NVIDIA Mellanox MSN2420-CB2F Spectrum 25GbE/100GbE Open Ethernet Switch: This is a Spectrum-based 1U short-depth Open Ethernet switch with 48x SFP28 (25GbE) ports and 6x QSFP28 (100GbE) uplink ports. It ships with Onyx OS pre-installed and uses P2C (power-to-connector) airflow. This is a managed Layer 2/3 Ethernet switch, not an InfiniBand switch and not a bare-metal ONIE device.
Engineering Context
The MSN2420 is built on NVIDIA's first-generation Spectrum switching ASIC and occupies a leaf/access role in CLOS fabric architectures. The 48 SFP28 ports provide 25GbE connectivity for server downlinks, while the 6 QSFP28 ports deliver 100GbE uplinks to spine switches. The x86 dual-core control processor runs Onyx OS (NVIDIA's proprietary NOS) with Layer 2/3 features, SNMP, REST API, and Ansible automation support. The 1U short-depth chassis is designed for colocation racks and edge environments with limited depth. P2C airflow draws cool air from the power supply (rear) side and exhausts toward the port (front) side. Dual hot-swap AC PSUs provide N+1 redundancy.
Deployment & Use Cases
25GbE Top-of-Rack (ToR): 48 server-facing 25GbE ports with 100GbE uplinks for leaf-layer deployments in enterprise and cloud fabrics.
Colocation / Edge: Short-depth chassis fits in shallow racks where standard-depth switches cannot.
Campus / Enterprise Aggregation: Provides 25GbE access with 100GbE core connectivity for campus network upgrades from 10GbE.
Storage Networks: 25GbE SFP28 ports support NVMe-oF and iSCSI storage traffic with low latency.
Technical Specifications
Model: MSN2420-CB2F
Switch ASIC: NVIDIA Spectrum
Downlink Ports: 48x SFP28 (25GbE)
Uplink Ports: 6x QSFP28 (100GbE)
CPU: x86 dual-core control processor
NOS: Onyx OS (pre-installed)
Airflow: P2C (Power to Connector)
Power: Dual hot-swap AC PSUs (redundant)
Form Factor: 1U short-depth rackmount
Condition: Refurbished — Tested by T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS
Compatibility & Hard Constraints
Ethernet Only: This is an Ethernet switch. It does not support InfiniBand.
Onyx OS: Ships with NVIDIA Onyx (proprietary NOS). This is not ONIE and does not natively support third-party NOS installation (SONiC, Cumulus). For open NOS flexibility, an ONIE variant of the MSN2420 is required if available.
Airflow Direction: P2C airflow. Do not mix with C2P equipment in the same rack.
Spectrum Gen 1: Maximum speeds are 25GbE (SFP28) and 100GbE (QSFP28). Does not support 50GbE, 200GbE, or 400GbE.
SFP28 Ports Only: The 48 downlink ports accept SFP28 transceivers or 25GbE DAC/AOC cables. SFP+ (10GbE) transceivers operate at 10GbE. QSFP modules do not fit SFP28 ports.