Mellanox Technologies MCX454A-FCAT User manual

www.mellanox.com
ConnectX®-4 VPI Single and Dual QSFP28
Adapter Card User Manual
P/N:
MCX453A-FCAT, MCX454A-FCAT, MCX455A-FCAT, MCX456A-FCAT, MCX455A-ECAT, MCX456A-
ECAT
Rev 1.9

Document Number: MLNX-15-5583
Rev 1.9
Mellanox Technologies
2
Mellanox Technologies
350 Oakmead Parkway Suite 100
Sunnyvale, CA 94085
U.S.A.
www.mellanox.com
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
© Copyright 2016. Mellanox Technologies LTD. All Rights Reserved.
Mellanox®, Mellanox logo, BridgeX®, CloudX logo, CompustorX®, Connect-IB®, ConnectX®, CoolBox®, CORE-
Direct®, EZchip®, EZchip logo, EZappliance®, EZdesign®, EZdriver®, EZsystem®, GPUDirect®, InfiniHost®,
InfiniScale®, Kotura®, Kotura logo, Mellanox Federal Systems®, Mellanox Open Ethernet®, Mellanox ScalableHPC®,
Mellanox TuneX®, Mellanox Connect Accelerate Outperform logo, Mellanox Virtual Modular Switch®, MetroDX®,
MetroX®, MLNX-OS®, NP-1c®, NP-2®, NP-3®, Open Ethernet logo, PhyX®, SwitchX®, Tilera®, Tilera logo, TestX®,
TuneX®, The Generation of Open Ethernet logo, UFM®, Virtual Protocol Interconnect®, Voltaire® and Voltaire logo are
registered trademarks of Mellanox Technologies, Ltd.
All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.
For the most updated list of Mellanox trademarks, visit http://www.mellanox.com/page/trademarks
NOTE:
THIS HARDWARE, SOFTWARE OR TEST SUITE PRODUCT (“PRODUCT(S)”) AND ITS RELATED
DOCUMENTATION ARE PROVIDED BY MELLANOX TECHNOLOGIES “AS-IS” WITH ALL FAULTS OF ANY
KIND AND SOLELY FOR THE PURPOSE OF AIDING THE CUSTOMER IN TESTING APPLICATIONS THAT USE
THE PRODUCTS IN DESIGNATED SOLUTIONS. THE CUSTOMER'S MANUFACTURING TEST ENVIRONMENT
HAS NOT MET THE STANDARDS SET BY MELLANOX TECHNOLOGIES TO FULLY QUALIFY THE PRODUCT(S)
AND/OR THE SYSTEM USING IT. THEREFORE, MELLANOX TECHNOLOGIES CANNOT AND DOES NOT
GUARANTEE OR WARRANT THAT THE PRODUCTS WILL OPERATE WITH THE HIGHEST QUALITY. ANY
EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF
MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT ARE DISCLAIMED.
IN NO EVENT SHALL MELLANOX BE LIABLE TO CUSTOMER OR ANY THIRD PARTIES FOR ANY DIRECT,
INDIRECT, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OF ANY KIND (INCLUDING, BUT NOT
LIMITED TO, PAYMENT FOR PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA,
OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY,
WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE)
ARISING IN ANY WAY FROM THE USE OF THE PRODUCT(S) AND RELATED DOCUMENTATION EVEN IF
ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.

