NVIDIA Mellanox MSX6710G-FS2F2 — FDR/40GbE VPI Gateway Switch, 36 QSFP+

NVIDIA Mellanox® MSX6710G-FS2F2 — FDR / 40GbE VPI Gateway Switch

Technical Identity

The NVIDIA Mellanox® MSX6710G-FS2F2 is a 1U managed VPI (Virtual Protocol Interconnect) gateway switch built on the SwitchX-2 ASIC. It exposes 36× QSFP+ ports that can each be configured as 56 Gb/s FDR InfiniBand or 40 GbE Ethernet, and the chassis can bridge between protocols on the same fabric. Suffix decoding: F = front-to-rear (P2C) airflow, S = managed software, 2 = dual hot-swap PSUs (1+1), F2 = 2 hot-swap fan trays. VPI dual-protocol.

Specifications

• Brand / OEM: NVIDIA Mellanox
• MPN: MSX6710G-FS2F2
• ASIC / family: SwitchX-2 (1U, 36-port)
• Ports: 36× QSFP+
• InfiniBand: FDR 56 Gb/s per port (auto-negotiates FDR10 / QDR / DDR / SDR)
• Ethernet: 40 GbE per port; 10 GbE via QSFP+‑to‑4×SFP+ breakout
• Protocol mode: VPI dual-protocol — IB + Ethernet on the same chassis with IB-to-Ethernet gateway
• Switching capacity: 4.032 Tb/s non-blocking
• Port-to-port latency: ~170 ns (IB cut-through)
• Form factor: 1U, 19” rack-mount
• Airflow: Front-to-rear (P2C)
• Power: 2× hot-swap PSUs (1+1)
• Fans: 2× hot-swap fan trays
• Management: MLNX-OS / NVIDIA Onyx — console, 1 GbE mgmt, SSH, web UI, SNMP, REST/JSON RPC
• Subnet Manager: Embedded SM for IB fabrics
• Condition: Refurbished Grade A — bench-tested by T.E.S

Capabilities & Features

• Non-blocking cut-through forwarding across all 36 ports.
• VPI dual-protocol: per-port IB or Ethernet assignment.
• Built-in IB-to-Ethernet gateway — attaches IB compute to Ethernet storage / WAN.
• Adaptive routing, congestion control, per-port telemetry.
• Hot-swap PSUs and fan trays.
• Embedded subnet manager for mid-size HPC and storage fabrics.

What This Is NOT

• NOT an EDR / HDR / NDR IB switch — this is FDR (56 Gb/s). For EDR/HDR/NDR use Quantum-1 / Quantum-2 (MQM‑ series).
• NOT a 100/200/400 GbE switch — max Ethernet rate is 40 GbE. For 100 GbE+ use the Spectrum family (SN‑ series).
• NOT a NIC or adapter card — it is a rack switch.
• NOT bundled with QSFP+ DACs, AOCs, transceivers, or rail kits unless explicitly listed.
• NOT a QSFP28 / QSFP56 / OSFP system — QSFP+ cages only.

Compatibility & Constraints

• Host adapters: NVIDIA Mellanox ConnectX-3, ConnectX-3 Pro, ConnectX-4, ConnectX-4 Lx with QSFP+ ports. ConnectX-5/6/7 in QSFP+ mode also link.
• DAC: MC2207130-xxx, MC2207126-xxx — QSFP+ to QSFP+, FDR / 40GbE.
• AOC: MC2207310-xxx — FDR / 40GbE QSFP+ AOC.
• Optics: MC2210411-SR4, MC2210511-SR4L — QSFP+ short-reach over MMF (OM3/OM4).
• 10 GbE breakout: QSFP+ to 4×SFP+ DAC / AOC splitters.
• Driver: MLNX_OFED / DOCA on hosts; verify firmware vs. fabric topology.
• Power: Dual‑corded recommended, 100–240 VAC.
• Cabinet: Standard 19” rack, 1U vertical clearance, hot-aisle exhaust.

Deployment & Use Cases

• FDR IB backbone for mid-size HPC clusters, Lustre / GPFS, NVMe-oF over IB.
• IB-to-Ethernet gateway between IB compute and 10/40 GbE storage / management.
• Storage spine for FDR-attached arrays and 40 GbE‑attached NAS.
• Refurb / replacement spine for installed SwitchX-2 fleets.
• Lab / staging fabric for MLNX-OS / Onyx validation.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q. What is the NVIDIA Mellanox MSX6710G-FS2F2?
A 1U managed VPI gateway switch from the SwitchX-2 family with 36× QSFP+ ports. Each port runs 56 Gb/s FDR InfiniBand or 40 GbE Ethernet, and the switch can bridge between the two on the same chassis. "FS2F2" = front-to-rear airflow, managed (MLNX-OS / NVIDIA Onyx), 2 PSUs, 2 fan trays.

Q. What does the "G" in MSX6710G mean?
Gateway-capable. VPI dual-protocol; ports can be assigned per protocol and the switch can act as an IB-to-Ethernet gateway in 1U. The non-G MSX6710 is IB-only.

Q. What speeds and protocols does it run?
InfiniBand: 56 Gb/s FDR per port (auto-negotiates FDR10 / QDR / DDR / SDR). Ethernet: 40 GbE per port (10 GbE via QSFP+‑to‑SFP+ breakout). It is not EDR / HDR / NDR and does not run 100 / 200 GbE — those are Quantum / Spectrum generations.

Q. Which adapters and cables are compatible?
ConnectX-3 / 3 Pro / 4 / 4 Lx with QSFP+ ports. QSFP+ passive DAC, QSFP+ AOC, or FDR-rated optical transceivers + MMF (e.g. MC2207130-xxx, MC2207126-xxx, MC2207312-xxx). For 10 GbE links, use QSFP+‑to‑4×SFP+ splitter DACs / AOCs.

Q. Is this part of Quantum / Spectrum?
No. MSX6710G runs the SwitchX-2 ASIC. Quantum is HDR / NDR IB; Spectrum is 10/25/40/100/200/400 GbE Ethernet. SwitchX-2 predates both and tops out at FDR IB and 40 GbE.

Q. What management interfaces are available?
MLNX-OS / NVIDIA Onyx via RS-232 console, dedicated 1 GbE mgmt port, SSH CLI, web UI, SNMP v1/2c/3, REST / JSON RPC. Embedded subnet manager for IB fabrics.

Q. What is the condition supplied by T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS?
Refurbished Grade A. Bench-tested by T.E.S: power-on self-test, MLNX-OS / Onyx boot, port-by-port link establishment on a SwitchX-2 test bench, PSU and fan diagnostics, cosmetic inspection. EU stock, anti-static packaging, 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, and enterprise data-center procurement teams since 2007. Every MSX6710G-FS2F2 is identified by MPN, SwitchX-2 board revision, and PSU / fan part numbers, and every refurbished unit is bench-tested on a live SwitchX-2 topology — link establishment on all 36 QSFP+ ports, MLNX-OS / Onyx boot, PSU redundancy, and fan diagnostics. Free pre-sale compatibility review for ConnectX adapter, DAC / AOC, and rail-kit pairing. Multi-currency B2B invoicing, EU stock, worldwide express shipping, direct engineer contact — not a call-center. See tes-itsolutions.com.