900-9X4AC-0054-ST0 Nvidia ConnectX-4 VPI Dual Ports QSFP PCIe Adapter Card

Overview of the QSFP Network Interface Card

The 900-9X4AC-0054-ST0 Nvidia ConnectX-4 VPI Dual Ports QSFP PCIe Adapter Card is a high-performance enterprise networking solution engineered for modern data centers, high-performance computing environments, cloud infrastructure, storage fabrics, and virtualized enterprise deployments. Designed to deliver exceptional bandwidth, ultra-low latency, and advanced hardware acceleration, this dual-port adapter integrates Nvidia’s proven ConnectX-4 Virtual Protocol Interconnect (VPI) architecture to support both InfiniBand and Ethernet connectivity within a single flexible hardware platform.

General Specification

• Brand: Nvidia 
• Part Number: 900-9X4AC-0054-ST0
• Product Type: Network Interface Card

Technical Features of Interface Card

• Interface Ports: Dual-port QSFP28
• InfiniBand Speed: FDR IB (\(56\text{ Gb/s}\))
• Ethernet Speed: \(40/\text{56GbE}\)
• Host Interface: PCI Express 3.0 x16
• Form Factor: Tall bracket

Storage Protocol

• NVMe over Fabrics
• iSCSI storage
• Distributed storage clusters
• Parallel file systems

Compatibility

• Linux enterprise distributions
• Ubuntu Server
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux
• SUSE Linux Enterprise
• VMware ESXi
• Microsoft Windows Server
• Hyper-V environments

The Nvidia Dual Ports QSFP PCIe Adapter Card 

The networking hardware must support scalable throughput, deterministic performance, and seamless protocol interoperability. The Nvidia ConnectX-4 VPI adapter addresses these demands by combining dual QSFP interfaces, PCIe high-speed bus compatibility, RDMA acceleration, virtualization enhancements, and robust offloading capabilities into one enterprise-grade adapter card.

Built for mission-critical deployments, the 900-9X4AC-0054-ST0 model enables network administrators, storage architects, and cloud engineers to optimize server-to-server communication, improve storage access speeds, reduce CPU overhead, and support high-density virtualized environments. Whether deployed in AI clusters, enterprise cloud servers, hyper-converged infrastructure, or distributed storage networks, this adapter card delivers enterprise-level reliability and scalable connectivity.

Dual-Port QSFP for High-Bandwidth Networking

One of the defining features of the Nvidia ConnectX-4 VPI adapter is its dual-port QSFP interface design. The QSFP (Quad Small Form-Factor Pluggable) ports support high-speed network connectivity and provide exceptional flexibility for organizations that require scalable and redundant networking configurations.

Dual-port architecture allows simultaneous connections to separate switches, fabrics, or storage networks. This improves fault tolerance, ensures link redundancy, and enables traffic balancing across multiple paths. In enterprise deployments, redundancy is essential for maintaining uptime and minimizing service disruption.

By supporting high-speed QSFP interconnects, organizations can eliminate traditional network bottlenecks and create scalable server fabrics that meet future growth requirements.

Virtual Protocol Interconnect (VPI) Flexibility

Nvidia’s Virtual Protocol Interconnect technology is one of the most important differentiators of the ConnectX-4 family. VPI allows the same adapter to operate in either InfiniBand mode or Ethernet mode, giving organizations flexibility to deploy according to infrastructure requirements without replacing hardware.

InfiniBand Support

InfiniBand remains the preferred interconnect for HPC, AI training clusters, and scientific computing environments due to its superior latency characteristics and deterministic performance. The ConnectX-4 VPI adapter enables high-speed InfiniBand communication that supports:

Ethernet Support

Ethernet compatibility allows deployment in enterprise and cloud environments where standard network infrastructure dominates.

The ability to transition between protocols protects long-term infrastructure investments and simplifies migration planning.

PCIe Interface and Host System Compatibility

The 900-9X4AC-0054-ST0 Nvidia ConnectX-4 adapter leverages PCI Express technology to ensure maximum throughput between server memory, processors, and network resources. Its PCIe interface delivers the bandwidth necessary to sustain high-speed network transfers without creating internal bus congestion.

PCIe compatibility makes the adapter suitable for installation in a wide range of enterprise servers from leading manufacturers.

Compatibility with modern x86 server platforms ensures easy deployment in Linux, VMware, and Windows Server environments. Its optimized PCIe architecture reduces internal latency and helps maximize workload efficiency.