ConnectX-4 VPI Single and Dual Port QSFP28 Adapter Card User Manual Rev 1.9
Mellanox Technologies 3
Table of Contents
Table of Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
List of Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
List of Figures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Revision History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
About this Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Intended Audience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Related Documentations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Document Conventions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Technical Support. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Firmware Updates. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Chapter 1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
1.1 Product Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
1.2 Features and Benefits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
1.3 Operating Systems/Distributions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
1.4 Connectivity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
Chapter 2 Interfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
2.1 InfiniBand Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
2.2 Ethernet QSFP28 Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
2.3 PCI Express Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
2.4 LED Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
Chapter 3 Hardware Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
3.1 System Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
3.1.1 Hardware. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
3.2 Operating Systems/Distributions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
3.2.1 Software Stacks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
3.3 Safety Precautions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
3.4 Pre-installation Checklist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
3.5 Bracket Installation Instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
3.5.1 Removing the Existing Bracket . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
3.5.2 Installing the New Bracket . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
3.6 Card Installation Instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19
3.7 Cables and Modules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20
3.7.1 Cable Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
3.8 Adapter Card Un-installation Instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21
3.8.1 Safety Precautions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
3.8.2 Card Un-installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
3.9 Identify the Card in Your System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22
3.9.1 On Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
3.9.2 On Linux . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Chapter 4 Driver Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
4.1 Linux Driver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24

ConnectX-4 VPI Single and Dual Port QSFP28 Adapter Card User Manual Rev 1.9
Mellanox Technologies 4
4.1.1 Hardware and Software Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
4.1.2 Downloading Mellanox OFED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
4.1.3 Installing Mellanox OFED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
4.1.3.1 Installation Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
4.1.3.2 Installation Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
4.1.3.3 Installation Logging. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
4.1.3.4 openibd Script . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
4.1.3.5 Driver Load Upon System Boot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
4.1.3.6 mlnxofedinstall Return Codes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
4.1.4 Uninstalling Mellanox OFED. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
4.1.5 Installing MLNX_OFED using YUM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
4.1.5.1 Setting up MLNX_OFED YUM Repository. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
4.1.5.2 Installing MLNX_OFED using the YUM Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
4.1.5.3 Uninstalling Mellanox OFED using the YUM Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
4.1.6 Installing MLNX_OFED using apt-get. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
4.1.6.1 Setting up MLNX_OFED apt-get Repository. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
4.1.6.2 Installing MLNX_OFED using the apt-get Tool. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
4.1.6.3 Uninstalling Mellanox OFED using the apt-get Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
4.1.7 Updating Firmware After Installation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
4.1.7.1 Updating the Device Online . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
4.1.7.2 Updating the Device Manually . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
4.1.7.3 Updating the Device Firmware Automatically upon System Boot. . . . . . . . . . . . 34
4.1.8 UEFI Secure Boot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
4.1.8.1 Enrolling Mellanox's x.509 Public Key On your Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
4.1.8.2 Removing Signature from Kernel Modules. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
4.1.9 Performance Tuning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Chapter 5 Updating Adapter Card Firmware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
5.1 Firmware Update Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37
Chapter 6 Troubleshooting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
6.1 General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38
6.2 Linux . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39
Chapter 7 Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
7.1 MCX453A-FCAT Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40
7.2 MCX454A-FCAT Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41
7.3 MCX455A-FCAT Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42
7.4 MCX456A-FCAT Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43
7.5 MCX455A-ECAT Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44
7.6 MCX456A-ECAT Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45
7.7 Airflow Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46
7.8 Adapter Card LED Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46
7.9 Board Mechanical Drawing and Dimensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47
7.10 Bracket Mechanical Drawings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49
Appendix A Interface Connectors Pinout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
A.1 QSFP28 Connector Pinout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
7.11 PCI Express x8 orx16 Edge Connector Pinout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52
Appendix B Finding the GUID/MAC and Serial Number on the Adapter Card . . . . 54

ConnectX-4 VPI Single and Dual Port QSFP28 Adapter Card User Manual Rev 1.9
Mellanox Technologies 5
Appendix C Safety Warnings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Appendix D Avertissements de sécurité d’installation (Warnings in French) . . . . . . 59
Appendix E Sicherheitshinweise (Warnings in German) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Appendix F Advertencias de seguridad para la instalación (Warnings in Spanish) . 63

