Mellanox Voltaire Grid Director 4036 (VLT-30111) 40Gb/s QDR 36-Port InfiniBand 1U Switch: This is a 36-port 40Gb/s QDR InfiniBand 1U switch from the Voltaire Grid Director product line, acquired by Mellanox in 2011. Each port is QSFP and operates at 40Gb/s QDR (4x 10Gb/s lanes). It is an InfiniBand QDR switch, not an Ethernet or FDR/EDR switch, and is intended for legacy or budget HPC and storage fabric deployments. Ships with 2 hot-swap power supplies. This is a refurbished unit.
Engineering Context
The Voltaire 4036 (VLT-30111) provides 2.88 Tb/s aggregate bidirectional throughput across 36 QDR ports. Cut-through forwarding latency is approximately 100ns port-to-port. The switch supports embedded subnet management on the managed Grid Director variant; this VLT-30111 part number ships with the standard managed firmware. Hot-swap dual redundant power supplies and fan trays are included. Management is via a dedicated Ethernet management port and console port. The unit is intended for fixed installations; airflow direction is fixed and not field-reversible.
Deployment & Use Cases
Legacy HPC clusters running MPI codes that do not require EDR/HDR bandwidth. Educational and research clusters where 40Gb/s QDR is sufficient. Budget storage backend fabrics for older Lustre or GPFS deployments. Lab benches and test fabrics for protocol development and InfiniBand troubleshooting. Drop-in replacement for an existing 4036 unit in a homogeneous fabric.
Technical Specifications
OEM: Mellanox (Voltaire Grid Director line)
Part Number: VLT-30111
Product Line: Voltaire Grid Director 4036
Ports: 36 x QSFP
Port Speed: 40Gb/s QDR InfiniBand (4x 10Gb/s)
Aggregate Throughput: 2.88 Tb/s
Latency: ~100ns port-to-port (cut-through)
Form Factor: 1U Rackmount
Power: 2x Hot-Swap Redundant PSUs
Management: Dedicated management Ethernet + console port
Condition: Refurbished — Tested by T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS
Compatibility & Hard Constraints
Compatible with QDR-capable InfiniBand HCAs including Mellanox ConnectX-2 QDR adapters and Voltaire HCAs. Works with QSFP QDR copper and active optical cables. Will negotiate down with DDR (20Gb/s) HCAs but cannot exceed QDR speeds. Not compatible with FDR/EDR-only adapters at native FDR/EDR rates; ports operate at QDR maximum. InfiniBand-only — this unit does not function as an Ethernet switch. Firmware updates for this product line are end-of-life from NVIDIA; T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS ships with a tested firmware revision installed.
Why Choose T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS
T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS validates every legacy QDR switch for port operation, PSU redundancy, fan health, and management access before shipment. We provide expert consultation on integrating legacy InfiniBand fabrics, global shipping with 1-3 day handling, and warranty support. Visit tes-itsolutions.com for legacy fabric support and migration planning.