Passive copper hybrid breakout cable — the NVIDIA Mellanox MCP7F00-A005 is a passive copper hybrid (DAC-style) breakout cable that splits a single QSFP28 100GbE port into four independent SFP28 25GbE links. MPN: MCP7F00-A005. This product IS a 5-meter passive copper breakout cable for Ethernet; it is NOT an active optical cable (AOC), NOT an InfiniBand cable, and NOT compatible with QDR/FDR/EDR IB ports. Condition: refurbished, tested and verified by T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS.
Engineering Context
The MCP7F00-A005 delivers an aggregate bandwidth of 100Gb/s across four IEEE 802.3by 25GBASE-CR lanes. At 5 meters and 26 AWG copper construction, it operates at the extended reach boundary for passive 25G copper signaling. Signal integrity depends on host SERDES equalization capability; 5m 26 AWG passive is suitable where switch and NIC transceivers can handle the elevated loss budget at this distance. The cable draws no meaningful power (passive construction; management interface power only). Insertion loss is governed by the AWG and length; no active regeneration occurs.
Deployment & Use Cases
Intended for top-of-rack (ToR) leaf switch to server connections in 100GbE Ethernet fabrics. Suitable for VMware ESXi hosts requiring four independent 25GbE uplinks from a single QSFP28 switch port. Used in AI/ML training clusters to fan one switch port to four GPU servers via SFP28 NICs. Appropriate for NVMe-oF storage fabrics, Kubernetes network deployments, and SDN overlay environments where per-host 25GbE paths are required. Deployed with NVIDIA SN2410, SN3420, SN2700, and SN3800 series top-of-rack switches.
Technical Specifications
MPN: MCP7F00-A005
Cable Type: Passive Copper Hybrid Breakout (DAC)
Aggregate Data Rate: 100GbE
Lane Configuration: 4×25GbE (25GBASE-CR per lane)
Trunk Connector: QSFP28
Branch Connectors: 4×SFP28
Cable Length: 5 meters
Cable Gauge: 26 AWG copper
Protocol: Ethernet — IEEE 802.3by
Active Components: None (fully passive)
Condition: Refurbished
Compatibility & Constraints
Compatible on the trunk end with NVIDIA Mellanox ConnectX-4, ConnectX-5, ConnectX-6, and ConnectX-7 QSFP28 ports, and with QSFP28 downlink ports on NVIDIA SN-series Ethernet switches. Compatible on the branch end with SFP28 ports supporting 25GBASE-CR. NOT compatible with InfiniBand (FDR, EDR, HDR, NDR) — Ethernet-only signaling. NOT compatible with QSFP+ (40GbE) ports without a transceiver adapter. NOT compatible with SFP+ (10GbE) branch ports. Cannot replace an AOC where active signal regeneration is required. Predecessor in the same product family: MCP7F00-A002 (2m); for longer runs beyond 5m, active optical breakout cables are required.
Why Choose T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS
T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS tests all passive copper cables for signal integrity and mechanical integrity at both the QSFP28 trunk and all four SFP28 branch connectors prior to dispatch. Lab-verified stock, 1–3 business day handling, global shipping. Technical consultation available for fabric design and cable selection. Visit tes-itsolutions.com.