Identity & Definition
The NVIDIA Mellanox MCX342A-XCQN is a 10GbE enterprise Ethernet network interface card (NIC) in OCP mezzanine form factor, sold in new condition. This dual-port SFP+ adapter is based on Mellanox ConnectX-3 Pro EN technology — the "Pro" variant of the ConnectX-3 family — and connects via PCIe 3.0 x8. It is NOT a standard ConnectX-3 EN (non-Pro) adapter, NOT a standard PCIe add-in card (no bracket), and NOT a VPI card. It includes IPMI and NC-SI management support and is RoHS R6 certified.
Engineering Context
The MCX342A-XCQN delivers 10Gb/s per port (20Gb/s aggregate) over its two SFP+ ports via PCIe 3.0 x8 in an OCP mezzanine slot. ConnectX-3 Pro EN adds hardware timestamping (PTP/IEEE 1588) and RoCE v2 support over the base ConnectX-3 EN feature set, which already includes SR-IOV, stateless TCP/UDP/IP offload, and RoCE v1. The IPMI and NC-SI sideband management enables out-of-band NIC management through the server BMC.
Deployment & Use Cases
The MCX342A-XCQN is deployed in OCP-compliant server platforms requiring 10GbE connectivity with hardware timestamping and RoCE v2. Typical use cases include financial trading infrastructure requiring PTP hardware timestamping, hyperscale data centers with OCP server designs needing RoCE v2 for NVMe-oF storage, VMware ESXi and KVM virtualization with SR-IOV, and 10GbE access-layer fabric links with out-of-band NC-SI management.
Technical Specifications

Part Number (MPN): MCX342A-XCQN
Adapter Family: ConnectX-3 Pro EN
Adapter Type: Ethernet NIC (OCP Mezzanine)
Port Count: 2 (Dual-Port)
Port Type: SFP+
Data Rate: 10Gb/s per port (20Gb/s aggregate)
Host Interface: PCIe 3.0 x8
Form Factor: OCP Mezzanine (No Bracket)
Management: IPMI, NC-SI
Pro Features: Hardware Timestamping (PTP), RoCE v2
Condition: New

Compatibility & Hard Constraints
The MCX342A-XCQN requires an OCP-compliant mezzanine slot. It is NOT compatible with standard PCIe expansion slots. The SFP+ ports accept 10GbE SFP+ transceivers, DAC cables, or 1GbE SFP optics. For the non-Pro ConnectX-3 EN OCP variant (without hardware timestamping/RoCE v2), the MCX342A-XCGN is available at a lower price point. For standard PCIe form factor with ConnectX-3 Pro, consider the MCX342A-XCPN.
Why Choose T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS
Every MCX342A-XCQN adapter sold by T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS is factory-sealed and new. Our team provides technical consultation on NVIDIA Mellanox OCP adapter selection, Pro vs. non-Pro feature differences, and deployment planning. Orders ship within 1–3 business days with worldwide delivery and protective packaging.