RDMA Acceleration and CPU Offloading

Remote Direct Memory Access (RDMA) is one of the most powerful technologies integrated into the Nvidia ConnectX-4 VPI adapter. RDMA enables direct memory-to-memory communication between systems without excessive CPU involvement, significantly reducing latency and processing overhead.

RDMA over Converged Ethernet (RoCE)

RoCE support enables RDMA benefits over Ethernet infrastructure, making it ideal for enterprise environments transitioning toward low-latency networking without adopting InfiniBand fabrics.

Native InfiniBand RDMA

For HPC and AI workloads, native InfiniBand RDMA delivers exceptional microsecond-level latency, essential for tightly coupled distributed applications.

Virtualization Optimization and SR-IOV Support

Modern data centers depend heavily on virtualization. The Nvidia ConnectX-4 adapter includes advanced virtualization acceleration technologies designed to improve performance in hypervisor-based environments.

Single Root I/O Virtualization (SR-IOV)

SR-IOV enables the network adapter to present multiple virtual functions directly to virtual machines, allowing VMs to bypass software switching overhead and access hardware resources more efficiently.

VMware and Hypervisor Integration

The adapter supports integration with major virtualization platforms including VMware ESXi, Microsoft Hyper-V, and KVM. This compatibility ensures seamless deployment across private and hybrid cloud environments.

Advanced Hardware Offload Features

The 900-9X4AC-0054-ST0 Nvidia ConnectX-4 adapter incorporates multiple hardware offload engines designed to reduce CPU burden and improve network efficiency.

TCP/IP Offload

TCP segmentation, checksum calculations, and packet reassembly are handled directly by hardware, reducing software stack overhead and improving application responsiveness.

Overlay Network Acceleration

Virtualized and cloud-native environments frequently use overlay protocols such as VXLAN and NVGRE. ConnectX-4 accelerates encapsulation and decapsulation processes, allowing overlay traffic to perform at near-native speeds.

Enterprise Data Center

The Nvidia ConnectX-4 VPI dual-port adapter provides significant operational and architectural benefits for enterprise data centers.

Scalability

Organizations can deploy the adapter across multiple server generations and scale network fabrics without major redesigns. High throughput and protocol flexibility make it ideal for expanding infrastructure.

Power Efficiency

Compared with older network adapters, ConnectX-4 delivers superior performance per watt, reducing data center energy consumption and cooling requirements.

Infrastructure Consolidation

Because the same adapter supports multiple protocols and advanced offloads, organizations can consolidate networking hardware and simplify inventory management.

Storage Networking and NVMe-oF Performance

Storage systems increasingly depend on high-speed networking to deliver flash-level performance across shared infrastructures. The Nvidia ConnectX-4 adapter supports advanced storage networking technologies that reduce storage access latency.

NVMe over Fabrics enables remote NVMe devices to behave similarly to local storage by minimizing protocol overhead and maximizing throughput.

Security and Network Isolation Features

Enterprise environments require secure traffic handling and workload isolation. The ConnectX-4 adapter includes multiple hardware-assisted security capabilities that help enforce network policies.

Ideal Use Cases for the Adapter

Private cloud and public cloud providers use ConnectX-4 adapters to support high-density tenant environments, scalable east-west traffic, and software-defined networking frameworks.

High-Performance Computing

HPC clusters depend on deterministic communication. ConnectX-4 VPI delivers the low latency required for parallel computing and scientific research.

Artificial Intelligence and Deep Learning

Distributed training workloads benefit from accelerated inter-node communication and efficient GPU resource sharing.

Enterprise Virtualization

Virtual machine environments gain improved network efficiency through SR-IOV, hardware offloads, and direct I/O optimization.

Software-Defined Storage

Storage clusters can achieve improved replication speed, lower latency, and better resilience.

Nvidia Dual Ports QSFP PCIe Adapter Card

The 900-9X4AC-0054-ST0 Nvidia ConnectX-4 VPI Dual Ports QSFP PCIe Adapter Card represents a powerful combination of flexibility, speed, and enterprise-grade reliability. Its dual-port QSFP connectivity, protocol versatility, advanced RDMA capabilities, and extensive hardware acceleration make it one of the most capable networking adapters for demanding server environments.

Organizations seeking scalable networking performance, improved workload efficiency, and reduced CPU overhead can leverage this adapter to modernize infrastructure and prepare for future growth. From AI clusters and storage fabrics to virtualized enterprise platforms and cloud deployments, the ConnectX-4 remains a trusted networking solution engineered for high-performance computing and next-generation data center connectivity.