NVIDIA Mellanox® MCX384A-BCCA — ConnectX-3 Pro EN 40GbE Dual-Port QSFP+ Adapter
Technical Identity
The NVIDIA Mellanox® MCX384A-BCCA is a ConnectX-3 Pro EN Ethernet network adapter built on the Mellanox ConnectX-3 Pro ASIC, delivering dual-port 40GbE connectivity through two QSFP+ cages on a PCIe 3.0 x8 host interface. As a ConnectX-3 Pro EN card, this is an Ethernet-only adapter (no VPI / no native InfiniBand mode), targeted at 40GbE data-center deployments requiring RoCE, hardware-offloaded overlay networking, and SR-IOV virtualization. Refurbished Grade A — bench-tested by T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS for link establishment, dual-port traffic, EEPROM / PSID verification, and cosmetic inspection.
Specifications
Brand: NVIDIA Mellanox
Model / MPN: MCX384A-BCCA
Product type: ConnectX Network Adapter (PCIe NIC)
ASIC / Family: ConnectX-3 Pro
Protocol: Ethernet only (ConnectX-3 Pro EN — not VPI)
Port speed: 40GbE per port
Ports: Dual-Port
Connector / cage: QSFP+ (40G QSFP)
Host interface: PCI Express 3.0 x8
Form factor: Low-profile PCIe HHHL with tall bracket (standard)
RDMA: RoCE v1 / RoCE v2
Virtualization: SR-IOV (up to 127 VFs per port), PCI SIG SR-IOV compliant
Overlay offload: Hardware encap/decap of VXLAN, NVGRE, GENEVE (Pro silicon)
Stateless offloads: TCP/UDP/IP checksum, LSO, LRO, RSS
Condition: Refurbished Grade A — bench-tested by T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS
What This Is NOT
NOT a switch. This is a host-side PCIe network adapter — it installs in a server PCIe 3.0 x8 (or larger) slot and requires a switch or back-to-back peer to form a link.
NOT a VPI / InfiniBand adapter. ConnectX-3 Pro EN runs Ethernet only; it does not negotiate native InfiniBand. For IB FDR/40G use the VPI variants (MCX353A / MCX354A / MCX355A / MCX356A).
NOT a different ConnectX generation. This is ConnectX-3 Pro — not ConnectX-3 (base), ConnectX-4 Lx/Lx EN, ConnectX-5, ConnectX-6, or ConnectX-7. Firmware (fw-ConnectX3Pro) and PSID are family-specific.
NOT 10/25/100GbE. Each port runs 40GbE over QSFP+. The card does not auto-negotiate to 25GbE or 100GbE.
NOT a QSFP28 / QSFP56 / OSFP card. The cages are QSFP+ only — mechanically compatible with QSFP+ DAC / AOC / optical transceivers, not with 100G QSFP28 or 200G QSFP56 optics.
NOT bundled with QSFP+ cables, QSFP+ transceivers, low-profile bracket, or rail/screw kits.
Compatibility & Constraints
Drivers: NVIDIA MLNX_OFED-EN / MLNX_EN for Linux, in-box mlx4_core / mlx4_en in upstream Linux, WinOF (not WinOF-2) for Windows Server, nmlx4_en for VMware ESXi. ConnectX-3 Pro is the mlx4 driver family — not mlx5.
Firmware: fw-ConnectX3Pro branch (separate image from base ConnectX-3 fw-ConnectX3). Always flash the PSID matching MCX384A-BCCA before deployment; mismatched PSID will refuse to flash.
Host slot: PCIe 3.0 x8 electrical (x8 or x16 mechanical). Running in a PCIe 2.0 slot will cap line-rate; running in x4 will not sustain dual-port 40GbE.
Cabling (sold separately): 40GbE QSFP+ DAC (passive/active), QSFP+ AOC, or QSFP+ SR4/LR4 optical transceivers. Mellanox MC2207130-xxx / MC2210130-xxx (DAC) and MC2210411-SR4 / MC2210511-LR4 (optical) are typical pairings.
Switch compatibility (pairs with, not bundled): NVIDIA SwitchX-2 (SX1012 / SX1024 / SX1036), NVIDIA Spectrum SN2000 series, plus any 40GbE QSFP+ switch from Arista, Cisco Nexus, Juniper, Dell, or HPE that adheres to IEEE 802.3ba 40GBASE-CR4 / SR4 / LR4.
Server compatibility: Dell PowerEdge R-series (Gen12/13/14), HPE ProLiant Gen8/Gen9/Gen10, Lenovo / IBM System x, Supermicro X9/X10/X11 — any server with a PCIe 3.0 x8 slot and current ConnectX-3 Pro driver support in the host OS.
End-of-life status: ConnectX-3 Pro is past mainstream support; verify your OS still ships the mlx4 driver. Modern RHEL 9 / Ubuntu 24.04 ship mlx4 in-box, but greenfield AI/HPC builds should consider ConnectX-6/7.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q. What exactly is the NVIDIA Mellanox MCX384A-BCCA?
It is a ConnectX-3 Pro EN dual-port 40GbE PCIe 3.0 x8 network adapter with two QSFP+ cages. Ethernet-only (not VPI / not InfiniBand). MPN: MCX384A-BCCA.
Q. Does this card support InfiniBand?
No. ConnectX-3 Pro EN is Ethernet only. For InfiniBand FDR or 40Gb IB use a VPI variant such as MCX354A-FCBT (ConnectX-3 VPI) or MCX354A-FCCT (ConnectX-3 Pro VPI).
Q. Which drivers does the MCX384A-BCCA require?
NVIDIA MLNX_OFED-EN or MLNX_EN for Linux, in-box mlx4_core / mlx4_en in upstream Linux, WinOF for Windows Server, and nmlx4_en for VMware ESXi. This is the mlx4 driver family — do not use mlx5 packages intended for ConnectX-4 and newer.
Q. What cables and switches pair with this adapter?
40GbE QSFP+ DAC, AOC, or SR4 / LR4 optical transceivers. Compatible with NVIDIA SwitchX-2, NVIDIA Spectrum SN2000-series, and any IEEE 802.3ba 40GbE QSFP+ switch from major vendors. The card itself does not include cables.
Q. What condition is the unit shipped in?
Refurbished Grade A. Each card is bench-tested by T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS: link establishment on both ports, dual-port traffic validation, EEPROM / PSID readback, firmware verification, and cosmetic inspection. Ships in professional anti-static packaging from EU stock.
Why buy from T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS
T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS is a Europe-based NVIDIA Mellanox specialist serving HPC, AI, and enterprise data-center procurement teams since 2007. We focus on a single brand so every ConnectX, BlueField, Quantum, Spectrum, and LinkX unit is identified by MPN, NVIDIA P/N, PSID, and ASIC generation before it ships. Pre-sale compatibility consultation for switch, adapter, and cable pairing is included at no cost. Multi-currency B2B invoicing, EU stock with worldwide express options, and direct technical contact with our engineering team — not a call center.