NVIDIA Mellanox® MSX1036B-1SFS — 36-Port 40GbE QSFP+ Managed Ethernet Switch (1U)
Technical Identity
The MSX1036B-1SFS is a 1U fixed-configuration 36-port 40 Gigabit Ethernet managed switch from the NVIDIA Mellanox SwitchX-2 family. It runs MLNX-OS Ethernet and provides 36 native QSFP+ cages at 40GbE, with optional 4×10GbE breakout per port (up to 64×10GbE total) using QSFP+→4×SFP+ DAC/AOC splitter cables. The "B" suffix denotes the Ethernet-only ASIC variant of SwitchX-2 (not VPI). The "1SFS" suffix indicates a single 460W AC power supply and port-side (front)-to-power-side (rear) airflow (P2C). Switching capacity is 2.88 Tb/s with 4.29 Bpps forwarding and ~220 ns port-to-port latency. Refurbished Grade A — bench-tested by T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS.
Specifications
- OEM: NVIDIA Mellanox
- Part Number (MPN): MSX1036B-1SFS
- Product Family: SwitchX-2 (Ethernet-only ASIC)
- Form Factor: 1U, 19" rack-mount
- Ports: 36 × QSFP+ (40GbE native; 4×10GbE per port via breakout, up to 64×10GbE)
- Aggregate Throughput: 2.88 Tb/s
- Forwarding Rate: 4.29 Bpps
- Latency: ~220 ns port-to-port
- Operating System: MLNX-OS Ethernet (Onyx upgrade path)
- Management: Out-of-band 1GbE management port, console RJ45 RS-232, SNMP v1/v2/v3, SSH, Web UI, JSON-RPC, Ansible
- Power Supply: 1 × 460W AC (1SFS configuration = single PSU)
- Airflow: P2C (port-to-power, front-to-back)
- Protocol: Ethernet (no InfiniBand)
- Condition: Refurbished Grade A — bench-tested by T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS
What This Is NOT
- NOT a NIC, HCA, or PCIe adapter. This is a top-of-rack / aggregation switch and requires rack space, AC power, and matching cabling.
- NOT InfiniBand. The MSX1036B is the Ethernet-only ASIC variant of SwitchX-2; for VPI (Ethernet + InfiniBand) use the MSX6036 family. Do not attempt to load InfiniBand firmware on this unit.
- NOT Spectrum and NOT Quantum. This is SwitchX-2, an earlier Mellanox ASIC generation. Spectrum / Spectrum-2 / -3 / -4 (SN-series) are the newer Ethernet platforms with RoCEv2, deep telemetry, and ASAP² acceleration; Quantum is the InfiniBand line (QM87xx, QM97xx).
- NOT 100GbE-capable. The QSFP+ cages are 40GbE only — not QSFP28 / 100GbE.
- NOT power-redundant. The 1SFS variant ships a single PSU. For 1+1 PSU redundancy, the equivalent dual-PSU SKU is the 2SFS variant.
- NOT bundled with QSFP+ transceivers, DAC/AOC cables, or rail kit unless explicitly stated.
Compatibility
- Host adapters: ConnectX-3 Pro, ConnectX-4 Lx, and ConnectX-5 EN at 40GbE QSFP+; any 10GbE SFP+ NIC via QSFP+→4×SFP+ breakout cable.
- Cabling: QSFP+ MSA-compliant passive/active DAC, AOC, and 40GBASE-SR4 / LR4 optical transceivers. Breakout: QSFP+→4×SFP+ DAC/AOC splitters for 10GbE.
- Servers: Dell PowerEdge, HPE ProLiant, Supermicro, Lenovo ThinkSystem, Cisco UCS — any chassis with a 40GbE or 10GbE NIC.
- Multi-vendor fabric: interoperates with Cisco Nexus, Arista 7000-series, Juniper QFX, and other MSA-compliant 40GbE/10GbE fabrics.
- Rack: standard 19" four-post rack; verify rail kit availability (sold separately).
Deployment & Use Cases
- Top-of-rack 40GbE aggregation for compute and storage clusters.
- Dense 10GbE access switch (up to 64 × 10GbE) via QSFP+→SFP+ breakout.
- Storage network for iSCSI, NFS, SMB, and NVMe-oF over Ethernet.
- Lab, dev/test, and pre-production fabric where Spectrum-class telemetry is not required.
FAQ
What is the NVIDIA Mellanox MSX1036B-1SFS?
The MSX1036B-1SFS is a 1U managed Ethernet switch with 36 × QSFP+ ports running at 40GbE native, based on the SwitchX-2 ASIC and running MLNX-OS Ethernet. The 1SFS configuration includes a single 460W AC PSU with P2C airflow.
Can the MSX1036B-1SFS run InfiniBand?
No. The "B" suffix designates the Ethernet-only ASIC variant of SwitchX-2. For VPI (Ethernet + InfiniBand) capability, use the MSX6036 family instead.
Does it support 10GbE?
Yes — via QSFP+→4×SFP+ breakout cables. Each QSFP+ port can split into four 10GbE SFP+ lanes for up to 64 × 10GbE total (with a few ports reserved at 40GbE depending on configuration).
Is the MSX1036B-1SFS compatible with non-NVIDIA equipment?
Yes. The QSFP+ cages are MSA-compliant and work with 40GbE/10GbE transceivers, DAC, and AOC from major vendors. The switch interoperates with Cisco, Arista, Juniper, Dell, and HPE Ethernet fabrics.
What is the difference between 1SFS and 2SFS?
1SFS = single 460W AC PSU. 2SFS = dual PSUs for 1+1 redundancy. Both share P2C airflow direction; the "R" suffix (1SRS / 2SRS) denotes reverse (C2P) airflow.
What is the condition of this unit?
Refurbished Grade A. Bench-tested by T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS: link establishment on every port, traffic validation, fan/PSU verification, firmware confirmation, and full cosmetic inspection.
Why T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS
Every unit is bench-tested by T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS: per-port link verification, traffic loop validation, fan and PSU diagnostic, firmware confirmation, and cosmetic inspection. Professional anti-static packaging, global B2B shipping from EU stock, and technical consultation for data-center, HPC, and storage fabric deployments.

