01PG721 Lenovo Mellanox ConnectX-6 HDR100/100GbE QSFP 56 2-port PCIe VPI Adapter

Product Highlights of Lenovo 01PG721 2 Ports Adapter

The Lenovo 01PG721 represents a pinnacle of high-performance networking for modern data centers, HPC clusters, cloud infrastructure, and AI training environments. Built on the Mellanox ConnectX-6 architecture, this dual-port adapter delivers unprecedented throughput of up to HDR100 InfiniBand (100 Gb/s per port) and native 100 Gigabit Ethernet (100GbE) capability, all through QSFP56 transceiver interfaces.

General Attributes

• Manufacturer: Lenovo
• Part Number: 01PG721
• Product Type: Dual-Port Network Adapter

Technical Highlights

• Form Factor: Plug-in expansion card
• Adapter Type: Infiniband Host Bus Adapter
• Total Infiniband Ports: 2
• Expansion Slots: 2 available
• Slot Format: QSFP56 connectors
• Data Throughput: 100 Gigabits per second
• Interface Standard: PCI Express 4.0 x16

Advanced Highlights

• High-Speed Transmission: Optimized for HDR100 and 100GbE workloads
• Scalable Architecture: Supports demanding enterprise networking environments

Compatibility & Usage

• Ideal For: Data centers, HPC clusters, and enterprise-grade servers
• Expansion Capability: Dual QSFP56 slots ensure flexible connectivity

Lenovo 01PG721 Mellanox ConnectX-6 PCIe Adapter

The Lenovo 01PG721 Mellanox ConnectX-6 HDR100/100GbE QSFP56 2-port PCIe VPI Adapter represents a high-performance networking solution engineered for modern data-intensive infrastructures, including hyperscale data centers, high-performance computing (HPC) clusters, artificial intelligence (AI) workloads, cloud environments, and enterprise-grade storage networks. Built on the advanced ConnectX-6 architecture, this adapter delivers exceptional throughput, ultra-low latency, and versatile connectivity options through its Virtual Protocol Interconnect (VPI) capability, enabling seamless operation across both InfiniBand and Ethernet environments.

High-Performance Networking Architecture

ConnectX-6 ASIC Design and Processing Power

At the core of the Lenovo 01PG721 adapter lies the Mellanox ConnectX-6 ASIC, a highly optimized network interface controller designed to support demanding workloads requiring extreme bandwidth efficiency and deterministic latency. The architecture integrates advanced packet processing engines capable of handling millions of messages per second while maintaining low CPU utilization. This enables efficient offloading of networking tasks from host processors, thereby increasing overall system performance and scalability.

Dual-Port QSFP56 Interface

The adapter features a dual-port QSFP56 interface, allowing two independent high-speed connections per card. Each port supports data rates up to 100GbE or HDR InfiniBand speeds, enabling flexible deployment in converged network architectures. The QSFP56 form factor ensures backward compatibility with QSFP28 transceivers while also supporting next-generation optical and copper cabling solutions for maximum infrastructure adaptability.

100GbE and HDR InfiniBand Connectivity

High-Speed Ethernet Performance

In Ethernet mode, the adapter supports 100 Gigabit Ethernet (100GbE), delivering ultra-high bandwidth necessary for cloud-scale computing, virtualization clusters, and distributed storage systems. The 100GbE capability ensures fast data movement across server nodes, reducing bottlenecks in east-west traffic within data center environments.

HDR InfiniBand Support

When operating in InfiniBand mode, the adapter supports HDR (High Data Rate) technology, enabling up to 100Gb/s throughput with extremely low latency communication. This is particularly beneficial for HPC workloads, AI model training, and scientific simulations where node-to-node communication speed directly impacts computation time and efficiency.

Virtual Protocol Interconnect (VPI) Flexibility

The VPI functionality allows the same hardware to dynamically switch between InfiniBand and Ethernet protocols. This flexibility reduces infrastructure complexity and enables organizations to deploy a unified networking solution that adapts to changing workload requirements without hardware replacement.