ConnectX-4 VPI Single and Dual Port QSFP28 Adapter Card User Manual Rev 1.9
Mellanox Technologies 6
List of Tables
Table 1: Revision History Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Table 2: Documents List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Table 3: Single and Dual-port FDR Adapter Cards. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Table 4: Single and Dual-port EDR Adapter Cards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Table 5: Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Table 6: Hardware and Software Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Table 7: MCX453A-FCAT Specifications Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Table 8: MCX454A-FCAT Specifications Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Table 9: MCX455A-FCAT Specifications Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Table 10: MCX456A-FCAT Specifications Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Table 11: MCX455A-ECAT Specifications Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Table 12: MCX456A-ECAT Specifications Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Table 13: Physical and Logical Link Indications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

ConnectX-4 VPI Single and Dual Port QSFP28 Adapter Card User Manual Rev 1.9
Mellanox Technologies 7
List of Figures
Figure 1: PCI Device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23
Figure 2: Mechanical Drawing of the Single-port x8 Adapter Cards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47
Figure 3: Mechanical Drawing of the Dual-port x8 Adapter Cards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47
Figure 4: Mechanical Drawing of the Single-port x16 Adapter Cards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48
Figure 5: Mechanical Drawing of the Dual-port x16 Adapter Card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48
Figure 6: Single-port Bracket . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49
Figure 7: Dual-port Bracket . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49
Figure 8: Connector and Cage Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50
Figure 9: PCIe x8 Connector Pinout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52
Figure 10: PCIe x16 Connector Pinout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53
Figure 11: MCX453A-FCAT Board Label . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .54
Figure 12: MCX454A-FCAT Board Label . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .54
Figure 13: MCX455A-FCAT Board Label . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55
Figure 14: MCX456A-FCAT Board Label . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55
Figure 15: MCX455A-ECAT Board Label . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55
Figure 16: MCX456A-ECAT Board Label . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56

ConnectX-4 VPI Single and Dual Port QSFP28 Adapter Card User Manual Rev 1.9
Mellanox Technologies 8
Revision History
This document was printed on September 1, 2016.
Table 1 - Revision History Table
Date Rev Comments/Changes
September 2016 1.9 • Updated Card Installation Instructions on page 19.
•AddedAdapter Card Un-installation Instructions on page 21.
• Updated Troubleshooting on page 38.
August 2016 1.8 • Updated Card Installation Instructions on page 19
• Updated Cable Installation on page 20.
• Updated on page 46.
• Added the following figures:
• Mechanical Drawing of the Single-port x8 Adapter Cards on page 47.
• Mechanical Drawing of the Dual-port x8 Adapter Cards on page 47.
• Mechanical Drawing of the Single-port x16 Adapter Cards on page 48.
• Updated Safety Warnings on page 57.
April 2016 1.7 •Updated Cable Installation on page 20.
•Updated on page 46.
March 2016 1.6 • Removed I2C-compatible Interface from Interfaces on page 17
February 2016 1.5 • Updated speed specifications in the following sections:
• Product Overview on page 12.
• Features on page 14.
• MCX453A-FCAT Specifications on page 40.
• MCX454A-FCAT Specifications on page 41.
• MCX455A-FCAT Specifications on page 42.
• MCX456A-FCAT Specifications on page 43.
• MCX455A-ECAT Specifications on page 44.
• MCX456A-ECAT Specifications on page 45.
February 2016 1.4 • Added 56GbE support to the following sections:
• Product Overview on page 12.
• OpenFabrics Enterprise Distribution (OFED) on page 15.
• MCX453A-FCAT Specifications on page 40.
• MCX454A-FCAT Specifications on page 41.
• MCX455A-FCAT Specifications on page 42.
• MCX456A-FCAT Specifications on page 43.
• Updating Adapter Card Firmware on page 37.
• Updated Installing the New Bracket on page 18.
• Removed Windows from Operating Systems/Distributions on page 17.
• Removed VMware from the following sections:
• Operating Systems/Distributions on page 17.
• VMware Driver on page 56.
• Updated Software Stacks on page 17.
• Updated Linux Driver on page 24.
•Added a note to Finding the GUID/MAC and Serial Number on the Adapter
Card on page 54.
• Updated the following Board Labels:
• MCX453A-FCAT Board Label on page 54.
• MCX454A-FCAT Board Label on page 54.
• MCX455A-FCAT Board Label on page 55.
• MCX456A-FCAT Board Label on page 55.

