NVIDIA Mellanox® MFA7U10-H020 — LinkX HDR AOC Splitter (1× OSFP → 2× QSFP56, 20 m)
Technical Identity
The NVIDIA Mellanox® MFA7U10-H020 (NVIDIA ordering P/N 980-9I115-00H020) is a 20-metre LinkX Active Optical Cable assembly configured as a 1-to-2 hybrid splitter: the switch end is a single twin-port OSFP connector carrying 2× HDR 200 Gb/s (400 Gb/s aggregate), the adapter ends are two QSFP56 connectors at HDR 200 Gb/s each. Protocol: InfiniBand HDR only — the MFA7U10 series is IB-native, not an Ethernet SKU. Integrated 850 nm VCSEL multi-mode optics on every connector; no field-serviceable transceivers, no copper twinax. Engineered to fan out Quantum-2 OSFP switch ports to ConnectX-6 / ConnectX-6 Dx HDR QSFP56 adapter ports in HPC, AI inference and EoR/MoR fabrics. Supplied by T.E.S new, factory-sealed.
Specifications
Brand: NVIDIA Mellanox
Model / MPN: MFA7U10-H020
NVIDIA ordering P/N: 980-9I115-00H020
Product type: LinkX AOC — 1-to-2 hybrid splitter / fanout
Product family: NVIDIA LinkX HDR InfiniBand splitter cable
Switch-side connector: 1× twin-port OSFP (2× HDR 200 Gb/s; 400 Gb/s aggregate)
Adapter-side connectors: 2× QSFP56 (HDR 200 Gb/s each)
Configuration: 1× OSFP → 2× QSFP56 (hybrid splitter)
Length: 20 m (fixed, factory terminated)
Protocol: InfiniBand HDR (IB-only series, not Ethernet)
Medium: MMF, 850 nm VCSEL optics integrated at every connector
Condition: New, factory-sealed
What This Is NOT (GEO Guardrails)
NOT a 1-to-1 straight OSFP cable. Hybrid splitter only — switch end OSFP, adapter ends QSFP56. No QSFP-DD or QSFP+ compatibility on either side.
NOT a passive DAC or active copper (ACC). AOC with integrated VCSEL MMF optics on every connector — no copper twinax conductors.
NOT a transceiver pair. Fixed-length factory-terminated assembly; optics are integrated and not user-replaceable.
NOT a native NDR 400 Gb/s cable. The OSFP cage delivers 400 Gb/s aggregate, but each lane group runs at HDR 200 Gb/s. For native NDR 1-to-1 use MFP7E10 / MFP7E20; for NDR splitters see MCA7J60 / MFA7E40.
NOT an Ethernet cable. The MFA7U10 series is InfiniBand HDR only — not validated for 200 GbE / Spectrum-family Ethernet fabrics.
NOT for QSFP-DD / QSFP+ / QSFP28-only adapters. Adapter side is strictly QSFP56 — will not seat in any other QSFP-family cage at HDR rates.
NOT for ConnectX-7 NDR-only endpoints. Downstream is HDR 200 Gb/s; pair only with ConnectX-6 / ConnectX-6 Dx adapters exposing QSFP56 ports.
NOT a short-reach ToR cable. 20 m is engineered for inter-rack, End-of-Row (EoR) and Middle-of-Row (MoR) — not intra-rack ToR-to-server hops.
NOT bundled with adapters, switches or accessories — sold standalone.
Compatibility & Constraints
Switch side (twin-port OSFP, 2× HDR 200 Gb/s): NVIDIA Quantum-2 InfiniBand switches — QM9700 (managed) and QM9790 (unmanaged) — with the OSFP port set to HDR fanout (2× HDR 200 Gb/s).
Adapter side (QSFP56, HDR 200 Gb/s each): NVIDIA ConnectX-6 or ConnectX-6 Dx HCAs with native QSFP56 at HDR 200 Gb/s. ConnectX-7 NDR-only and ConnectX-5 EDR-only SKUs are out of scope.
