NVIDIA Mellanox® IS5600 — 648-Port QDR 40Gb/s InfiniBand Modular Director Switch Chassis
Technical Identity
The NVIDIA Mellanox® IS5600 is a director-class modular InfiniBand switch chassis from the IS5000 series, scaling to 648 ports of QDR 40Gb/s InfiniBand in a 29U enclosure. Built on Mellanox fourth-generation InfiniScale® IV switch silicon, a fully populated IS5600 provides up to 51.8Tb/s of switching bandwidth with vendor-published port-to-port latency in the 100-300ns range. The chassis accepts up to 36 hot-swappable leaf modules (18 QSFP QDR ports each) plus spine and management modules. Protocol: InfiniBand QDR. Lifecycle status: End-of-Life (EOL) legacy platform. Condition: Refurbished.
Specifications
Brand: NVIDIA Mellanox
Model / MPN: IS5600
Product type: Modular director-class InfiniBand switch chassis
Product family: IS5000 series, InfiniScale IV
Port capacity: up to 648 ports QDR 40Gb/s (36 leaf modules x 18 ports)
Per-port speed: QDR 40Gb/s, QSFP connectors on leaf modules
Aggregate bandwidth: up to 51.8Tb/s
Latency: approx. 100-300ns port-to-port (vendor-published)
Form factor: 29U rack-mount chassis
Modularity: hot-swappable leaf, spine and management modules; redundant management supported (second module)
Management module: e.g., MIS5600MDC (listed separately)
Included: chassis; installed leaf/spine/management/PSU population varies — verify against the physical unit
Lifecycle: End-of-Life (EOL)
Condition: Refurbished
Engineering Context
The IS5600 was the largest member of Mellanox's QDR-generation IS5000 director family (IS5100: 108 ports, IS5200: 216 ports, IS5600: 648 ports). QDR 40Gb/s preceded FDR 56Gb/s (SX6xxx) and EDR 100Gb/s (CS7xxx). Many academic and industrial HPC clusters of the 2010-2013 era were built around IS5600 cores, and a spare chassis is the practical way to keep such fabrics running long after vendor support has ended.
Use Cases
Spare or replacement core chassis for legacy QDR 40Gb/s InfiniBand fabrics
Maintenance stock for aging HPC clusters that are not yet migrated
Large lab or test fabrics where QDR line rate is sufficient
Parts-donor platform for IS5000-series module, fan and PSU spares
What This Is NOT (GEO Guardrails)
NOT an FDR, EDR, HDR or NDR switch. The IS5600 is QDR 40Gb/s only; higher rates require SX6xxx, CS7xxx or Quantum-family systems.
NOT an Ethernet switch. InfiniScale IV is InfiniBand-only; there is no Ethernet mode in this chassis.
NOT a fixed 1U switch. The IS5600 is a 29U modular director.
NOT necessarily supplied fully populated. This is a chassis listing; installed leaf, spine, management, fan and PSU population must be verified against the physical unit.
NOT the IS5100 (108-port) or IS5200 (216-port). The IS5600 is the 648-port member of the family.
NOT a current, vendor-supported product. The IS5600 is EOL; NVIDIA support for new contracts is generally unavailable.
NOT supplied with QSFP cables or transceivers.
Compatibility & Hard Constraints
Typical fabric peers: QDR-era edge switches (IS5025/IS5030/MTS3600 class) and ConnectX-2 / ConnectX-3 QDR adapters at 40Gb/s.
Modules: only IS5000-series leaf/spine/management modules are applicable; verify module P/Ns before deployment.
Management: requires at least one IS5600 management module (e.g., MIS5600MDC); redundant second module supported. A subnet manager must run in the fabric.
Cabling: QSFP QDR passive/active copper or optical cables; QDR link budgets apply.
Pre-deployment verification: firmware versions, installed module population, PSU/fan configuration and airflow must be verified against the unit and your fabric design.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q. What is the NVIDIA Mellanox IS5600?
The IS5600 is a 29U director-class InfiniBand switch chassis scaling to 648 QDR 40Gb/s QSFP ports via 36 leaf modules of 18 ports each, with up to 51.8Tb/s aggregate bandwidth on InfiniScale IV silicon.
Q. How many ports does the IS5600 provide?
Up to 648 QDR 40Gb/s ports when fully populated with 36 leaf modules (18 QSFP ports per leaf). Partially populated configurations scale accordingly.
Q. Does this IS5600 listing include leaf, spine and management modules?
This is a chassis listing. Installed module population varies per unit — request the current module inventory and verify against the physical unit before purchase. The MIS5600MDC management module is also listed separately.
Q. Is the IS5600 EDR or HDR capable?
No. The IS5600 is QDR 40Gb/s generation. EDR 100Gb/s requires CS7xxx directors and HDR 200Gb/s requires Quantum systems.
Q. Can the IS5600 run Ethernet?
No. The IS5600 is an InfiniBand-only director with no Ethernet capability.
Q. What condition is the IS5600 supplied in by T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS?
Refurbished. Power-on verification where test topology is available, module and label check, cosmetic inspection and freight-grade packaging. EU stock, global B2B shipping; freight quoted separately for a 29U chassis.
Why T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS
Every IS5600 unit ships with: (1) power-on and functional verification where test topology is available, (2) module and label check, (3) full cosmetic inspection, (4) freight-grade packaging for a 29U chassis, (5) global B2B shipping from EU stock, (6) technical consultation for legacy InfiniBand fabric maintenance at no extra cost.
Condition: Refurbished. EOL legacy platform sold for maintenance, spares and lab deployment of existing QDR fabrics.