Mellanox MCX455A-FCAT 1 Port 40GbE ConnectX-4 VPI Adapter Card

Highlight of Mellanox MCX455A-FCAT 1-port VPI Adapter Card  

The Mellanox MCX455A-FCAT ConnectX-4 VPI adapter card is engineered for high-throughput networking environments that demand accelerated data transfer, low-latency communication, and enterprise-class reliability. Designed with a PCIe 3.0 x16 interface and a single QSFP28 port, this advanced networking adapter supports both InfiniBand and Ethernet connectivity for flexible deployment across modern data centers, virtualization infrastructures, cloud platforms, and HPC clusters.

General Specification

• Manufacturer: Mellanox 
• Part Number: MCX455A-FCAT 
• Device Type: VPI Adapter Card

Technical Specification

• Single-port QSFP28 connectivity
• PCI Express 3.0 x16 host interface
• Support for InfiniBand and Ethernet protocols
• Compatible with copper and optical QSFP28 transceivers
• Optimized for enterprise and hyperscale networking
• RoHS R6 compliant hardware design
• Low-profile dimensions with tall bracket support

Unified Networking Flexibility

• Supports converged networking deployments
• Ideal for software-defined data centers
• Reduces hardware inventory requirements
• Simplifies network migration strategies
• Enables flexible topology planning

Compact Form Factor

• Dimensions: 2.71 inches x 5.6 inches
• Measurements: 68.90 mm x 142.24 mm
• Low-profile card architecture
• Tall bracket included for server compatibility
• Designed for dense rack deployments

QSFP28 Port Connectivity

• Compatible with QSFP28 optical modules
• Supports passive and active copper cables
• Ideal for top-of-rack switching environments
• Enables high-speed backbone connectivity
• Reliable signal integrity for enterprise traffic loads

InfiniBand Protocol Compatibility

• SDR – 2.5Gb/s per lane
• DDR – 5Gb/s per lane
• QDR – 10Gb/s per lane
• FDR10 – 10.3125Gb/s per lane
• FDR – 14.0625Gb/s per lane

Benefits of InfiniBand Networking

• Accelerates parallel computing operations
• Enhances clustered application performance
• Reduces network bottlenecks
• Supports scalable computing architectures
• Improves throughput efficiency in HPC environments

Enterprise and Research Applications

• Scientific simulations
• Artificial intelligence training clusters
• Machine learning infrastructures
• Financial trading systems
• Big data analytics platforms
• Research laboratories

Supported Ethernet Standards

• 56GBASE-R4
• 50GBASE-R2
• 50GBASE-R4
• 40GBASE-CR4
• 40GBASE-KR4
• 40GBASE-SR4
• 40GBASE-LR4
• 40GBASE-ER4
• 40GBASE-R2
• 25GBASE-R
• 20GBASE-KR2
• 1000BASE-CX
• 1000BASE-KX
• 10GBASE-SR
• 10GBASE-LR
• 10GBASE-ER
• 10GBASE-CX4
• 10GBASE-CR
• 10GBASE-KR
• SGMII

Multi-Speed Ethernet Performance

• 1Gb Ethernet support
• 10Gb Ethernet compatibility
• 25Gb Ethernet acceleration
• 40GbE enterprise connectivity
• 56GbE high-bandwidth operation

Optimized for Data-Intensive Workloads

• Fast packet processing
• Reduced latency during peak traffic
• Improved application responsiveness
• Efficient handling of virtual machine traffic
• High-speed storage connectivity

Enhanced Host Connectivity

• High-bandwidth PCIe communication
• Improved throughput consistency
• Reduced CPU overhead
• Optimized server-side performance
• Reliable compatibility with enterprise motherboards

Server Deployment Compatibility

• Cloud server infrastructure
• Enterprise virtualization hosts
• Database servers
• Storage systems
• High-density rack servers

Voltage Specifications

• 12V operating voltage
• 3.3V auxiliary voltage support

Power Consumption Details

• Typical power with passive cables: 13.51W
• Maximum power with passive cables: 16W
• Maximum power with 1.5W active cables: 17.7W

Energy-Efficient Data Center Networking

• Reduced server power draw
• Lower cooling requirements
• Suitable for energy-conscious deployments
• Supports high-density rack configurations
• Efficient thermal management characteristics

