How’s Mellanox DAC/AOC Infiniband Cables Different from Ethernet Cables?

Company Profile: Mellanox Technologies

Mellanox Technologies was established in 1999 and is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, USA, and Yokneam, Israel. It is a leading provider of end-to-end connectivity solutions for servers and storage. Mellanox is committed to the research and development of InfiniBand and Ethernet interconnect products, providing customers with products with high bandwidth, low latency, scalability, and energy saving.

At the end of 2010, Mellanox completed the acquisition of Voltaire, a well-known Infiniband switch manufacturer, which enabled Mellanox to expand in the HPC, cloud computing, data center, enterprise computing, and storage markets. Mellanox’s Infiniband series products include Infiniband/VPI series network cards, Infiniband/VPI series switches, and related software and chips.

As of June 2014, 126 systems in the TOP500 (an organization that provides statistics for high-performance computers, have been benchmarking the Linpack program for high-performance computers since 1993. The top 500 best quality systems are ranked and announced on the TOP500 website) used Mellanox’s FDR Infiniband products, a figure that was 1.9 times that of the same period last year.

On April 17, 2020, Mellanox was acquired by NVIDIA for $6.8 billion in cash, and the transaction was completed on April 27.

Introduction to InfiniBand Technology

InfiniBand technology is not used for general network connections, but is mainly designed for server-side connection problems, and is used for communication between servers and servers, servers and storage devices, and servers and networks, such as LAN, WANs, and the Internet.

InfiniBand is advocated by the InfiniBand Industry Association. The main members of the association are Compaq, Dell, HP, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, and Sun.

In June 2012, InfiniBand became the commonest interconnect technology in the TOP500 list. At present, 44.4% of the TOP500 systems use InfiniBand for interconnection, and 40.4% of the systems use Ethernet technology.

Serial High Bandwidth Links

– SDR: 10Gb/s

– DDR: 20Gb/s

– QDR: 40Gb/s

– FDR: 56Gb/s

– EDR: 100Gb/s

– HDR: 200Gb/s

– NDR:400Gb/s

Advantages of InfiniBand Cables

Low-Latency and High-Bandwidth InfiniBand

LinkX Optics offers a wide range of products in quad small form-factor pluggable (QSFP) options and data rates of quad data rate (QDR) and FDR10 (40G), FDR (56G), EDR (100G) up to 100m, and HDR (200G) and NDR (400G) up to 150m. In addition to meeting InfiniBand Trade Association (IBTA) standards, LinkX-certified cables are 100 percent tested in actual NVIDIA networking and GPU-based systems to ensure optimal signal integrity and the best end-to-end performance. LinkX AOC cables are designed for use in supercomputers that have the most stringent requirements—for greater than Ethernet AOC industry standards.

LinkX Cable Instructions

10/25/40/50/100/200G and 400G

The NVIDIA® Mellanox® LinkX® series of cables and transceivers provide comprehensive products including 10, 25, 40, 50, 100, 200, and 400GbE  Ethernet and EDR, HDR, and NDR InfiniBand products for application in scenarios such as cloud computing, high-performance computing, WEB 2.0, enterprises, telecommunications, storage, AI and Data Center.

LinkX cables and transceivers are typically used to link ToR switches down to NICs and storage devices in NVIDIA GPU and CPU servers, and/or link up to switch-to-switch interconnect applications throughout the network infrastructure.

Ethernet Products

• Mellanox DAC cables and Breakout Cables

LinkX direct-attach copper cables provide very low-cost 25G to 400GbE high-speed links inside the rack, up to 5 meters and 3 meters for 25G-NRZ and 50G PAM4-based cables, respectively. DACs offer near-zero latency and power consumption, making them ideal for switch to CPU, GPU, and storage subsystems. LinkX designs and manufactures a wide range of cable products that have undergone extensive testing.

• Mellanox AOC cables

LinkX AOCs are extremely low-cost optical interconnect cables. The fibers buried in the connector act as a DAC, but link up to 100 meters and offer data rates from 25G to 400G. NVIDIA Networking LinkX has a long history in AOC manufacturing with products widely used in high-performance computing, hyper-scale and enterprise networking, and DGX artificial intelligence systems.

