MCX653105A-ECAT Mellanox ConnectX-6 1-Ports VPI QSFP56 PCIe 4.0x16 Adapter

Mellanox MCX653105A-ECAT ConnectX-6 1-Port Adapter Outline

The Mellanox MCX653105A-ECAT ConnectX-6 VPI Network Adapter is a high-performance networking solution engineered for modern enterprise data centers, cloud computing platforms, machine learning (ML), high-performance computing (HPC), virtualization, and large-scale storage infrastructures. Equipped with a single QSFP56 interface and PCI Express 4.0 x16 connectivity, this adapter delivers exceptional bandwidth, ultra-low latency, and outstanding reliability for demanding networking environments.

Designed to support both InfiniBand and Ethernet protocols, the ConnectX-6 adapter provides organizations with deployment flexibility while ensuring outstanding scalability for future network expansion. Its advanced architecture enables accelerated data movement, efficient workload processing, and improved application responsiveness across distributed computing environments.

Main Information about this Mellanox MCX653105A-ECAT

• Manufacturer: Mellanox
• Part Number: MCX653105A-ECAT
• Product Type: PCIe Network Adapter

Product Specifications

• Series: ConnectX-6 VPI
• Host Interface: PCI Express 4.0 x16
• Network Port: Single QSFP56
• Supported Media: Copper and Optical
• Network Technologies: InfiniBand and Ethernet

Benefits of the ConnectX-6 Platform

• Ultra-low latency communication
• High bandwidth for data-intensive workloads
• Excellent scalability for enterprise deployments
• Reliable connectivity for mission-critical applications
• Optimized performance for virtualized environments
• Reduced processor overhead through intelligent hardware acceleration
• Improved network efficiency across modern infrastructures

Connector Specifications

• Single QSFP56 interface
• Supports copper cables
• Supports optical transceivers
• Optimized for enterprise networking
• Ideal for high-bandwidth server connectivity

Supported InfiniBand Standards

• SDR (2.5 Gb/s per lane)
• DDR (5 Gb/s per lane)
• QDR (10 Gb/s per lane)
• FDR10 (10.3125 Gb/s per lane)
• FDR (14.0625 Gb/s per lane)
• EDR (25 Gb/s per lane)
• HDR100 (2 lanes × 50 Gb/s per lane)

Supported Ethernet Protocols

• 100GBASE-CR4
• 100GBASE-CR2
• 100GBASE-KR4
• 100GBASE-SR4
• 50GBASE-R2
• 50GBASE-R4
• 40GBASE-CR4
• 40GBASE-KR4
• 40GBASE-SR4
• 40GBASE-LR4
• 40GBASE-ER4
• 40GBASE-R2
• 25GBASE-R
• 20GBASE-KR2
• 10GBASE-LR
• 10GBASE-ER
• 10GBASE-CX4
• 10GBASE-CR
• 10GBASE-KR
• 10GBASE-SR
• SGMII
• 1000BASE-CX
• 1000BASE-KX

Supported Data Rates

• InfiniBand SDR
• InfiniBand DDR
• InfiniBand QDR
• InfiniBand FDR
• InfiniBand EDR
• InfiniBand HDR100
• Ethernet 10GbE
• Ethernet 25GbE
• Ethernet 40GbE
• Ethernet 50GbE
• Ethernet 100GbE

PCI Express Interface

• PCI Express Gen4 x16
• PCI Express Gen3 compatible
• PCI Express 2.0 compatible
• PCI Express 1.1 compatible
• 16 GT/s PCIe Gen4 signaling
• 8 GT/s PCIe Gen3 signaling

Power Specifications

• Auxiliary Voltage: 3.3V
• Maximum Current: 100 mA
• Typical Power Consumption: 15.6W using passive cables
• Maximum QSFP56 Port Power: 5W

Energy-Efficient Benefits

• Lower operating costs
• Reduced heat generation
• Improved server efficiency
• Optimized data center power utilization

