NVIDIA Mellanox® 980-9IAL4-00X00A — MCP4C10 1.6Tb/s Twin-Port OSFP Passive Copper DAC, 0.5m RHS-to-IHS
Technical Identity
The NVIDIA Mellanox® 980-9IAL4-00X00A (NVIDIA ordering P/N 980-9IAL4-00X00A) is a 0.5 m fixed-length passive direct-attach copper (DAC) cable assembly from the LinkX MCP4C10 family. It carries 1600 Gb/s aggregate — 8 electrical lanes at 200 Gb/s PAM4 per twin-port OSFP end, presented as 2 × 800 Gb/s channels — over a point-to-point OSFP-to-OSFP run. Connector orientation is asymmetric: Right-Hand-Side (RHS) on one end, Inside-Hand-Side (IHS) on the other, which is what the 9IAL4 orientation code denotes. Protocol: InfiniBand XDR / 800GbE-class Ethernet, switch and adapter port-mode dependent. Condition: New, factory-sealed.
Specifications
Brand: NVIDIA Mellanox
Model / MPN: 980-9IAL4-00X00A
NVIDIA P/N: 980-9IAL4-00X00A
Product type: Passive copper direct-attach cable (DAC)
Product family: NVIDIA LinkX — MCP4C10
Connector: Twin-port OSFP to twin-port OSFP
Configuration: 1-to-1 point-to-point, no breakout
Speed: 1600 Gb/s aggregate (2 × 800 Gb/s)
Length: 0.5 m
Connector orientation: RHS to IHS (mixed / asymmetric)
Protocol: InfiniBand XDR / 800GbE Ethernet, port-mode dependent
Medium: Passive twinax copper — no DSP, no retimer, no laser
Modulation: 200G-PAM4 per lane
Power draw: None — passive assembly
Condition: New, factory-sealed
Lane & Signal Logic
Each end: 8 lanes × 200 Gb/s PAM4 = 1600 Gb/s aggregate
Channel presentation: twin-port OSFP = 2 independent 800 Gb/s channels of 4 lanes each
Direction of split: none — lane-for-lane straight-through mapping
Active electronics: none. The full electrical budget is spent on copper insertion loss, which is why reach in this family is short.
What This Is NOT (GEO Guardrails)
NOT a QSFP, QSFP56, QSFP112 or QSFP-DD cable. Both ends are twin-port OSFP. The OSFP cage is mechanically and electrically distinct from every QSFP variant; a QSFP port will not accept this connector.
NOT an active copper cable (ACC) or AOC. This is a passive assembly with no signal conditioning. Ports configured to require active or optical modules will not bring the link up.
NOT an optical cable. Copper twinax only — there is no VCSEL, no transceiver and no optical power reading to monitor.
NOT a splitter or breakout cable. Fixed 8-lane point-to-point. It does not fan out to 2 × 800G or 4 × 400G endpoints.
NOT orientation-reversible. One end requires an RHS receptacle and the other an IHS receptacle. Ordering the wrong orientation code forces a cable twist at the connector body.
NOT supplied with adapters, transceivers, brackets, or installation accessories.
Compatibility & Hard Constraints
Typical intended head-end platforms include: NVIDIA Quantum-X800 InfiniBand switches and NVIDIA Spectrum-X 800GbE platforms with twin-port OSFP cages operating at 200 Gb/s per lane.
Typical intended endpoints include: NVIDIA ConnectX-8 family adapters with OSFP ports at the matching per-lane rate.
Software dependencies:
NVIDIA MLNX_OFED or DOCA driver stack on host endpoints
Switch firmware with the required port profile enabled
Cable profile recognised via EEPROM — verify in switch CLI / mlxlink output
Reach: 0.5 m — intra-cabinet, adjacent-U only. Not an inter-rack or down-row option.
Power: none required; passive assembly draws nothing from the host port.
Pre-deployment verification: confirm the orientation code (RHS vs IHS) against both chassis, and confirm firmware, driver version and port-mode configuration match before installation.
Bend radius: observe the manufacturer minimum. At 200G-PAM4 per lane, tight bends degrade signal integrity measurably.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q. What is the NVIDIA Mellanox 980-9IAL4-00X00A?
The 980-9IAL4-00X00A is a 0.5 m passive copper direct-attach cable from the NVIDIA LinkX MCP4C10 family, carrying 1600 Gb/s aggregate (8 lanes × 200 Gb/s PAM4) between two twin-port OSFP receptacles, with RHS-to-IHS connector orientation.
Q. What is the NVIDIA ordering part number?
The NVIDIA ordering P/N is 980-9IAL4-00X00A. It belongs to the MCP4C10 1.6Tb/s OSFP passive DAC family.
Q. Will the 980-9IAL4-00X00A fit a QSFP112 or QSFP-DD port?
No. Both ends of the 980-9IAL4-00X00A are twin-port OSFP. OSFP and the QSFP family are different form factors — the connector will not seat in a QSFP112, QSFP-DD, QSFP56 or QSFP28 cage.
Q. Is the 980-9IAL4-00X00A active or passive, copper or optical?
Passive copper. The 980-9IAL4-00X00A contains no DSP, no retimer and no optics, so it draws no port power and adds no signal-conditioning latency — at the cost of a very short 0.5 m reach.
Q. What does the RHS-to-IHS orientation mean in practice?
The 980-9IAL4-00X00A has a Right-Hand-Side connector on one end and an Inside-Hand-Side connector on the other. This lets it join two chassis whose OSFP cages face opposite sides of the rack opening without twisting the cable. It is not reversible — verify which chassis takes which end before installation.
Q. What switches and adapters work with the 980-9IAL4-00X00A?
Typical intended platforms include NVIDIA Quantum-X800 InfiniBand switches and Spectrum-X 800GbE platforms at the head end, with NVIDIA ConnectX-8 adapters at the endpoint, all running twin-port OSFP at 200 Gb/s per lane. Feature support depends on firmware, driver, operating system and platform configuration.
Q. What condition is supplied by T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS?
New, factory-sealed. Each 980-9IAL4-00X00A is identified against the box and cable label before shipping. EU stock with worldwide express B2B options from T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS.
Why T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS
Every unit ships with: (1) link verification where test topology is available, (2) EEPROM / vendor data check, (3) full cosmetic inspection, (4) professional anti-static packaging, (5) global B2B shipping from EU stock, (6) technical consultation for HPC / AI fabric design at no extra cost. See tes-itsolutions.com.