InfiniBand Products

• Mellanox DAC cables and Breakout Cables

LinkX direct attach copper cables provide very low-cost EDR and HDR links, up to 5m and 2.5m for 25G-NRZ EDR and 50G PAM4 HDR respectively. The DACs offer near-zero latency and power consumption, making them ideal for in-rack switches to CPU, GPU, memory, and storage subsystems. LinkX DACs are typically used in system racks linking ToR switches to ConnectX HCAs.

• Mellanox AOC cables

LinkX AOCs are extremely low-cost optical interconnect cables. The optical fiber is buried in the connector, which acts as a DAC, but with a link distance of up to 150 meters (for HDR). They are available in QSFP for EDR and HDR rates. LinkX has a long history in AOC manufacturing with products widely used in high-performance computing, hyper-scale, enterprise, and DGX artificial intelligence systems.

Product Description：

40G QDR QSFP+ DAC

Mellanox 40G QSFP+ Active Copper Cable design has a signal amplification and a class 10G Clock and Data Recovery (CDR) technology to support distances up to 7m.

PN	Product Description
MC2206130-00A	40G QDR QSFP+ to QSFP+ 50cm (1.6ft) Passive Copper Direct Attach Cable
MC2206130-001	40G QDR QSFP+ to QSFP+ 1m (3ft) Passive Copper Direct Attach Cable
MC2206130-002	40G QDR QSFP+ to QSFP+ 2m (7ft) Passive Copper Direct Attach Cable
MC2206130-003	40G QDR QSFP+ to QSFP+ 3m (10ft) Passive Copper Direct Attach Cable
MC2206128-004	40G QDR QSFP+ to QSFP+ 4m (13ft) Passive Copper Direct Attach Cable
MC2206128-005	40G QDR QSFP+ to QSFP+ 5m (16ft) Passive Copper Direct Attach Cable
MC2206125-007	40G QDR QSFP+ to QSFP+ 7m (23ft) Passive Copper Direct Attach Cable

Mellanox compatible 40G QDR QSFP+ DAC

40G Ethernet QSFP+ DAC

Mellanox QSFP+ direct attach copper (DAC) cables provide robust connections for leading-edge 40G Ethernet systems. The cables consist of four lanes each operating at data rates of up to 14.0625Gb/s.

PN	Product Description
MC2210130-001	40G QSFP+ to QSFP+ 1m (3ft) Passive Copper Direct Attach Cable
MC2210130-002	40G QSFP+ to QSFP+ 2m (7ft) Passive Copper Direct Attach Cable
MC2210128-003	40G QSFP+ to QSFP+ 3m (10ft) Passive Copper Direct Attach Cable
MC2210128-004	40G QSFP+ to QSFP+ 4m (13ft) Passive Copper Direct Attach Cable
MC2210126-005	40G QSFP+ to QSFP+ 5m (16ft) Passive Copper Direct Attach Cable

Mellanox compatible 40G Ethernet QSFP+ DAC

56G FDR QSFP+DAC

Mellanox QSFP-56G-DAC direct attach copper cable assembly is suitable for very short distances and offers a highly cost-effective way to establish a 56G link connectivity between devices using QSFP ports.

PN	Product Description
MC2207130-00A	56G FDR QSFP+ to QSFP+ 50cm (1.6ft) Copper Direct Attach Cable
MC2207130-001	56G FDR QSFP+ to QSFP+ 1m (3ft) Copper Direct Attach Cable
MC2207130-002	56G FDR QSFP+ to QSFP+ 2m (7ft) Copper Direct Attach Cable
MC2207130-003	56G FDR QSFP+ to QSFP+ 3m (10ft) Copper Direct Attach Cable
MC2207130-004	56G FDR QSFP+ to QSFP+ 4m (13ft) Copper Direct Attach Cable
MC2207130-005	56G FDR QSFP+ to QSFP+ 5m (16ft) Copper Direct Attach Cable

Mellanox compatible 56G FDR QSFP+ DAC

56G FDR QSFP+AOC

Mellanox 56G QSFP+ AOC（active optic cables）offer a cost-effective, extended reach option for high-speed data center interconnects. Using 850nm VCSEL technology, this QSFP+ cable is an assembly of 4 full-duplex lanes, where each lane is capable of transmitting data at rates up to 14 Gb/s per direction, providing an aggregated rate of 56Gb/s. The cable is available in several standard lengths up to 100 meters.