Humidity Tolerance

• Operational humidity: 10% to 85% RH
• Non-operational humidity: 10% to 90% RH

Altitude Support

• Enterprise facilities
• Large-scale data centers
• Remote computing environments
• Telecommunications infrastructure
• Industrial networking systems

Cloud and Virtualization Infrastructure

• Virtual machine migration acceleration
• Improved network virtualization
• Enhanced cloud scalability
• Reduced network congestion
• Efficient east-west traffic handling

Storage Networking Environments

• Software-defined storage systems
• NVMe-over-Fabrics environments
• Distributed storage clusters
• Enterprise SAN connectivity
• High-speed backup networks

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

• Accelerated AI model training
• High-speed GPU clustering
• Large dataset processing
• Scalable compute node communication
• Efficient workload distribution

Outline of MCX455A-FCAT ConnectX-4 VPI Adapter Card  

The MELLANOX MCX455A-FCAT ConnectX-4 VPI adapter card is engineered for enterprise-grade networking environments that require ultra-low latency, high bandwidth throughput, and exceptional scalability for modern data center infrastructures. Designed with support for both FDR InfiniBand and 40GbE Ethernet connectivity, this single-port QSFP28 PCIe3.0 x16 adapter provides a versatile networking platform suitable for virtualization clusters, cloud computing systems, software-defined storage architectures, high-performance computing environments, and enterprise server deployments.

Organizations seeking reliable and scalable network interface solutions frequently deploy the MELLANOX MCX455A-FCAT in environments where consistent throughput and reduced CPU overhead are essential. The adapter card combines advanced networking acceleration technologies with Mellanox ConnectX-4 architecture to improve packet processing efficiency while minimizing latency across demanding workloads.

Advanced ConnectX-4 VPI Architecture

The ConnectX-4 Virtual Protocol Interconnect architecture allows the adapter card to support both InfiniBand and Ethernet protocols within a single hardware platform. This flexible interoperability enables enterprises to deploy the card in heterogeneous networking infrastructures without requiring multiple specialized network adapters. The ability to transition between networking standards simplifies infrastructure management and improves long-term deployment flexibility.

Built with high-performance packet acceleration technologies, the ConnectX-4 architecture enhances network throughput while reducing server CPU utilization. The adapter intelligently offloads networking tasks from the processor, enabling servers to dedicate more resources toward applications, virtualization, storage operations, and compute-intensive workloads.

Data centers utilizing virtualization platforms benefit significantly from the hardware acceleration capabilities of the MCX455A-FCAT adapter. The integrated architecture supports advanced virtualization technologies, including SR-IOV and network virtualization overlays, allowing virtual machines to achieve near-native network performance.

Single-Port QSFP28 Connectivity

The single-port QSFP28 interface on the MELLANOX MCX455A-FCAT provides high-density connectivity optimized for high-speed enterprise networking environments. QSFP28 technology supports substantial bandwidth capacity while maintaining efficient power consumption and compact port density. This makes the adapter suitable for blade servers, rack-mounted enterprise systems, and hyper-converged infrastructure deployments.

QSFP28 connectivity supports both optical transceivers and direct attach copper cabling, providing deployment flexibility across short-range and long-range networking environments. Data centers can implement the adapter using fiber optic connectivity for extended distances or cost-efficient DAC cabling for top-of-rack switching configurations.

The high-speed interface enables rapid communication between compute nodes, storage arrays, and network infrastructure components. Applications involving big data analytics, artificial intelligence processing, and clustered databases benefit from the high throughput capabilities delivered by the adapter card.

40GbE Ethernet Performance Capabilities

The 40 Gigabit Ethernet support integrated into the MELLANOX MCX455A-FCAT adapter card enables enterprise environments to achieve high-speed data transfer rates suitable for modern bandwidth-intensive workloads. As organizations continue to adopt virtualization, cloud-native applications, and distributed computing models, 40GbE connectivity provides the network performance necessary to support evolving infrastructure demands.

High-speed Ethernet connectivity significantly reduces data transfer bottlenecks within enterprise networks. Workloads involving virtualization migration, distributed storage replication, media rendering, and real-time analytics require consistent bandwidth availability to maintain operational efficiency.