ConnectX-4 VPI Single and Dual Port QSFP28 Adapter Card User Manual Rev 1.9
Mellanox Technologies 9
December 2015 1.3 • Added port numbers to the specification tables. See Specifications on page 40.
• Updated MCX456A-ECAT Specifications on page 45.
December 2015 1.2 • Updated the following tables:
• MCX416A-CCAT Specifications on page 74.
• MCX454A-FCAT Specifications on page 41.
• MCX455A-FCAT Specifications on page 42.
• MCX456A-FCAT Specifications on page 43.
• MCX455A-ECAT Specifications on page 44.
• MCX456A-ECAT Specifications on page 45.
• Updated Features and Benefits on page 16.
• Updated Section 3.9.1, “On Windows,” on page 22.
November 2015 1.1 • Updated power numbers in:
• MCX453A-FCAT Specifications on page 40.
• MCX454A-FCAT Specifications on page 41.
• MCX455A-FCAT Specifications on page 42.
• MCX456A-FCAT Specifications on page 43.
•AddedAirflow Specifications on page 46.
•AddedVMware Driver on page 35.
• Updated UpdatingAdapter Card Firmware on page 37.
June 2015 1.0 First Release
Date Rev Comments/Changes

ConnectX-4 VPI Single and Dual Port QSFP28 Adapter Card User Manual Rev 1.9
Mellanox Technologies 10
About this Manual
This User Manual describes Mellanox Technologies ConnectX®-4 VPI Single and Dual
QSFP28 ports PCI Express x8 and x16 adapter card. It provides details as to the interfaces of the
board, specifications, required software and firmware for operating the board, and relevant docu-
mentation.
Intended Audience
This manual is intended for the installer and user of these cards.
The manual assumes basic familiarity with InfiniBand and Ethernet network and architecture
specifications.
Related Documentations
Table 2 - Documents List
Document Conventions
When discussing memory sizes, MB and MBytes are used in this document to mean size in mega
Bytes. The use of Mb or Mbits (small b) indicates size in mega bits. In this document PCIe is
used to mean PCI Express.
Mellanox Firmware Tools (MFT) User
Manual
Document no. 2204UG
User Manual describing the set of MFT firmware management
tools for a single node.
See http://www.mellanox.com => Products => Software => Firm-
ware Tools
Mellanox Firmware Utility (mlxup) User
Manual and Release Notes Mellanox firmware update and query utility used to update the firmware. See http://www.mellanox.com => Products => Software
=> Firmware Tools => mlxup Firmware Utility
Mellanox OFED for Linux
User Manual
Document no. 2877
User Manual describing OFED features, performance, InfiniBand
diagnostic, tools content and configuration. See http://www.mella-
nox.com => Products => Software => InfiniBand/VPI drivers =>
Mellanox OpenFabrics Enterprise Distribution for Linux (MLNX-
_OFED)
Mellanox OFED for Linux Release Notes
Document no. 2877 Release Notes for Mellanox OFED for Linux driver kit for Mella-
nox adapter cards: See: http://www.mellanox.com =>Products =>
Software => InfiniBand/VPI Drivers => Linux SW/Drivers =>
Release Notes
IBTA Specification Release 1.3 InfiniBand Architecture Specification:
http://www.infinibandta.org/content/pages.php?pg=technology_-
public_specification
IEEE Std 802.3 Specification This is the IEEE Ethernet specification
http://standards.ieee.org/getieee802
PCI Express 3.0 Specifications Industry Standard PCI Express 3.0 Base and Card Electromechan-
ical Specifications
https://pcisig.com/specifications

