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NVIDIA Mellanox LinkX InfiniBand AOC Cables

Learn about active optical cables (AOCs) and splitters for GPU-accelerated computing.

NVIDIA Mellanox LinkX InfiniBand AOC Cables

Learn about active optical cables (AOCs) and splitters for GPU-accelerated computing.

NVIDIA^® Mellanox^® LinkX^® Optics AOC cables are the lowest-cost way to create high-speed fourteen data rate (FDR), enhanced data rate (EDR), high data rate (HDR) and next data rate (NDR) optical links in InfiniBand networks for NVIDIA GPU-accelerated systems. InfiniBand is all about high bandwidth and low latency interconnects. LinkX InfiniBand AOC cables are designed and manufactured by LinkX Optics, the largest and longest-running AOC manufacturer in the industry with installations in the majority of the TOP500 HPC systems. LinkX Optics AOC cables are extensively tested in live GPU and switching systems and used in NVIDIA-Certified Systems™.

Low-Latency and High-Bandwidth InfiniBand

LinkX Optics offers a wide range of products in quad small form-factor pluggable (QSFP) options and data rates of quad data rate (QDR) and FDR10 (40G), FDR (56G), EDR (100G) up to 100m, and HDR (200G) and NDR (400G) up to 150m. In addition to meeting InfiniBand Trade Association (IBTA) standards, LinkX-certified cables are 100 percent tested in actual NVIDIA networking and GPU-based systems to ensure optimal signal integrity and the best end-to-end performance. LinkX AOC cables are designed for use in supercomputers that have the most stringent requirements—far greater than Ethernet AOC industry standards.

H-Cable is a unique LinkX Optics cable. The top view looks like the letter H, with four HDR transceivers on each end with 100Gb/s HDR100 (2x 50G-PAM4) cross-connected to each other at 100Gb/s. Enables linking four switches using only four switch ports with one H-cable instead of four separate EDR cables and eight switch ports.

Highlights

PORT SPEEDS*

FDR, EDR, HDR, NDR

STRAIGHT AND SPLITTERS

1x, 2x, 4x

FORM FACTORS**

QSFP28, QSFP56, OSFP

MODULATION TYPES***

25G NRZ, 50G-PAM4, 100G-PAM4

* FDR: fourteen data rate (4x14G-NRZ), EDR: Extended Data Rate (4x25G-NRZ), HDR: High Data Rate (4x50G-PAM4), NDR: Next Data Rate (4x100G-PAM4)
** QSFP: quad small form-factor pluggable; OSFP: octal small form factor pluggable
*** NRZ: non-return-to-zero; 50G-PAM4: 50G-4-level pulse amplitude modulation, 100G-PAM4

Low-Latency and Lengths up to 150 meters

LinkX AOC cables are used extensively in cloud and supercomputers due to their low-cost, high-value proposition and increased reliability over connectorized transceivers. LinkX AOCs match the same splitter configurations as direct-attach copper (DAC) cables but are lighter, more flexible, allow more airflow, and support longer reaches, extending up to 30–150m. AOCs are used extensively to link NVIDIA GPU-based artificial intelligence systems to InfiniBand networks and InfiniBand storage fabrics.

Key Features

Reaches from 3 to 150-meters
Lowest-cost, lowest-power-consuming optical link
A complete cable assembly with no optical connectors
Available in the same configurations as DAC cables
Extensive FDR10/QDR, FDR, EDR, HDR, NDR products offering for every need
Tested and certified in NVIDIA GPU, DGX™, EGX™, and DPU systems
400Gb/s OSFP NDR (4x100G-PAM4) cable coming soon in 2021

Benefits

Thin fiber cable enables maximum air flow cooling
Light weight enables dense fiber runs with minimal support
No MPO optical connectors increases reliability and reduces maintenance
Designed and manufactured by LinkX Optics
100 percent factory tested in live switching and GPU-based systems
Designed to go beyond IBTA industry bit-error-rate (BER) standards for reliable operation under harsh operating conditions

NVIDIA DGX A100

InfiniBand is the protocol of choice for creating high bandwidth, low-latency networks linking NVIDIA GPU-based systems to other DGX and DPU systems. The DGX A100 supports eight 200Gb/s HDR host channel adapters (HCAs) linking to other DGX systems via Quantum network switches. Two 200Gb/s HDR InfiniBand or Ethernet interface cards link to storage HDD, SSDs and flash memory subsystems.

AOCs are typically used at less than 30m but can extend up to 100-150m. Used to link DGX and DPU compute nodes, switches and storage nodes together in any topology.

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InfiniBand AOC Straight Cables

	Configuration	Form Factor	Cable Jacket*	Part Number	Lengths (Meters)
HDR 200Gb/s	4x 50G-PAM4	QSFP56	LSZH	MFS1S00-HxxxE	3, 5, 10, 15, 20, 30, 50, 100, 130, 150
EDR 100Gb/s	4x 25G-NRZ	QSFP28	LSZH	MFA1A00-E	3, 5, 10, 15, 20, 30, 50, 100
FDR 56Gb/s	4x 14G-NRZ	QSFP+	OFNP	MC220731V	3, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 40, 50, 75, 100
FDR10/QDR	4x 10G-NRZ (64b/66b)	QSFP+	OFNP	MC2206310	3, 5, 10, 15, 20, 30, 50, 100
* LSZH: low-smoke, zero-halogen jackets; OFNP: optical fiber nonconductive plenum. ** See product briefs for detailed product codes, specifications, and reach lengths; “xxx” refers to a reach-length code.

InfiniBand AOC Splitters Cables

	Configuration	Form Factor	Cable Jacket*	Part Number**	Lengths (Meters)
HDR 200Gb/s to dual 100Gb/s HDR100	4x 50G-PAM4 to dual 2x 50G-PAM4	QSFP56 to 2xQSFP56	LSZH	MFS1S50-HxxxE	3, 5, 10, 15, 20, 30
HDR H-cable	2x 200Gb/s to 2x 200Gb/s cross connected	2xQSFP56 to 2xQSFP56	LSZH	MFS1S90-HxxxE	3, 5, 10, 15, 20, 30
Splitter cables are also called “breakout” cables. * LSZH: low-smoke, zero-halogen jacket; OFNP: optical fiber nonconductive plenum. ** See product briefs for detailed product codes, specifications, and reach lengths; “xxx” refers to a reach-length code.