Low Latency Ethernet Networking

One of the defining characteristics of the ConnectX-4 platform is its ultra-low latency networking performance. The MCX455A-FCAT adapter minimizes packet processing delays through hardware acceleration mechanisms and optimized packet handling technologies. Financial trading platforms, HPC clusters, and latency-sensitive enterprise applications rely on low-latency networking to maintain application responsiveness.

Reduced latency improves communication efficiency between servers and storage systems. Database applications and distributed file systems benefit from accelerated transaction handling and faster data synchronization across clustered environments.

Optimized Throughput for Enterprise Workloads

Enterprise environments running demanding applications require network adapters capable of sustaining high throughput under continuous workloads. The MELLANOX MCX455A-FCAT delivers consistent data transmission speeds suitable for large-scale data processing, virtualization traffic, and enterprise backup operations.

High-throughput networking improves productivity within cloud infrastructures by enabling faster workload distribution and efficient resource sharing between virtualized systems. Organizations deploying containerized applications also benefit from improved east-west traffic performance within distributed environments.

FDR InfiniBand Networking Support

The MELLANOX MCX455A-FCAT adapter card includes FDR InfiniBand support, making it suitable for high-performance computing environments where low latency and high bandwidth are critical operational requirements. InfiniBand networking is widely used in research laboratories, scientific computing clusters, machine learning infrastructures, and enterprise HPC deployments.

FDR InfiniBand technology delivers superior communication performance compared to traditional networking technologies by minimizing protocol overhead and optimizing direct memory access operations. This architecture improves application scalability and enables efficient communication between compute nodes.

High-Performance Computing Integration

HPC environments demand network adapters capable of handling massive parallel processing workloads without introducing communication bottlenecks. The ConnectX-4 VPI adapter supports high-speed interconnect performance necessary for clustered computing systems and parallel applications.

Scientific simulations, computational modeling, and AI training workloads often involve continuous node-to-node communication. The low-latency InfiniBand architecture enhances synchronization efficiency across distributed computing environments.

Large-scale supercomputing infrastructures frequently deploy Mellanox InfiniBand adapters due to their reliability, scalability, and consistent throughput performance. The MCX455A-FCAT adapter supports these enterprise requirements with advanced networking acceleration technologies.

RDMA and Direct Memory Access Efficiency

Remote Direct Memory Access functionality allows the adapter card to transfer data directly between systems without excessive CPU intervention. RDMA improves data transfer efficiency while lowering processor utilization and reducing latency during network communication.

Applications requiring rapid storage access and high-speed data movement benefit from RDMA acceleration. Distributed databases, clustered storage systems, and virtualized infrastructures can achieve improved performance by leveraging direct memory access capabilities.

The RDMA functionality integrated within the ConnectX-4 architecture also contributes to reduced power consumption by minimizing processor overhead during large-scale data operations.

PCIe 3.0 x16 Interface Advantages

The PCIe 3.0 x16 interface utilized by the MELLANOX MCX455A-FCAT provides substantial bandwidth capacity between the network adapter and the host server platform. High-speed PCI Express connectivity ensures that the adapter can fully utilize available network bandwidth without creating internal system bottlenecks.

Enterprise servers equipped with PCIe 3.0 x16 expansion slots can leverage the full performance capabilities of the adapter card. The wide interface bandwidth is especially beneficial for virtualization platforms, storage servers, and high-performance application environments.

Improved Server Communication Efficiency

The PCIe 3.0 architecture significantly enhances communication efficiency between the network controller and server memory subsystems. This enables rapid packet handling and efficient data transfer across network-intensive workloads.

Modern enterprise servers often host multiple virtual machines, storage services, and distributed applications simultaneously. The high-bandwidth PCIe interface helps maintain stable network performance even during periods of elevated traffic demand.

Scalability for Enterprise Expansion

Organizations planning infrastructure growth require networking hardware capable of scaling with increasing performance requirements. The PCIe 3.0 x16 design allows the MELLANOX MCX455A-FCAT adapter to integrate seamlessly into next-generation enterprise systems and high-density server platforms.

Scalable networking solutions are essential for cloud providers, managed service operators, and enterprise IT departments managing expanding workloads and evolving application requirements.