NVIDIA Mellanox® MCX545A-ECAN — ConnectX-5 VPI 100GbE / EDR OCP 2.0 Mezzanine Adapter (Single-Port QSFP28)

Technical Identity
The NVIDIA Mellanox® MCX545A-ECAN is a single-port ConnectX-5 VPI network adapter built on the Mellanox ConnectX-5 ASIC, delivered in the OCP 2.0 Mezzanine Type 1 form factor with one QSFP28 cage. As a VPI (Virtual Protocol Interconnect) device, the port is software-selectable between EDR InfiniBand (100 Gb/s) and 100 Gigabit Ethernet — set per host via mlxconfig and committed on reboot. Host-side signaling is PCIe Gen3 x8 routed through the OCP 2.0 mezzanine connector, providing full line-rate 100 Gb/s throughput. Condition: Refurbished Grade A — bench-tested at T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS.

Specifications

Brand: NVIDIA Mellanox
Model / MPN: MCX545A-ECAN
Product family: ConnectX-5 VPI Network Adapter
ASIC: Mellanox ConnectX-5
Form factor: OCP 2.0 Mezzanine Type 1 (mezzanine connector, NOT standard PCIe edge)
Ports: 1× QSFP28
Maximum data rate: 100 GbE Ethernet / EDR 100 Gb/s InfiniBand
InfiniBand generations supported: SDR / DDR / QDR / FDR10 / FDR / EDR
Ethernet speeds supported: 1 / 10 / 25 / 40 / 50 / 100 GbE
Protocol: VPI — Virtual Protocol Interconnect (IB + Ethernet, software-selectable per port)
Host bus: PCIe Gen3 x8 (8.0 GT/s)
Hardware offloads: RoCE v1/v2, GPUDirect RDMA, NVMe-oF, SR-IOV, ASAP² (Open vSwitch), VXLAN / NVGRE / Geneve / GTP encap, T10-DIF, IPsec inline crypto, Erasure Coding
Management: NC-SI, MCTP-over-SMBus, NVIDIA Multi-Host (if enabled by OCP carrier)
Condition: Refurbished Grade A — bench-tested by T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS


What This Is NOT

NOT a standard PCIe card. This is an OCP 2.0 Mezzanine Type 1 adapter — it mounts onto an OCP 2.0 mezzanine connector on the host motherboard and will NOT fit a PCIe x8 / x16 edge slot.
NOT an OCP 3.0 card. OCP 2.0 and OCP 3.0 (SFF / LFF) use different connectors and mechanical envelopes — they are not interchangeable.
NOT a dual-port adapter. Single QSFP28 cage only.
NOT a 200 / 400 GbE or HDR / NDR adapter. Maximum line rate is 100 Gb/s (EDR InfiniBand or 100 GbE Ethernet). For HDR / 200 GbE use ConnectX-6; for NDR / 400 GbE use ConnectX-7.
NOT an Ethernet-only or InfiniBand-only adapter. This is a VPI (Virtual Protocol Interconnect) part — the port is software-selectable between both protocols.
NOT a QSFP+ / QSFP56 / OSFP / SFP cage. Uses QSFP28 only; will not accept QSFP56 200G modules, OSFP 400G modules, or SFP/SFP28 cables.
NOT bundled with mezzanine carriers, brackets, cables, or transceivers — sold as a standalone adapter.