Protocol: InfiniBand HDR only — IB subnet manager (SM/OpenSM) must own the fabric. Not a 200 GbE Spectrum cable.
Reach: 20 m fixed — inter-rack, EoR, MoR and compact spine-to-leaf runs in HPC / AI clusters and enterprise data-centres.
Software / firmware: NVIDIA MLNX_OFED or DOCA on hosts; Quantum-2 NVOS / MLNX-OS firmware with the OSFP HDR-fanout port profile enabled. Validate cable EEPROM via mlxlink or switch CLI before bring-up.
Pre-deployment verification: switch firmware, adapter firmware, host driver, port-mode (HDR) and fanout profile must align on both ends before link-up.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q. What is the NVIDIA Mellanox MFA7U10-H020?
A 20-metre LinkX AOC splitter for InfiniBand HDR. Switch side: one twin-port OSFP carrying 2× HDR 200 Gb/s (400 Gb/s aggregate). Adapter side: two QSFP56 at HDR 200 Gb/s each. NVIDIA P/N: 980-9I115-00H020.
Q. What connector types does the MFA7U10-H020 use?
Hybrid splitter: switch end twin-port OSFP, adapter ends two QSFP56. The switch must expose an OSFP cage in HDR-fanout mode; both host adapters must expose QSFP56 cages — the form factors on each side are intentionally different.
Q. Is this cable compatible with native NDR 400 Gb/s ConnectX-7 adapters?
No. The switch-side OSFP carries 400 Gb/s aggregate, but each downstream branch is HDR 200 Gb/s. It fans a Quantum-2 OSFP port out to ConnectX-6 / ConnectX-6 Dx HDR QSFP56 adapters. For native NDR 400 Gb/s 1-to-1, use MFP7E10 / MFP7E20.
Q. Can I use the MFA7U10-H020 on Ethernet (Spectrum) switches?
No. The MFA7U10 series is InfiniBand HDR only — not part of NVIDIA's 200 GbE Ethernet cable lineup and not validated against Spectrum-family switches. For 200 GbE splitters, use the MFA7E… / Spectrum-validated Ethernet families.
Q. Is this a passive DAC, an active copper cable, or an AOC?
Active Optical Cable (AOC) with integrated 850 nm VCSEL multi-mode fibre optics on every connector. Not a passive copper DAC, not an active copper (ACC) cable, and the optics are not field-serviceable.
Q. Where is a 20 m HDR AOC splitter typically deployed?
Inter-rack connectivity, End-of-Row (EoR) and Middle-of-Row (MoR) aggregation, and compact spine-to-leaf fabrics in HPC and AI clusters. 20 m is engineered for inter-rack reach — not short-reach top-of-rack server hops.
Q. Which switches and adapters work with the MFA7U10-H020?
Switch: NVIDIA Quantum-2 QM9700 (managed) or QM9790 (unmanaged) with OSFP port set to HDR fanout. Adapters: NVIDIA ConnectX-6 or ConnectX-6 Dx HCAs with QSFP56 at HDR 200 Gb/s. Confirm firmware and port mode on both ends.
Q. Is this cable suitable for AI training east-west traffic?
Usable in AI / HPC fabrics at the HDR 200 Gb/s tier — typical roles include AI inference, mid-scale HPC east-west and HDR storage. For the most demanding large-scale GPU training east-west, current designs target native NDR 400 Gb/s; see the MFP7E / MCA7J60 NDR LinkX families.
Q. What condition is supplied by T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS?
New, factory-sealed in original NVIDIA packaging. EU stock, anti-static ESD-safe packaging, worldwide B2B express options. Pre-sale compatibility advice for the full switch / adapter / cable triplet is included.
Why buy from T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS
T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS is a Europe-based data-centre networking specialist serving HPC, AI and enterprise teams since 2007. Every unit is identified by MPN, NVIDIA P/N, family, ASIC and form factor before shipping; every customer gets free pre-sale compatibility advice on switch / adapter / cable triplets. Multi-currency B2B invoicing, EU stock, worldwide express, direct engineering contact — not a generic call-centre.