Recommended Airflow

• Passive Cables: 300 LFM at 55°C (Heatsink to Port)
• Passive Cables: 200 LFM at 35°C (Port to Heatsink)
• NVIDIA Active 4.7W Cables: 300 LFM at 55°C
• NVIDIA Active 4.7W Cables: 200 LFM at 35°C

Operating Conditions

• Operating Temperature: 0°C to 55°C
• Storage Temperature: -40°C to 70°C
• Operating Humidity: 10% to 85% Relative Humidity
• Storage Humidity: 10% to 90% Relative Humidity
• Maximum Operating Altitude: 3050 meters

Physical Specifications

Adapter Dimensions

• Length: 6.6 inches (167.65 mm)
• Width: 2.71 inches (68.90 mm)
• Compact PCIe add-in card design
• Designed for enterprise server installations

Recommended Deployment Scenarios

• Artificial Intelligence (AI) clusters
• Machine Learning platforms
• High-Performance Computing (HPC)
• Cloud computing infrastructure
• Enterprise virtualization
• Software-defined networking (SDN)
• Hyper-converged infrastructure (HCI)
• High-speed storage networks
• Big data analytics
• Financial computing environments
• Scientific research clusters
• Large-scale enterprise data centers

Mellanox MCX653105A-ECAT ConnectX-6 PCIe Adapter

The Mellanox MCX653105A-ECAT ConnectX-6 1-Port VPI QSFP56 PCIe 4.0 x16 Network Adapter is engineered for organizations that demand exceptional network throughput, ultra-low latency, and enterprise-class reliability across modern data center environments. Built on the advanced NVIDIA Mellanox ConnectX-6 architecture, this high-performance network interface card delivers outstanding connectivity for cloud computing, artificial intelligence, machine learning, high-performance computing, virtualization, storage networking, and enterprise workloads. The combination of a single QSFP56 interface, PCI Express 4.0 x16 connectivity, and VPI technology provides remarkable flexibility, allowing organizations to deploy either InfiniBand or Ethernet networking while maintaining exceptional bandwidth and consistent application performance.

Designed to accelerate demanding workloads, the MCX653105A-ECAT network adapter enables organizations to maximize server efficiency while minimizing communication bottlenecks. The advanced hardware architecture significantly reduces CPU utilization by offloading networking operations, allowing processors to dedicate more resources to mission-critical applications. Whether deployed in enterprise servers, cloud infrastructure, AI clusters, or high-speed storage environments, the ConnectX-6 adapter consistently delivers reliable networking performance with outstanding scalability.

Advanced ConnectX-6 Network Architecture

The ConnectX-6 architecture represents a major advancement in intelligent networking technology by integrating hardware acceleration, advanced packet processing, and intelligent traffic management into a single network adapter. The MCX653105A-ECAT is specifically optimized to support today's bandwidth-intensive applications while providing the flexibility required for future infrastructure expansion.

Unlike traditional network interface cards that rely heavily on server CPUs for packet handling, the ConnectX-6 platform intelligently offloads networking functions to dedicated hardware engines. This dramatically improves server responsiveness, lowers processing overhead, and increases overall infrastructure efficiency. Organizations benefit from faster application response times, improved virtualization performance, and enhanced storage communications across diverse enterprise environments.

Single-Port QSFP56 Connectivity

The integrated QSFP56 interface provides high-bandwidth connectivity suitable for next-generation networking infrastructures. QSFP56 technology supports modern high-speed optical transceivers and direct attach copper cables, allowing network administrators to deploy the most appropriate cabling solution based on infrastructure requirements, transmission distance, and budget considerations. This flexibility simplifies network planning while supporting future upgrades without replacing the adapter itself.

The single-port design is ideal for servers requiring dedicated high-speed connectivity while maintaining efficient PCIe slot utilization. It offers an excellent balance between bandwidth, power efficiency, and hardware simplicity, making it suitable for compute nodes, storage servers, AI appliances, virtualization hosts, and edge computing platforms.