Advanced Offload and Acceleration Capabilities

TCP/IP and RDMA Offloading

The Lenovo 01PG721 adapter includes advanced hardware offloading capabilities for TCP/IP and RDMA over Converged Ethernet (RoCE). By offloading protocol processing from the CPU to the NIC, system resources are freed for application-level processing, significantly improving compute efficiency in large-scale environments.

RDMA Over Converged Ethernet (RoCE)

RoCE support enables remote direct memory access over Ethernet networks, allowing data to be transferred directly between server memories without CPU intervention. This reduces latency and improves throughput for storage systems, distributed databases, and real-time analytics platforms.

Virtualization and Cloud Optimization

SR-IOV and Multi-Tenant Support

Single Root I/O Virtualization (SR-IOV) support enables the adapter to create multiple virtual functions, allowing virtual machines (VMs) to directly access network hardware resources. This improves I/O performance in virtualized environments and reduces hypervisor overhead, making it ideal for cloud service providers and enterprise virtualization platforms.

Overlay Network Offload Technologies

The adapter supports advanced overlay network offloads such as VXLAN, NVGRE, and GENEVE. These technologies allow efficient encapsulation and decapsulation of virtual network traffic, ensuring scalable multi-tenant environments without sacrificing performance or increasing CPU utilization.

Cloud-Native Networking Efficiency

Designed for cloud-native architectures, the adapter enhances containerized workloads by providing low-latency communication between microservices. Its hardware acceleration capabilities ensure efficient handling of Kubernetes-based networking workloads and service mesh implementations.

Storage Acceleration and Data Center Efficiency

NVMe over Fabrics (NVMe-oF)

The Lenovo 01PG721 supports NVMe over Fabrics, enabling remote storage access with near-local performance. This is particularly useful in disaggregated storage architectures where compute and storage resources are separated but require high-speed communication.

High-Throughput Storage Networking

By combining RDMA and high-bandwidth connectivity, the adapter significantly improves storage throughput for distributed file systems and object storage solutions. This reduces latency in data retrieval operations and enhances overall application responsiveness.

Data Center Fabric Optimization

The adapter is optimized for spine-leaf data center architectures, ensuring non-blocking communication between nodes. Its high port density and dual-port configuration allow efficient scaling of large networking fabrics without compromising performance.

Security and Reliability Features

Encrypted Network Traffic Support

The adapter supports inline encryption and decryption mechanisms, enabling secure data transmission across networks without significant performance degradation. This is particularly important for sensitive workloads in financial, healthcare, and government sectors.

Error Detection and Correction

Advanced error detection and correction technologies ensure data integrity across high-speed transmissions. These mechanisms minimize packet loss and maintain stable communication in mission-critical systems.

PCIe Interface and System Integration

PCI Express Gen4/Gen3 Compatibility

The adapter utilizes a high-performance PCIe interface compatible with Gen3 and Gen4 systems, ensuring maximum data throughput between the network card and host system. This ensures minimal latency and optimal bandwidth utilization in modern server architectures.

Efficient Bus Utilization

Optimized PCIe lane utilization enables efficient data flow even under heavy network loads. This reduces congestion and ensures stable performance in multi-application environments.

Server Platform Compatibility

The Lenovo 01PG721 adapter is designed for integration with Lenovo server platforms and other enterprise-grade systems, ensuring seamless deployment across heterogeneous data center environments.

Low-Latency HPC Communication

High-performance computing clusters rely on extremely low-latency interconnects, which the ConnectX-6 architecture delivers through optimized packet processing and RDMA acceleration.

Distributed Computing Efficiency

The adapter enhances distributed computing frameworks by ensuring fast synchronization between nodes, improving the efficiency of parallel processing tasks in scientific and engineering applications.

Optimized Power Consumption

Despite its high performance capabilities, the adapter is engineered for energy efficiency, utilizing dynamic power scaling techniques to reduce consumption during low traffic conditions.

Advanced Thermal Design

The thermal architecture ensures stable operation under continuous heavy workloads. Efficient heat dissipation allows deployment in dense server environments without compromising reliability.