Compatibility

Host platform: server motherboards exposing an OCP 2.0 mezzanine connector (PCIe Gen3 x8 routing). Verify mechanical clearance and connector pinout against your platform's OCP 2.0 spec before ordering.
InfiniBand switches: NVIDIA Switch-IB 2 (SB7700 / SB7800) at native EDR; NVIDIA Quantum / Quantum-2 HDR switches in EDR-compatible mode.
Ethernet switches: NVIDIA Spectrum (SN2700 / SN2410) at 100 GbE; Spectrum-2 (SN3700) at 100 GbE breakout; or any vendor 100 GbE QSFP28 switch.
Cabling — copper: QSFP28 passive DAC up to ~3 m (e.g. MCP1600-E0xx for EDR IB, MCP1600-C0xx for 100GbE).
Cabling — active optical: QSFP28 AOC up to ~100 m (MFA1A00-E0xx for EDR, MFA1A00-C0xx for 100GbE).
Cabling — optical modules: QSFP28 SR4 (MMA1B00-C100D), LR4, PSM4, CWDM4 transceivers with MPO-12 or duplex LC fiber as appropriate.
Drivers: NVIDIA MLNX_OFED (Linux), upstream in-box mlx5_core (Linux), WinOF-2 (Windows Server), nmlx5 (VMware ESXi 6.x / 7.x / 8.x).
Mode switching: mlxconfig -d <pci-id> set LINK_TYPE_P1=<ETH|IB|AUTO>, then host reboot. AUTO follows the switch port type.
Firmware: updated via mlxfwmanager / flint; check current PSID against NVIDIA's firmware matrix before flashing.


Frequently Asked Questions
Q. What is the NVIDIA Mellanox MCX545A-ECAN?
The MCX545A-ECAN is a single-port 100GbE / EDR InfiniBand ConnectX-5 VPI adapter in the OCP 2.0 Mezzanine (Type 1) form factor with one QSFP28 cage. VPI = Virtual Protocol Interconnect, meaning the port is software-selectable between InfiniBand (EDR, 100 Gb/s) and Ethernet (up to 100 GbE).
Q. Will the MCX545A-ECAN fit a standard PCIe slot?
No. This is an OCP 2.0 Type 1 mezzanine card and mounts onto an OCP 2.0 mezzanine connector on the motherboard. It will NOT fit a PCIe x8 / x16 slot and is NOT compatible with OCP 3.0 SFF cages. Bus signaling is PCIe Gen3 x8 routed through the OCP 2.0 connector.
Q. How do I switch the port between Ethernet and InfiniBand?
Use mlxconfig from MLNX_OFED: mlxconfig -d <pci-id> set LINK_TYPE_P1=<ETH|IB|AUTO>, then reboot. AUTO lets the link type follow the peer (switch port). Drivers: MLNX_OFED / in-box mlx5_core on Linux, WinOF-2 on Windows, nmlx5 on VMware ESXi.
Q. What switches and cables are compatible?
EDR InfiniBand uplinks: NVIDIA Switch-IB 2 (SB7700 / SB7800) and Quantum HDR switches in EDR-compatible mode. 100GbE uplinks: NVIDIA Spectrum (SN2700 / SN2410), Spectrum-2 (SN3700) at 100GbE breakout, or any 100GbE QSFP28 switch. Cabling: QSFP28 DAC (passive copper, up to ~3 m), QSFP28 AOC (active optical, up to ~100 m), or QSFP28 SR4 / LR4 / PSM4 optical transceivers with MPO/LC fiber.
Q. What workloads does the MCX545A-ECAN accelerate?
HPC clusters with MPI over RDMA (RoCE v2 or native IB verbs), AI / ML training fabrics with GPUDirect RDMA, NVMe-over-Fabrics initiators and targets, virtualized data centers via SR-IOV, and SDN / NFV deployments with ASAP² hardware-accelerated Open vSwitch. Hardware offloads include VXLAN / NVGRE / Geneve / GTP encapsulation, T10-DIF, and IPsec inline crypto.
Q. What condition is supplied by T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS?
Refurbished Grade A. Each unit is bench-tested at T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS — link establishment on a verified OCP 2.0 carrier, EEPROM / vendor-data check via mstflint, firmware sanity, and full cosmetic inspection. Shipped in anti-static packaging from EU stock with global B2B express options.

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. Every ConnectX adapter is identified by MPN, NVIDIA P/N, ASIC generation, and firmware PSID before it leaves the bench. We bench-test each refurbished card on a verified OCP 2.0 carrier with link-up, EEPROM read, and firmware sanity checks. Free pre-sale compatibility advice for switch / adapter / cable pairing, multi-currency B2B invoicing, EU stock with worldwide express options, and direct contact with our networking engineers — never a call center.