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NVIDIA Mellanox LinkX InfiniBand DAC Cables

Explore direct-attach copper (DAC) cables and splitters for GPU-accelerated computing.

NVIDIA Mellanox LinkX InfiniBand DAC Cables

Explore direct-attach copper (DAC) cables and splitters for GPU-accelerated computing.

NVIDIA^® Mellanox^® LinkX^® InfiniBand DAC cables are the lowest-cost way to create high-speed, low-latency 100G/EDR and 200G/HDR and 400G/NDR links in InfiniBand switching networks and for NVIDIA GPU-accelerated artificial intelligence end-to-end systems. InfiniBand is all about high bandwidth and low latency interconnects. Designed and manufactured by LinkX, every part is extensively tested in live GPU and switching systems and used in NVIDIA-Certified Systems™.

New Splitters and Active Copper Cables

Passive DACs use simply copper wires and have no electronics, consume zero power, and have the lowest latency and insertion loss. New active DACs, aka active copper cables (ACC), include signal-boosting integrated circuits (ICs) in the cable end to extend the reach up to 4 meters at 200G HDR. Also, with HDR is the new 2x splitter that splits a 200G HDR (4x 50G-PAM4) into two ends of 100G HDR100 (2x 50G-PAM4), enabling a 40-port QM8700 InfiniBand switch to support 80 ports of 100G HDR100.

LinkX DAC cables are designed for use in supercomputers and hyperscale systems that have the most stringent requirements and the lowest bit error ratio (BER).

NVIDIA Mellanox Splitters and Active Copper Cables

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

Ultimate Low-Latency, Low-Power Interconnects

InfiniBand systems are designed end to end for the lowest-latency signaling possible for GPU accelerated artificial intelligence systems. Containing no electronics, DACs offer the lowest latency, so are widely used in data centers to connect servers and GPU compute systems to the top-of-rack (TOR) switches and link spine-to-super-spine switches inside racks over short cable lengths. DACs are also used to create InfiniBand storage fabrics with hard-disk-drive (HDD) and flash memory subsystems.

Key Features

HDR passive DACs for up to 2 meters; AOCs for 3 and 4 meters
Available at lengths from .5 meter to 3, 5, and 7 meters, depending on the line rate in QSFP+, QSFP28, and QSFP56 and OSFP form factors
Extensively tested for low bit error ratings, yielding substantially better results than InfiniBand Trade Association (IBTA) standards and most competitors
Available in 25G-NRZ and 50G-PAM4 modulation

Benefits

Lowest-cost, lowest-latency, high-speed interconnect
Passive DACs consumes zero power and low insertion losses
Every part tested in NVIDIA GPU and switching systems for guaranteed out-of-the-box optimal operation
Tested and certified in NVIDIA GPU, DGX™, EGX™, and DPU systems
400Gb/s NDR (4x100G-PAM4) DACs and ACCs coming in 2021

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.

InfiniBand HDR DACs reach up to 2m and Etherent up to 2.5m, perfect for in-rack applications and for longer reaches, ACCs can reach up to 4m.

LEARN MORE ›

InfiniBand DAC Cables

	Speed	Configuration	Form Factor	Cable Jacket*	Part Number	Lengths (Meters)
STRAIGHT DACs	HDR 200Gb/s	4x 50G-PAM4	QSFP56	LSZH	MCP1650-H	.5, 1, 1.5, 2
	EDR 100Gb/s	4x 25G-NRZ	QSFP28	LSZH	MCP1600-E	.5, 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3, 4, 5
	FDR 56Gb/s	4x 14G-NRZ	QSFP+	PVC	MC2207130	.5, 1, 1.5, 2
	FDR10/QDR 40Gb/s	4x 10G-NRZ (64b/66b)	QSFP+	PVC	MC2206310	.5, 1, 2, 3
	QDR 40Gb/s	4x 10G-NRZ (8b/10b)	QSFP+	PVC	MC2206128 MC2206126 MC2206125	5 6, 7 7

PASSIVE DAC SPLITTER	HDR 200Gb/s to dual 100Gb/s HDR100	4x 50G-PAM4 to dual 2x50G-PAM4	QSFP56 to 2x QSFP56	LSZH	MCP7H50-H	1, 1.5, 2

ACC AND SPLITTER	200Gb/s HDR straight	4x 50G-PAM4	QSFP56	LSZH	MCA1J00-H	3, 4
ACC AND SPLITTER	200Gb/s HDR to dual 100G HDR100 splitter	4x 50G-PAM4 to dual 2x 50G-PAM4	QSFP56 QSFP56	LSZH	MCA7J50-H	3, 4
Splitter cables are also called “breakout” cables. * PVC: polyvinyl chloride jacket; LSZH: low-smoke, zero-halogen cables. ** Check product briefs for detailed product codes and specifications.