ConnectX-4 VPI Single and Dual Port QSFP28 Adapter Card User Manual Rev 1.9
Mellanox Technologies 11
Technical Support
Customers who purchased Mellanox products directly from Mellanox are invited to contact us
through the following methods.
•URL:http://www.mellanox.com => Support
• E-mail: su[email protected]
• Tel: [phone]
Customers who purchased Mellanox M-1 Global Support Services, please see your contract for
details regarding Technical Support.
Customers who purchased Mellanox products through a Mellanox approved reseller should first
seek assistance through their reseller.
Firmware Updates
The Mellanox support downloader contains software, firmware and knowledge database infor-
mation for Mellanox products. Access the database from the Mellanox Support web page,
http://www.mellanox.com => Support
Or use the following link to go directly to the Mellanox Support Download Assistant page,
http://www.mellanox.com/supportdownloader/.

ConnectX-4 VPI Single and Dual Port QSFP28 Adapter Card User Manual Rev 1.9
Mellanox Technologies 12
1 Introduction
This is the User Guide for Mellanox Technologies VPI adapter cards based on the ConnectX®-4
integrated circuit device. These adapters connectivity provide the highest performing and most
flexible interconnect solution for PCI Express Gen3 servers used in Enterprise Data Centers,
High-Performance Computing, and Embedded environments.
This chapter covers the following topics:
•Section 1.1, “Product Overview,” on page 12
•Section 1.2, “Features and Benefits,” on page 14
•Section 1.3, “Operating Systems/Distributions,” on page 15
•Section •, “OpenFabrics Enterprise Distribution (OFED),” on page 15
1.1 Product Overview
The following section provides the ordering part number, port speed, number of ports, and PCI
Express speed. Each adapter comes with two bracket heights - short and tall.
Table 3 - Single and Dual-port FDR Adapter Cards
Ordering Part Number (OPN) MCX453A-FCAT/ MCX455A-FCAT – Single-port card
MCX454A-FCAT/ MCX456A-FCAT– Dual-port card
Data Transmission Rate InfiniBand: SDR/DDR/QDR/FDR
Ethernet: 1/10/25/40/56 Gb/s
Network Connector Types Single or dual-port QSFP28
PCI Express (PCIe) SerDes Speed MCX453A-FCAT/MCX454A-FCAT: PCIe 3.0 x8 8GT/s
MCX456A-FCAT/MCX455A-FCAT: PCIe 3.0 x16 8GT/s
RoHS R6
Adapter IC Part Number MT27704A0-FDCF-FV
MT27708A0-FDCF-FV
Device ID 4115 for Physical Function (PF)
4116 for Virtual Function (VF)

ConnectX-4 VPI Single and Dual Port QSFP28 Adapter Card User Manual Rev 1.9
Mellanox Technologies 13
Table 4 - Single and Dual-port EDR Adapter Cards
Ordering Part Number (OPN) MCX455A-ECAT – Single-port card
MCX456A-ECAT – Dual-port card
Data Transmission Rate InfiniBand: SDR/DDR/QDR/FDR/EDR
Ethernet: 1/10/25/40/50/100 Gb/s
Network Connector Types Single or Dual-port QSFP28
PCI Express (PCIe) SerDes Speed PCIe 3.0 x16 8GT/s
RoHS R6
Adapter IC Part Number MT27704A0-FDCF-EV
MT27708A0-FDCF-EV
Device ID 4115 for Physical Function (PF)
4116 for Virtual Function (VF)

