NVIDIA Mellanox MSN4700-WS2FC Spectrum-3 400GbE 1U Switch

NVIDIA Mellanox® MSN4700-WS2FC — Spectrum-3 400GbE 32-Port 1U Ethernet Switch

Technical Identity

The NVIDIA Mellanox® MSN4700-WS2FC is a 1U top-of-rack Ethernet switch built on the NVIDIA Spectrum-3 ASIC, delivering 32 ports of 400GbE over QSFP-DD cages with 12.8 Tbps of non-blocking, full duplex switching capacity. The "WS2FC" suffix denotes the Cumulus Linux pre-installed variant with front-to-back (P2C) airflow and dual hot-swappable 1100W PSUs. Designed for hyperscale leaf-spine fabrics, AI/ML training clusters, and high-throughput storage networks, the SN4700 supports flexible per-port speeds of 1/10/25/40/50/100/200/400 GbE plus 4×100GbE, 2×200GbE, and 8×50GbE breakout configurations. Ethernet-only — this is not a VPI / dual-protocol product.

Specifications

• OEM: NVIDIA (Mellanox)
• Part Number (MPN): MSN4700-WS2FC
• Product Family: NVIDIA Spectrum-3 / SN4000 series
• ASIC: NVIDIA Spectrum-3
• Form Factor: 1U, 19" rack-mount
• Port Configuration: 32× QSFP-DD (400GbE)
• Per-Port Speeds: 1 / 10 / 25 / 40 / 50 / 100 / 200 / 400 GbE
• Breakout Support: 4×100GbE, 2×200GbE, 8×50GbE per QSFP-DD cage
• Switching Capacity: 12.8 Tbps (non-blocking, full duplex)
• Forwarding Rate: 8.4 Bpps (packets per second)
• Protocol: Ethernet only (Spectrum-3 ASIC — not InfiniBand)
• Network OS: NVIDIA Cumulus Linux (pre-installed)
• Airflow: P2C — Power-to-Connector (front-to-back)
• Power Supplies: 2× hot-swap 1100W (1+1 redundant)
• Fans: Hot-swap, redundant
• Management: 1× RJ45 console, 1× USB, 1× RJ45 management
• Condition: Refurbished Grade A — bench-tested by T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS

What This Is NOT

• NOT an InfiniBand switch. Spectrum-3 is Ethernet-only. For NDR / HDR / EDR InfiniBand fabric, use the Quantum series (MQM87xx / MQM97xx).
• NOT a NIC, adapter, or DPU. This is a rack-mount switch chassis — requires 1U of rack space, redundant power feeds, and structured QSFP-DD cabling.
• NOT bundled with transceivers, DAC/AOC cables, breakout cables, or rail kits unless explicitly stated in the order.
• NOT an 800GbE switch. Maximum per-port speed is 400GbE; aggregate switching capacity is 12.8 Tbps. For 800GbE-per-port, see Spectrum-4 (SN5600).
• NOT supplied with an MLNX-OS / Onyx license — the "C" suffix denotes Cumulus Linux as the shipping NOS.

Compatibility & Constraints

• Network OS: NVIDIA Cumulus Linux 5.x pre-installed; SONiC also supported as alternative NOS.
• Compatible host adapters: ConnectX-7 (400GbE native), ConnectX-6 Dx (100/200GbE), ConnectX-6 Lx (25/50GbE), BlueField-2 / BlueField-3 DPUs.
• Compatible cabling: QSFP-DD DAC / AOC for 400GbE; QSFP-DD-to-4×QSFP28 splitter for 4×100GbE breakout; QSFP-DD-to-2×QSFP56 splitter for 2×200GbE breakout. QSFP-DD cages are mechanically backward-compatible with QSFP56 / QSFP28 / QSFP+ modules at corresponding speeds.
• Standards interoperability: IEEE 802.3 Ethernet, MSA-compliant QSFP-DD — interoperable with Arista, Cisco, Juniper, Dell, HPE 400GbE optics and switches when port modes match.
• Rack: Standard 19" 1U bay; verify rail kit availability separately (sold as accessory MTEF-KIT-D or equivalent).
• Airflow: P2C (front-to-back) — verify hot-aisle / cold-aisle alignment before deploying alongside reverse-airflow units (P2C ↔ C2P mismatch causes thermal stacking).
• Power: Dual 1100W AC PSUs — requires two separate power feeds for 1+1 redundancy. Verify rack PDU capacity.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q. What is the NVIDIA Mellanox MSN4700-WS2FC?
The MSN4700-WS2FC is a 1U Spectrum-3 Ethernet switch with 32× QSFP-DD ports, 400GbE per port, 12.8 Tbps switching capacity, Cumulus Linux pre-installed, and front-to-back (P2C) airflow.

Q. Does the MSN4700-WS2FC support InfiniBand?
No. The Spectrum-3 ASIC is Ethernet-only. For NDR / HDR InfiniBand fabric switching, use the NVIDIA Quantum series (MQM9700, MQM8790, etc.).

Q. Can I run 800GbE per port on this switch?
No. Maximum per-port speed is 400GbE. The 12.8 Tbps figure is the aggregate switching capacity across all 32 ports. For 800GbE per port, see the Spectrum-4 SN5600 platform.

Q. What network operating systems are supported?
The "C" suffix indicates Cumulus Linux is pre-installed. SONiC is also a supported alternative NOS on the SN4700 hardware.

Q. What breakout configurations are supported?
Each QSFP-DD port supports 1×400GbE, 2×200GbE, 4×100GbE, or 8×50GbE / 8×25GbE using NVIDIA breakout DAC, AOC, or transceiver-and-fiber assemblies.

Q. What is the airflow direction?
P2C — Power-to-Connector, which is front-to-back. Air enters from the port side (front of rack) and exhausts at the PSU side (rear). Match airflow direction to your hot-aisle / cold-aisle layout.

Q. Is the MSN4700-WS2FC compatible with non-NVIDIA optics and cables?
Standard QSFP-DD MSA-compliant cables and transceivers from Cisco, Arista, Juniper, Dell, and HPE are physically and electrically interoperable when port speed and FEC modes are matched. NVIDIA-branded optics carry the longest validated compatibility matrix.

Q. What condition is this unit?
Refurbished Grade A. Bench-tested by T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS — link establishment per port, traffic validation, PSU and fan verification, NOS boot check, and cosmetic inspection. Anti-static packaging and EU stock with global B2B shipping.

Why buy from T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS

T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS is a Europe-based NVIDIA Mellanox specialist serving HPC, AI training, and enterprise data-center procurement teams since 2007. Every switch is identified by MPN, NVIDIA P/N, ASIC generation, and NOS variant before it ships, and every customer gets free pre-sale fabric-design consultation covering switch, adapter, transceiver, and cable selection. Multi-currency B2B invoicing, EU stock with worldwide express options, and direct technical contact with our engineering team — not a call-center. See tes-itsolutions.com.