NVIDIA Mellanox 40Gb/s InfiniBand QDR/FDR10 QSFP Active Fiber Cable 30m - MFP4R12CB-030
This active fiber cable (AOC) is the NVIDIA Mellanox MFP4R12CB-030, a 4-lane QSFP active optical cable rated at 40 Gb/s aggregate bandwidth over a 30-meter reach. This is a refurbished unit, professionally tested and validated by T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS. It is NOT a passive copper DAC cable, and it is NOT rated for 100 Gb/s or 56 Gb/s FDR speeds.
Engineering Context
The MFP4R12CB-030 is an assembly of 4 full-duplex multimode fiber (MMF) lanes, with each lane transmitting at up to 10 Gb/s for an aggregate of 40 Gb/s. The cable uses VCSEL (Vertical Cavity Surface-Emitting Laser) optics for reliable long-reach connectivity. It is compliant with the SFF-8436 QSFP MSA standard and supports both InfiniBand QDR (40 Gb/s) and Ethernet 40GbE (40GBASE-SR4) protocols. Active electronics in each QSFP module amplify and equalize the signal, enabling 30-meter reach over OM3/OM4 multimode fiber without requiring separate transceivers.
Deployment and Use Cases
The MFP4R12CB-030 is deployed for rack-to-rack 40 Gb/s InfiniBand QDR or 40GbE interconnects spanning distances up to 30 meters within data centers. It connects InfiniBand switches (such as the Mellanox SX6036 or IS5030) to HCA adapters in HPC compute clusters running MPI-based parallel workloads. In 40GbE Ethernet fabrics, it connects leaf switches to spine switches or servers in structured cabling deployments where passive copper DAC cables cannot reach beyond 5 meters.
Technical Specifications
Model: MFP4R12CB-030
Cable Type: Active Fiber Cable (AOC)
Connector: QSFP to QSFP
Data Rate: 40 Gb/s aggregate (4x 10 Gb/s lanes)
Protocol Support: InfiniBand QDR, FDR10, 40GbE (40GBASE-SR4)
Length: 30 meters
Fiber Type: Multimode Fiber (MMF)
Optics: VCSEL (850 nm)
Compliance: SFF-8436 QSFP MSA
Condition: Refurbished
Compatibility and Hard Constraints
The MFP4R12CB-030 uses standard QSFP connectors and is compatible with any QSFP port supporting QDR, FDR10, or 40GbE speeds. It is NOT compatible with QSFP28 ports operating at 100 Gb/s (the cable will negotiate down to 40 Gb/s only). It is NOT a QSFP56 or QSFP-DD cable. It does NOT support InfiniBand FDR (56 Gb/s) or HDR speeds. The MFP4R12CB-015 is the 15-meter variant, and the MFP4R12CB-003 is the 3-meter variant. This cable is compatible with NVIDIA Mellanox ConnectX-3, ConnectX-3 Pro, and ConnectX-4 Lx adapters with QSFP ports, as well as Mellanox SwitchX, SwitchX-2, and Spectrum switch platforms.
Why Choose T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS
T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS provides this MFP4R12CB-030 as a professionally refurbished unit with signal integrity testing, connector inspection, and link validation on NVIDIA Mellanox equipment. Technical consultation is available to verify compatibility with your specific switch and adapter configuration. Global shipping is available with 1-3 business day handling time.