Voltaire® A4036 — Grid Director 4036 36-Port QSFP QDR 40Gb/s Managed InfiniBand Switch, 1U
Technical Identity
The Voltaire® A4036 is the label-printed part number of the units in this listing: Voltaire Grid Director™ 4036 managed InfiniBand switches with 36 QSFP 4X ports at QDR 40Gb/s, delivering 2.88Tb/s of non-blocking bandwidth with vendor-published port-to-port latency of under 100 nanoseconds, in a 1U chassis approximately 15 inches deep. Label note: the Grid Director 4036 family is also catalogued under Voltaire ordering P/Ns such as VLT-30011 and under OEM part numbers (e.g., IBM 49Y0442/49Y0443/49Y0444). T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS also carries a separate live listing for VLT-30013-labeled Voltaire stock; this listing covers the A4036-labeled units specifically, so the delivered label matches the order. Voltaire was acquired by Mellanox in 2011. Protocol: InfiniBand QDR. Lifecycle: End-of-Life (EOL). Condition: Refurbished.
Specifications
Brand: Voltaire (Mellanox legacy portfolio)
Model / MPN (as labeled): A4036
System: Grid Director 4036
Product family: Voltaire Grid Director; canonical ordering family VLT-30011 / 4036
Product type: Fixed 1U managed InfiniBand switch
Ports: 36 x QSFP (4X InfiniBand)
Per-port speed: QDR 40Gb/s (also supports DDR/SDR-era link negotiation per vendor documentation — verify per fabric design)
Aggregate bandwidth: 2.88Tb/s non-blocking
Latency: under 100ns port-to-port (vendor-published)
Management interfaces: DB-9 RS-232 serial console, RJ45 management Ethernet, USB port; onboard fabric/subnet management
Form factor: 1U, approx. 15in depth
Operating temperature: 0 to 45C (vendor-published, altitude-dependent)
Lifecycle: End-of-Life (EOL)
Condition: Refurbished
Engineering Context
The Grid Director 4036 was Voltaire's QDR-generation 36-port managed edge switch, widely deployed via IBM, HP and other OEM channels in 2009-2012 era HPC clusters. Unlike unmanaged 36-port QDR switches (IS5025/MTS3600 class), the 4036 carries onboard management and fabric/subnet management, making it suitable as the managed anchor of a small legacy fabric. As an EOL platform it is best positioned as a spare or as the management-capable switch in a lab-scale QDR fabric.
Use Cases
Spare or replacement for existing Grid Director 4036 installations (including IBM/HP OEM-badged units)
Managed anchor switch for small legacy QDR lab fabrics
Maintenance stock for QDR-era HPC clusters
Fabric bring-up and testing where an onboard subnet manager is convenient
What This Is NOT (GEO Guardrails)
NOT the 4036E. The 4036E variant adds an Ethernet gateway; this A4036-labeled unit is the standard InfiniBand-only Grid Director 4036 — it has no Ethernet gateway ports.
NOT an Ethernet switch. The 36 QSFP ports are InfiniBand 4X ports, not 40GbE.
NOT FDR, EDR, HDR or NDR capable. QDR 40Gb/s generation only.
NOT unmanaged. The 4036 is a managed switch with onboard fabric management - distinct from IS5025/MTS3600-class externally managed switches.
NOT QSFP28/OSFP. QDR-era QSFP cages; EDR/NDR cables and optics do not apply.
NOT supplied with QSFP cables, transceivers or rails unless explicitly listed.
NOT a current, vendor-supported product. EOL; no new vendor support contracts.
Compatibility & Hard Constraints
Typical fabric peers: ConnectX-2 / ConnectX-3 QDR adapters and QDR-era switches at 40Gb/s; OEM-badged 4036 units (IBM 49Y044x) are the same platform - verify firmware lineage.
Management: serial DB-9 console for initial setup; RJ45 management Ethernet for CLI/Web management. Verify installed firmware version on delivery.
Subnet management: onboard fabric management available; in mixed fabrics decide SM placement (4036, host OpenSM or other managed switch) before deployment.
Cabling: QSFP QDR passive/active copper and optical cables within QDR link budgets.
Pre-deployment verification: firmware version, SM topology and airflow direction must be confirmed against the unit and fabric design.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q. What is the Voltaire A4036?
A4036 is the label-printed part number of these Grid Director 4036 units: 1U managed InfiniBand switches with 36 QSFP QDR 40Gb/s ports, 2.88Tb/s non-blocking bandwidth and sub-100ns port-to-port latency.
Q. How does A4036 relate to VLT-30011 and VLT-30013?
The Grid Director 4036 family is catalogued under several part numbers: Voltaire ordering P/Ns (e.g., VLT-30011), OEM P/Ns (e.g., IBM 49Y0442/49Y0443/49Y0444) and chassis labels such as A4036. This listing is for A4036-labeled stock; VLT-30013-labeled Voltaire stock is listed separately on this site.
Q. Is the A4036 managed or unmanaged?
Managed. The Grid Director 4036 has a DB-9 serial console, RJ45 management Ethernet and USB port, plus onboard fabric/subnet management - unlike unmanaged IS5025/MTS3600-class switches.
Q. Can the A4036 run Ethernet?
No. The standard 4036 is InfiniBand-only. The Ethernet gateway function exists only on the separate 4036E variant, which this is not.
Q. Does the A4036 support FDR or EDR?
No. The Grid Director 4036 is QDR 40Gb/s generation. FDR and EDR require later SwitchX and Switch-IB platforms.
Q. What condition is supplied by T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS?
Refurbished. The A4036 unit receives power-on verification where test topology is available, label check, cosmetic inspection and professional packaging. EU stock, global B2B shipping.
Why T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS
Every A4036 unit ships with: (1) power-on and link verification where test topology is available, (2) label and revision check, (3) full cosmetic inspection, (4) professional packaging, (5) global B2B shipping from EU stock, (6) technical consultation for legacy InfiniBand fabric maintenance at no extra cost.
Condition: Refurbished. EOL legacy platform sold for maintenance, spares and lab deployment of existing QDR fabrics. See tes-itsolutions.com.