NVIDIA Mellanox® MFS1S00-H020V — 200Gb/s HDR / 200GbE VPI Active Optical Cable (QSFP56, 20m)
Technical Identity
The NVIDIA Mellanox® MFS1S00-H020V is a LinkX® Active Optical Cable (AOC) from the MFS1S00 VPI dual-protocol family. It is a fixed 20-metre 1-to-1 assembly terminated with a QSFP56 connector on each end, integrating a VCSEL multi-mode optical engine driven at 4 × 50Gb/s PAM4 for an aggregate line rate of 200Gb/s. The "V" suffix designates the VPI (Virtual Protocol Interconnect) variant, meaning the same physical cable operates as InfiniBand HDR (200Gb/s) when plugged into a Quantum-class switch / ConnectX-6 or ConnectX-7 adapter, and as 200GbE Ethernet when plugged into a Spectrum-class switch port configured for Ethernet — protocol selection follows the host port mode, not the cable. Condition: New, factory-sealed.
Specifications
Brand / OEM: NVIDIA Mellanox
Part Number (MPN): MFS1S00-H020V
Product family: LinkX® Active Optical Cable (AOC), MFS1S00 VPI series
Line rate: 200Gb/s aggregate (4 lanes × 50Gb/s PAM4)
Protocols: InfiniBand HDR and 200GbE Ethernet (VPI dual-protocol)
Connectors: QSFP56 on each end (1-to-1)
Optical engine: 850nm VCSEL, multi-mode
Reach: 20 m fixed
Standards & compliance: SFF-8665 (QSFP56 MSA), IBTA HDR, IEEE 802.3bs 200GBASE-SR4
Diagnostics: DDM (Digital Diagnostic Monitoring) via I²C — temperature, supply voltage, TX bias, optical Tx/Rx power per lane
Operating temperature: 0°C to 70°C (commercial)
Power: bus-powered from host QSFP56 cage, no external supply
Weight: ~0.4 kg
Condition: New, factory-sealed
What This Is NOT
NOT a passive copper DAC. The MFS1S00-H020V is an active optical assembly with integrated transceiver optics on each end; copper HDR DACs are limited to ≤3 m.
NOT a pluggable transceiver. The optics are permanently terminated to the fibre — the cable cannot be split, re-terminated, or used with a separate transceiver module.
NOT a splitter / breakout cable. This is a straight 1-to-1 QSFP56-to-QSFP56 assembly; splitters in this family use a -HxxxS suffix or appear in the MFS1S50 / MFA7U10 series.
NOT QSFP28 or QSFP+. The QSFP56 form factor uses 50G PAM4 lanes; it will physically seat in a QSFP28 cage but the link will negotiate down only if the host port explicitly supports backward compatibility.
NOT bundled with adapters, switches, or rail kits — sold standalone.
Compatibility & Constraints
InfiniBand HDR side: NVIDIA Quantum HDR switches (MQM8700 / MQM8790 series) and Quantum-2 NDR switches (MQM9700 series) running in HDR-compatible port mode. Adapter side: ConnectX-6 (MCX65xx) and ConnectX-7 (MCX75xx) HCAs.
200GbE Ethernet side: NVIDIA Spectrum-2 (SN3700) and Spectrum-3 (SN4700) Ethernet switches with the port configured for 200GbE. Adapter side: ConnectX-6 Dx / ConnectX-7 Ethernet NICs.
Protocol mode is set on the host port, not the cable. The same MFS1S00-H020V will run IB or Ethernet depending on switch/NIC configuration.
QSFP56 cages required on both ends. Plugging into a QSFP28 cage will only link if the host explicitly advertises QSFP56-to-QSFP28 fallback.
Reach class: 20 m suits inter-rack and end-of-row interconnects — TOR-to-EOR aggregation, leaf-to-spine within a single row, GPU-pod east-west links. Not intended for intra-rack server-to-TOR runs where shorter DACs are more economical.
Bend radius / handling: respect the minimum bend radius printed on the cable jacket; AOCs tolerate tighter routing than fibre patches but the integrated optics are sensitive to crush load.
Firmware: verify switch and NIC firmware levels match supported cable-vendor whitelists before deployment.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q. What is the NVIDIA Mellanox MFS1S00-H020V?
The MFS1S00-H020V is a 200Gb/s LinkX Active Optical Cable from the MFS1S00 VPI series — QSFP56 on each end, 20 m fixed length. It runs as InfiniBand HDR or as 200GbE Ethernet depending on host port configuration.
Q. Does this cable support both InfiniBand and Ethernet?
Yes. The "V" suffix marks the VPI dual-protocol variant. Protocol selection is made by the switch/NIC port mode (HDR vs 200GbE); the cable itself is protocol-agnostic at the physical layer.
Q. What are the connectors and reach?
QSFP56 on each end. 20 m fixed reach. 1-to-1 assembly — not a splitter.
Q. Which NVIDIA switches and adapters does it pair with?
Switch side: Quantum / Quantum-2 (MQM8700, MQM8790, MQM9700) for InfiniBand; Spectrum-2 / Spectrum-3 (SN3700, SN4700) for 200GbE Ethernet. Adapter side: ConnectX-6 and ConnectX-7 HCAs / NICs configured to the matching protocol and 200G speed.
Q. Where is a 20 m AOC typically deployed?
Inter-rack and end-of-row spans inside a single data-hall row: top-of-rack to end-of-row aggregation, leaf-to-spine inside a pod, and east-west fabric in HPC / AI GPU clusters where copper DAC reach (~3 m) is not enough.
Q. Is it compatible with non-NVIDIA equipment?
Physically the QSFP56 MSA cage is industry-standard, so the cable will seat in any QSFP56 port. Link-level interoperability with third-party switches (Cisco, Arista, Juniper, Dell, HPE) depends on the host's cable-compatibility list and firmware. Verify before procurement.
Q. Is this a new or refurbished unit?
New, factory-sealed in original NVIDIA packaging.
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-centre procurement teams since 2007. Every cable is identified by MPN, NVIDIA P/N, and protocol family before it ships, and every customer gets free pre-sale compatibility advice for switch, adapter, and AOC pairing across Quantum, Quantum-2, Spectrum-2, and Spectrum-3 fabrics. Multi-currency B2B invoicing, EU stock with worldwide express options, anti-static packaging, and direct technical contact with our engineering team — not a call-centre. See tes-itsolutions.com.