VPI Technology for Flexible Networking

Virtual Protocol Interconnect technology distinguishes the MCX653105A-ECAT from conventional Ethernet-only adapters by enabling support for both InfiniBand and Ethernet networking. This flexibility allows organizations to standardize on a single hardware platform while selecting the networking protocol that best aligns with application requirements.

For high-performance computing environments, InfiniBand provides exceptional throughput with extremely low latency, making it ideal for scientific simulations, engineering analysis, financial modeling, and artificial intelligence clusters. For enterprise networking, Ethernet delivers universal compatibility across corporate infrastructure while supporting cloud applications, storage systems, virtualization platforms, and software-defined networking environments.

PCI Express 4.0 x16 Performance

High-Speed Host Interface

The PCIe 4.0 x16 interface significantly increases communication bandwidth between the server motherboard and the network adapter. Compared to previous PCIe generations, PCI Express 4.0 doubles available throughput, ensuring that networking performance remains unrestricted even under sustained heavy workloads.

This high-speed host interface is particularly valuable for environments where large datasets move continuously between storage systems, compute nodes, and distributed applications. AI model training, big data analytics, virtualization clusters, media rendering farms, and enterprise database servers all benefit from the enhanced PCIe bandwidth provided by the ConnectX-6 adapter.

Optimized Data Movement

Efficient data movement is critical in modern enterprise infrastructure. The MCX653105A-ECAT minimizes internal bottlenecks by providing direct, high-bandwidth communication pathways between system memory and network resources. This optimization reduces latency while improving throughput consistency across demanding workloads.

Enterprise Data Center Networking

Cloud Infrastructure Deployment

Cloud service providers require networking hardware capable of supporting thousands of simultaneous virtual machines, containers, and distributed applications. The ConnectX-6 network adapter delivers the scalability necessary for public, private, and hybrid cloud environments while maintaining predictable performance during periods of peak utilization.

Its intelligent networking features help reduce infrastructure complexity while supporting software-defined networking, network virtualization, and automated orchestration platforms. Organizations can efficiently scale cloud resources without introducing network congestion or unnecessary processing overhead.

Virtualization Performance

Virtualized environments place unique demands on networking infrastructure due to multiple operating systems sharing common hardware resources. The MCX653105A-ECAT enhances virtualization performance through advanced hardware acceleration technologies that improve network isolation, resource allocation, and packet processing efficiency.

The adapter enables higher virtual machine density while maintaining consistent networking performance for each guest operating system. This capability allows enterprises to consolidate workloads more effectively while reducing hardware costs and improving operational efficiency.

Containerized Application Support

Modern Kubernetes and container orchestration platforms rely on fast, reliable networking to support distributed microservices. The ConnectX-6 platform accelerates container communication by minimizing latency and maximizing bandwidth, helping organizations achieve responsive application performance even as deployment complexity continues to increase.

High-Performance Computing Environments

Scientific Computing

Research institutions, universities, engineering organizations, and government laboratories rely on high-performance computing systems to solve complex computational challenges. The ConnectX-6 network adapter delivers the communication performance required for computational fluid dynamics, molecular simulations, weather forecasting, seismic analysis, and genome sequencing.

These demanding workloads benefit from extremely low communication latency, allowing parallel computing applications to exchange information rapidly without introducing synchronization delays.

Engineering Simulation

Engineering simulation software frequently distributes calculations across multiple compute nodes. High-speed VPI networking improves application scalability while shortening project completion times. Faster communication between nodes enables engineers to analyze larger datasets with greater computational accuracy.

Storage Networking Optimization

Modern Storage Infrastructure

Enterprise storage environments increasingly require networking capable of supporting high-performance solid-state storage arrays, distributed file systems, and software-defined storage platforms. The MCX653105A-ECAT provides the bandwidth necessary for storage-intensive applications while maintaining consistent performance during continuous data transfers.

