Mellanox VPI FDR IB - 40GbE Switch

[Patrick]

Was searching for something else and stumbled upon this:
Mellanox 36 Port SXX0 Evaluation Board Switchx MT51336PV MT51336 VPI P EVB | eBay

It links to the following manual: http://www.mellanox.com/related-docs/user_manuals/SwitchX_EVB_User_Manual.pdf

In there power per port 1.5-2w. Page 13 says it does 40GbE.

I must admit, this is the least expensive 40GbE switch option I have seen. It does look like an eval unit so that is a major negative. However, for a test lab interesting.

 

[Patrick]

Update: the seller took $1,000. Fairly excited now.

 

[dba]

Was searching for something else and stumbled upon this:
Mellanox 36 Port SXX0 Evaluation Board Switchx MT51336PV MT51336 VPI P EVB | eBay

It links to the following manual: http://www.mellanox.com/related-docs/user_manuals/SwitchX_EVB_User_Manual.pdf

In there power per port 1.5-2w. Page 13 says it does 40GbE.

I must admit, this is the least expensive 40GbE switch option I have seen. It does look like an eval unit so that is a major negative. However, for a test lab interesting.

Wow. That's a very interesting and very risky auction. I wonder, for example, if this particular board really has VPI features that enable 40GbE and Ethernet bridging? If it was the version with SFP+ ports than I'd say "yes", but this version is QSFP only.

 

[dba]

Update: the seller took $1,000. Fairly excited now.

Nice find Patrick!

 

[Patrick]

Wow. That's a very interesting and very risky auction. I wonder, for example, if this particular board really has VPI features that enable 40GbE and Ethernet bridging? If it was the version with SFP+ ports than I'd say "yes", but this version is QSFP only.

Want to play with it? I didn't "need" the box.

 

[awedio]

Want to play with it? I didn't "need" the box.

That does looks like an SX6036

 

[dba]

Want to play with it? I didn't "need" the box.

Sure! I'd love to see if it'll do bridging.

 

[Patrick]

Sure! I'd love to see if it'll do bridging.

Hmmm... interesting. Did the new OBO but it's the new OBO. The seller agreed to the $1000 price, but I still need to commit to buy?

 

[dba]

Hmmm... interesting. Did the new OBO but it's the new OBO. The seller agreed to the $1000 price, but I still need to commit to buy?

That's the new way - they have to accept your offer and then you have to commit. It's better for the buyer but annoying for the seller.

 

[Patrick]

That's the new way - they have to accept your offer and then you have to commit. It's better for the buyer but annoying for the seller.

Bad since it gives me time to double-think this one.

 

[Jeggs101]

Would these HP cards work with that? Maybe mrkrad would know?

HP 649282 B21 Infiniband FDR En 10 40GB2P 544FLR QSFP Adapter Dual Port Spare | eBay

$220 for dual port cards. FDR and 40Gb Ethernet.

Edit: Here's the HP page for them that says they are ConnectX-3 based: HP Infiniband FDR/Ethernet 10Gb/40Gb 2-port 544FLR-QSFP Adapter - InfiniBand adapters - HP: 649282-B21

So maybe they would?

 

[dba]

Bad since it gives me time to double-think this one.

I tried an offer for $960, which the seller refused. He countered with $1K, so that's probably the best they'll do for now. With four offers so far, I rather doubt that these will last long enough for the seller to drop their price.

 

[Jeggs101]

I tried an offer for $960, which the seller refused. He countered with $1K, so that's probably the best they'll do for now. With four offers so far, I rather doubt that these will last long enough for the seller to drop their price.

3 left as of now when I checked. $1k gets you $20 ebay bucks right? I'd imagine you'd use your bucks in time every quarter.

 

[dba]

Would these HP cards work with that? Maybe mrkrad would know?

HP 649282 B21 Infiniband FDR En 10 40GB2P 544FLR QSFP Adapter Dual Port Spare | eBay

$220 for dual port cards. FDR and 40Gb Ethernet.

Edit: Here's the HP page for them that says they are ConnectX-3 based: HP Infiniband FDR/Ethernet 10Gb/40Gb 2-port 544FLR-QSFP Adapter - InfiniBand adapters - HP: 649282-B21

So maybe they would?

That's a killer price, but beware. First, we know that some HP RAID cards have BIOS code that prevents them from working on some or all non-HP servers. This IB card could be the same. Second, the auction is for a FLR format card, which is a non-standard mounting for a PCIe card. FLR is specific to certain HP g8 servers. The bracket is different and it seems likely that a simple bracket swap is not possible since the ports appear closer together than the PCIe version and are mounted lower.

 

[dba]

By the way, the other Mellanox FDR switch on eBay for $1,700 (now $1,648) turns out to be a card for a chassis switch, not a standalone switch.

 

[OBasel]

That's a killer price, but beware. First, we know that some HP RAID cards have BIOS code that prevents them from working on some or all non-HP servers. This IB card could be the same. Second, the auction is for a FLR format card, which is a non-standard mounting for a PCIe card. FLR is specific to certain HP g8 servers. The bracket is different and it seems likely that a simple bracket swap is not possible since the ports appear closer together than the PCIe version and are mounted lower.

For those that want more info: http://h20195.www2.hp.com/V2/GetPDF.aspx/4AA4-6708ENW.pdf

Summary for those too lazy: HP more or less pulled a Supermicro UIO except instead of using a standard slot with opposite side of PCB components, HP has a custom PCI-E 3 implementation

 

[dba]

Bad since it gives me time to double-think this one.

The docs say that it supports 40GbE and - get this - 56GbE. That's a new one.

 

[Patrick]

The docs say that it supports 40GbE and - get this - 56GbE. That's a new one.

I saw that one. Figured it was a mistake. Maybe they are just giving up on 100GbE?

 

[awedio]

I asked about this device on the Mellanox community site

 

[Patrick]

I asked about this device on the Mellanox community site

The HP cards?