PN	Product Description
MC220731V-001	56G FDR QSFP+ to QSFP+ 1m (3ft) Active Optical Cable
MC220731V-002	56G FDR QSFP+ to QSFP+ 2m (7ft) Active Optical Cable
MC220731V-003	56G FDR QSFP+ to QSFP+ 3m (10ft) Active Optical Cable
MC220731V-005	56G FDR QSFP+ to QSFP+ 5m (16ft) Active Optical Cable
MC220731V-010	56G FDR QSFP+ to QSFP+ 10m (33ft) Active Optical Cable
MC220731V-015	56G FDR QSFP+ to QSFP+ 15m (49ft) Active Optical Cable
MC220731V-020	56G FDR QSFP+ to QSFP+ 20m (66ft) Active Optical Cable
MC220731V-025	56G FDR QSFP+ to QSFP+ 25m (82ft) Active Optical Cable
MC220731V-030	56G FDR QSFP+ to QSFP+ 30m (98ft) Active Optical Cable
MC220731V-050	56G FDR QSFP+ to QSFP+ 50m (164ft) Active Optical Cable

Mellanox compatible 56G FDR QSFP+ AOC

100G Ethernet QSFP28 DAC

Mellanox 100G QSFP28 DAC delivers aggregate data bandwidth up to 100 Gbps with passive copper assemblies. They provide an ideal solution that allows 100G switches and routers to be used within the data center, with low power consumption and a maximum port count. 

PN	Product Description
MCP1600-C001	100G QSFP28 to QSFP28 1m (3ft) Copper Direct Attach Cable
MCP1600-C002	100G QSFP28 to QSFP28 2m (7ft) Copper Direct Attach Cable
MCP1600-C003	100G QSFP28 to QSFP28 3m (10ft) Copper Direct Attach Cable
MCP1600-C005	100G QSFP28 to QSFP28 5m (16ft) Copper Direct Attach Cable

Mellanox compatible 100G Ethernet QSFP28 DAC

100G Ethernet QSFP28 AOC

Mellanox high-density 100GbE QSFP28 to QSFP28 full-duplex active optical cable, combines 4 full-duplex 25 Gbps SFP lanes for an aggregated 100 Gbps rate, supporting ultra-fast computing data exchange.

PN	Product Description
MFA1A00-C003	100G QSFP28 to QSFP28 3m (10ft) Active Optical Cable
MFA1A00-C005	100G QSFP28 to QSFP28 5m (16ft) Active Optical Cable
MFA1A00-C010	100G QSFP28 to QSFP28 10m (33ft) Active Optical Cable
MFA1A00-C015	100G QSFP28 to QSFP28 15m (49ft) Active Optical Cable
MFA1A00-C020	100G QSFP28 to QSFP28 20m (66ft) Active Optical Cable
MFA1A00-C030	100G QSFP28 to QSFP28 30m (98ft) Active Optical Cable
MFA1A00-C050	100G QSFP28 to QSFP28 50m (164ft) Active Optical Cable
MFA1A00-C100	100G QSFP28 to QSFP28 100m (328ft) Active Optical Cable

Mellanox compatible 100G Ethernet QSFP28 AOC

200G Ethernet QSFP56 DAC

Mellanox QSFP56 to QSFP56 DAC Cable supports aggregate data rates of 200Gbps using PAM4 signals for transmission. This DAC Twinax Cable is available in a range of wire gages from 26AWG through 30AWG.

PN	Product Description
MCP1650-V00AE30	200G QSFP56 to QSFP56 PAM4 0.5m (1.6ft) Passive Direct Attach Copper Twinax Cable
MCP1650-V001E30	200G QSFP56 to QSFP56 PAM4 1m (3ft) Passive Direct Attach Copper Twinax Cable
MCP1650-V01AE30	200G QSFP56 to QSFP56 PAM4 1.5m (5ft) Passive Direct Attach Copper Twinax Cable
MCP1650-V002E26	200G QSFP56 to QSFP56 PAM4 2m (7ft) Passive Direct Attach Copper Twinax Cable
MCP1650-V02AE26	200G QSFP56 to QSFP56 PAM4 2.5m (8ft) Passive Direct Attach Copper Twinax Cable
MCP1650-V003E26	200G QSFP56 to QSFP56 PAM4 3m (10ft) Passive Direct Attach Copper Twinax Cable

Mellanox compatible 200G Ethernet QSFP56 DAC​

200G HDR QSFP56 DAC

Mellanox 200G HDR QSFP56 DAC is suited for interconnecting high-speed 200G networking applications such as servers, switches, data centers, high-performance computing networks, enterprise cores, and distribution layers. It is an assembly of 4-Channel Full-Duplex Passive Copper Cable and it supports aggregate data rates of 200Gbps(PAM4) with optimized construction to minimize insertion loss and cross talk.

