NVIDIA Mellanox MCX353A-FCBT ConnectX-3 VPI Single-Port QSFP+ HCA, FDR IB / 40-56GbE: This is a single-port Virtual Protocol Interconnect (VPI) Host Channel Adapter (HCA) built on the Mellanox ConnectX-3 ASIC. The QSFP+ port operates as either FDR InfiniBand (56 Gb/s) or 40/56 Gigabit Ethernet on a configurable basis. PCIe 3.0 x8 host interface, tall bracket installed. This is NOT a low-profile card and not an Ethernet-only EN variant. This is a brand-new, factory-sealed unit.
Engineering Context
VPI allows the single QSFP+ port to be reconfigured between InfiniBand and Ethernet personalities through Mellanox tooling (mlxconfig). FDR InfiniBand on ConnectX-3 delivers 56 Gb/s aggregate over 4 lanes (post-encoding); 56GbE Ethernet mode requires a Mellanox switch with 56GbE support, while 40GbE is the IEEE-standard rate with non-Mellanox switches. The ConnectX-3 ASIC supports RDMA verbs, GPUDirect RDMA (with capable GPUs), SR-IOV up to 127 VFs, and stateless TCP/UDP/IP offloads. Single-port design simplifies HPC node cabling.
Deployment & Use Cases
High-Performance Computing (HPC) cluster nodes for MPI-based parallel workloads such as CFD, molecular dynamics, and weather simulation; AI training nodes using GPUDirect RDMA; Lustre and GPFS parallel filesystem clients; financial risk-modeling clusters; and dual-purpose Ethernet/InfiniBand testbed environments. Single-port form is well suited to compact 1U HPC nodes.
Technical Specifications
- OEM: NVIDIA Mellanox
- Part Number (MPN): MCX353A-FCBT
- ASIC: ConnectX-3
- Adapter Family: ConnectX-3 VPI (InfiniBand + Ethernet)
- Ports: 1 × QSFP+
- InfiniBand Rate: FDR (56 Gb/s)
- Ethernet Rate: 40GbE (IEEE) / 56GbE (Mellanox proprietary)
- Host Interface: PCIe 3.0 x8
- Form Factor: Standard PCIe with tall bracket
- RDMA: InfiniBand verbs, RoCE, GPUDirect RDMA
- RoHS: R6 compliant
- Condition: Brand New — Factory Sealed
Compatibility & Constraints
Compatible with Mellanox SX6000-series InfiniBand switches (FDR), MSX1000-series Ethernet switches, and IEEE 40GbE switches from Cisco, Arista, Juniper, and HPE. Use Mellanox FDR-rated copper or active fiber cables for InfiniBand operation; standard 40GbE QSFP+ cables for Ethernet mode. Port mode (IB vs Ethernet) is set via mlxconfig and persists across reboots. NOT compatible with EDR/HDR/NDR InfiniBand fabrics — those rates require ConnectX-5/6/7 respectively. Linux MLNX_OFED, Windows OFED, VMware ESXi, and FreeBSD all supported.
Why Choose T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS
T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS supplies NEW, factory-sealed Mellanox HPC and data center hardware with verified part-number authenticity. Visit tes-itsolutions.com for our full ConnectX-3 VPI catalog, expert HPC fabric consultation, global shipping with 1–3 business day handling, and warranty support.