Organizations deploying large backup systems, archival repositories, multimedia storage, or enterprise databases benefit from improved storage accessibility and reduced transfer latency.

NVMe over Fabrics Support

NVMe over Fabrics technology extends NVMe storage performance across high-speed networks, allowing remote storage devices to perform similarly to locally attached drives. The ConnectX-6 architecture is optimized to support these demanding storage environments, enabling rapid access to enterprise flash storage while minimizing communication overhead.

Security and Reliability Features

Hardware-Based Security

Modern enterprise environments require networking hardware that incorporates advanced security capabilities without compromising performance. The MCX653105A-ECAT includes intelligent hardware mechanisms that help protect data integrity while supporting secure communication across enterprise infrastructure.

Hardware-level security reduces dependence on software processing for sensitive networking operations, improving overall system performance while maintaining robust protection against evolving security challenges.

Reliable Enterprise Operation

Mission-critical business applications demand continuous network availability. The ConnectX-6 adapter is engineered for long-term operational stability under sustained workloads. Advanced thermal management, enterprise-quality components, and intelligent firmware contribute to dependable performance in continuously operating data centers.

Low-Latency Network Communication

Optimized Packet Processing

Latency directly impacts application responsiveness, particularly in distributed computing environments. The MCX653105A-ECAT minimizes packet processing delays through dedicated hardware acceleration, intelligent queue management, and efficient memory access mechanisms. These optimizations improve responsiveness across enterprise applications, virtualization platforms, and cloud services.

Real-Time Workload Performance

Applications requiring immediate response, including financial analytics, telecommunications, industrial automation, and scientific instrumentation, benefit from the adapter's ability to maintain consistently low communication latency under varying traffic conditions.

Scalable Infrastructure Design

Future-Ready Networking

Enterprise infrastructure continues evolving toward increasingly data-intensive workloads. The ConnectX-6 platform provides the scalability necessary to support future networking demands without requiring immediate hardware replacement. Organizations can confidently deploy the MCX653105A-ECAT knowing it supports expanding bandwidth requirements and next-generation enterprise applications.

The adapter integrates seamlessly with existing server platforms while supporting future upgrades to networking fabrics, storage systems, virtualization environments, and cloud architectures. This investment protection helps organizations maximize infrastructure value over extended deployment lifecycles.

Efficient Resource Utilization

By offloading networking tasks from server processors, the ConnectX-6 adapter improves overall resource utilization throughout enterprise environments. Servers dedicate more computational capacity to business applications rather than networking overhead, resulting in higher application density, improved workload efficiency, and reduced operational costs.

Compatibility Across Enterprise Platforms

Broad Operating System Support

The Mellanox MCX653105A-ECAT supports a wide range of enterprise operating systems commonly deployed within modern data centers. Compatibility with leading Linux distributions, Microsoft Windows Server environments, virtualization hypervisors, and enterprise software platforms simplifies deployment while reducing integration complexity.

Comprehensive driver support and mature firmware development enable reliable operation across diverse hardware platforms, making the adapter suitable for heterogeneous enterprise environments where multiple operating systems coexist.

Server Platform Integration

The PCI Express 4.0 x16 interface ensures compatibility with numerous enterprise-class servers from leading manufacturers. Whether deployed in rack servers, GPU servers, blade systems, storage appliances, or high-density computing platforms, the adapter provides straightforward installation and dependable long-term operation.

Enterprise-Class Investment Value

The Mellanox MCX653105A-ECAT ConnectX-6 1-Port VPI QSFP56 PCIe 4.0 x16 Network Adapter combines advanced networking intelligence, exceptional throughput, flexible protocol support, enterprise reliability, and scalable architecture into a single high-performance solution. Its ability to accelerate cloud computing, virtualization, artificial intelligence, storage networking, and high-performance computing workloads makes it an excellent choice for organizations seeking a future-ready networking platform capable of supporting evolving business requirements while delivering consistent performance across demanding enterprise environments.