PN	Product Description
MCP1650-H00AE30	HDR 200G QSFP56 to QSFP56 PAM4 0.5m (1.6ft) Passive Direct Attach Copper Twinax Cable
MCP1650-H001E30	HDR 200G QSFP56 to QSFP56 PAM4 1m (3ft)  Passive Direct Attach Copper Twinax Cable
MCP1650-H01AE30	HDR 200G QSFP56 to QSFP56 PAM4 1.5m (5ft) Passive Direct Attach Copper Twinax Cable
MCP1650-H002E26	HDR 200G QSFP56 to QSFP56 PAM4 Passive 2m (7ft) Direct Attach Copper Twinax Cable

200Gb/s HDR QSFP56 MMF Active Optical Cable

Mellanox cable is a QSFP56 VCSEL-based (Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Laser) active optical cable designed for use in 200Gb/s InfiniBand HDR systems. It offers high port density and configurability, and a much longer reach than passive copper cables in data centers.

PN	Product Description
MFS1S00-H003E	200G HDR QSFP56 to QSFP56 3m (10ft) Active Optical Cable
MFS1S00-H005E	200G HDR QSFP56 to QSFP56 5m (16ft) Active Optical Cable
MFS1S00-H010E	200G HDR QSFP56 to QSFP56 10m (33ft) Active Optical Cable
MFS1S00-H015E	200G HDR QSFP56 to QSFP56 15m (49ft) Active Optical Cable
MFS1S00-H020E	200G HDR QSFP56 to QSFP56 20m (66ft) Active Optical Cable
MFS1S00-H030E	200G HDR QSFP56 to QSFP56 30m (98ft) Active Optical Cable
MFS1S00-H050E	200G HDR QSFP56 to QSFP56 50m (164ft) Active Optical Cable
MFS1S00-H100E	200G HDR QSFP56 to QSFP56 100m (328ft) Active Optical Cable
MFS1S00-H130E	200G HDR QSFP56 to QSFP56 130m (427ft) Active Optical Cable
MFS1S00-H150E	200G HDR QSFP56 to QSFP56 150m (492ft) Active Optical Cable

Mellanox compatible 200Gb/s HDR QSFP56 MMF Active Optical Cable

200Gb Ethernet QSFP56 MMF Active Optical Cable

Mellanox QSFP56 AOC is designed for use in 200Gb/s Ethernet systems, which contain four multi-mode fibers (MMF) optic transceivers per end, each operating at data rates of up to 50Gb/s.

PN	Product Description
MFS1S00-V003E	200G QSFP56 to QSFP56 3m (10ft) Active Optical Cable
MFS1S00-V005E	200G QSFP56 to QSFP56 5m (16ft) Active Optical Cable
MFS1S00-V010E	200G QSFP56 to QSFP56 10m (33ft) Active Optical Cable
MFS1S00-V015E	200G QSFP56 to QSFP56 15m (49ft) Active Optical Cable
MFS1S00-V020E	200G QSFP56 to QSFP56 20m (66ft) Active Optical Cable
MFS1S00-V030E	200G QSFP56 to QSFP56 30m (98ft) Active Optical Cable
MFS1S00-V050E	200G QSFP56 to QSFP56 50m (164ft) Active Optical Cable
MFS1S00-V100E	200G QSFP56 to QSFP56 100m (328ft) Active Optical Cable

200G Ethernet QSFP56 to 2x100G QSFP56 Breakout Active Optical Cable

Mellanox 200G QSFP56 to 2x 100G QSFP56 Breakout AOC Cable provides up to 212.5G data rate transmission over OM3/OM4/OM5 multi-mode fiber, which is hot swapping. It is available in length choices from 3 meters to 30 meters.

