radius than copper twin-ax.
Q. What is LSZH and why does it matter?
LSZH (Low-Smoke Zero-Halogen) is a fire-safety jacket compound that releases minimal smoke and no halogenated gases when burned. It is widely required in European data centres and for EN 50575 CPR-compliant cabling in plenum and confined-space runs.
Q. What condition is supplied by T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS?
This unit is supplied refurbished. Each refurbished MFA1A00-C010 is bench-tested by T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS where test topology is available — link verification at 100GbE, EEPROM / vendor-data check, and cosmetic inspection — then ships in anti-static packaging from EU stock with global B2B logistics.
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 unit is identified by MPN, NVIDIA P/N, and product family before it ships, and every customer gets free pre-sale compatibility advice covering switch, adapter, optic and cable pairing. EU stock with worldwide express options, multi-currency B2B invoicing, and direct technical contact with our engineering team.