PN	Product Description
MFS1S50-V003E	200G QSFP56 to 2x100G QSFP56 PAM4 3m (10ft) Breakout Active Optical Cable
MFS1S50-V005E	200G QSFP56 to 2x100G QSFP56 PAM4 5m (16ft) Breakout Active Optical Cable
MFS1S50-V010E	200G QSFP56 to 2x100G QSFP56 PAM4 10m (33ft) Breakout Active Optical Cable
MFS1S50-V015E	200G QSFP56 to 2x100G QSFP56 PAM4 15m (49ft) Breakout Active Optical Cable
MFS1S50-V020E	200G QSFP56 to 2x100G QSFP56 PAM4 20m (66ft) Breakout Active Optical Cable
MFS1S50-V030E	200G QSFP56 to 2x100G QSFP56 PAM4 30m (98ft) Breakout Active Optical Cable

Mellanox compatible 200G Ethernet QSFP56 to 2x100G QSFP56 Breakout AOC

200G HDR QSFP56 to 2x100G QSFP56 Breakout Active Optical Cable

The Mellanox cable is compliant with SFF-8665 for the QSFP56 pluggable solution. It provides connectivity between system units with a 200Gb/s connector on one side and two separate 100Gb/s connectors on the other side, such as a switch and two servers.

PN	Product Description
MFS1S50-H003E	200G HDR QSFP56 to 2x100G QSFP56 PAM4 3m (10ft) Breakout Active Optical Cable
MFS1S50-H005E	200G HDR QSFP56 to 2x100G QSFP56 PAM4 5m (16ft) Breakout Active Optical Cable
MFS1S50-H010E	200G HDR QSFP56 to 2x100G QSFP56 PAM4 10m (33ft) Breakout Active Optical Cable
MFS1S50-H015E	200G HDR QSFP56 to 2x100G QSFP56 PAM4 15m (49ft) Breakout Active Optical Cable
MFS1S50-H020E	200G HDR QSFP56 to 2x100G QSFP56 PAM4 20m (66ft) Breakout Active Optical Cable
MFS1S50-H030E	200G HDR QSFP56 to 2x100G QSFP56 PAM4 30m (98ft) Breakout Active Optical Cable

400G Ethernet QSFP-DD DAC

Mellanox 400G QSFP-DD DAC primarily enables high-bandwidth 400G links and supports a 400G Ethernet rate, which is suitable for very short links and offers a cost-effective way to establish a 400-Gigabit link between QSFP-400G ports of switches/routers within racks and across adjacent racks.

PN	Product Description
MCP1660-W00AE30	400G QSFP-DD to QSFP-DD PAM4 0.5m (1.6ft) Passive Direct Attach Copper Twinax Cable
MCP1660-W001E30	400G QSFP-DD to QSFP-DD PAM4 1m (3ft) Passive Direct Attach Copper Twinax Cable
MCP1660-W01AE30	400G QSFP-DD to QSFP-DD PAM4 1.5m (5ft) Passive Direct Attach Copper Twinax Cable
MCP1660-W002E2	400G QSFP-DD to QSFP-DD PAM4 2m (7ft) Passive Direct Attach Copper Twinax Cable
MCP1660-W02AE26	400G QSFP-DD to QSFP-DD PAM4 2.5m (8ft) Passive Direct Attach Copper Twinax Cable
MCP1660-W003E26	400G QSFP-DD to QSFP-DD PAM4 3m (10ft) Passive Direct Attach Copper Twinax Cable

Mellanox compatible 400G Ethernet QSFP-DD DAC

 

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FiberMall is a professional high-speed optical interconnect integrated solution provider, dedicated to the R&D, design, packaging, testing, and sales of high-end optical communication transceiver modules. Its products serve domestic and foreign customers in the fields including cloud computing data centers, data communications, 5G wireless networks, and telecommunications transmission, etc.

FiberMall focuses on technology R&D and promotes the development of products in the direction of high speed, miniaturization, low power consumption, and low cost. It provides 100G, 200G, 400G, and 800G high-speed optical transceivers for cloud data center customers, and 5G fronthaul, midhaul, and backhaul optical transceivers for telecom equipment manufacturers, which are applied in high-end fields such as optical transceivers transmission in metropolitan area network, backbone network, and core network. FiberMall maintains the leading edge in shipments and market share in the industry.

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