ConnectX-4 VPI Single and Dual Port QSFP28 Adapter Card User Manual Rev 1.9
Mellanox Technologies 14
1.2 Features and Benefits
Table 5 - Featuresa
100Gb/s Virtual Protocol
Interconnect (VPI)
Adapter
ConnectX-4 offers the highest throughput VPI adapter, supporting EDR 100Gb/s
InfiniBand and 100Gb/s Ethernet and enabling any standard networking, cluster-
ing, or storage to operate seamlessly over any converged network leveraging a
consolidated software stack.
InfiniBand Architecture
Specification v1.3
compliant
ConnectX-4 delivers low latency, high bandwidth, and computing efficiency for
performance-driven server and storage clustering applications. ConnectX-4 is
InfiniBand Architecture Specification v1.3 compliant.
PCI Express (PCIe) Uses PCIe Gen 3.0 (1.1 and 2.0 compatible) through an x8 or x16 edge connector
up to 8GT/s
Up to 100 Gigabit
Ethernet
Mellanox adapters comply with the following IEEE 802.3 standards:
– 100GbE / 56GbE / 50GbE / 40GbE / 25GbE / 10GbE
– IEEE 802.3bj, 802.3bm 100 Gigabit Ethernet
– 25G Ethernet Consortium, 25,50 Gigabit Ethernet
– IEEE 802.3ba 40 Gigabit Ethernet
– IEEE 802.3by 25 Gigabit Ethernet
– IEEE 802.3ae 10 Gigabit Ethernet
– IEEE 802.3az Energy Efficient Ethernet
– IEEE 802.3ap based auto-negotiation and KRstartup
– IEEE 802.3ad, 802.1AX LinkAggregation
– IEEE 802.1Q, 802.1P VLAN tags and priority
– IEEE 802.1Qau (QCN) – Congestion Notification
– IEEE 802.1Qaz (ETS)
– IEEE 802.1Qbb (PFC) 802.1Qbg
– IEEE 1588v2
– Jumbo frame support (9.6KB)
InfiniBand EDR A standard InfiniBand data rate, where each lane of a 4X port runs a bit rate of
25.78125Gb/s with a 64b/66b encoding, resulting in an effective bandwidth of
100Gb/s.
InfiniBand FDR A standard InfiniBand data rate, where each lane of a 4X port runs a bit rate of
14.0625Gb/s with a 64b/66b encoding, resulting in an effective bandwidth of
54.54Gb/s.
Memory
PCI Express - stores and accesses InfiniBand and/or Ethernet fabric connection
information and packet data.
SPI - includes one 16MB SPI Flash device (M25PX16-VMN6P device by ST
Microelectronics).
EEPROM capacity is 128Kb.
Overlay Networks
In order to better scale their networks, data center operators often create overlay
networks that carry traffic from individual virtual machines over logical tunnels
in encapsulated formats such as NVGRE and VXLAN. While this solves network
scalability issues, it hides the TCP packet from the hardware offloading engines,
placing higher loads on the host CPU. ConnectX-4 effectively addresses this by
providing advanced NVGRE and VXLAN hardware offloading engines that
encapsulate and de-capsulate the overlay protocol.

ConnectX-4 VPI Single and Dual Port QSFP28 Adapter Card User Manual Rev 1.9
Mellanox Technologies 15
1.3 Operating Systems/Distributions
• RHEL/CentOS
• FreeBSD
• OpenFabrics Enterprise Distribution (OFED)
1.4 Connectivity
• Interoperable with InfiniBand or 1/10/25/40/50/56/100 Gb/s Ethernet switches
• Passive copper cable with ESD protection
• Powered connectors for optical and active cable support
RDMA and RDMA over
Converged Ethernet
(RoCE)
ConnectX-4, utilizing IBTA RDMA (Remote Data Memory Access) and RoCE
(RDMA over Converged Ethernet) technology, delivers low-latency and high-
performance over InfiniBand and Ethernet networks. Leveraging data center
bridging (DCB) capabilities as well as ConnectX-4 advanced congestion control
hardware mechanisms, RoCE provides efficient low-latency RDMAservices over
Layer 2 and Layer 3 networks.
Mellanox PeerDirect™
PeerDirect™ communication provides high efficiency RDMAaccess by eliminat-
ing unnecessary internal data copies between components on the PCIe bus (for
example, from GPU to CPU), and therefore significantly reduces application run
time. ConnectX-4 advanced acceleration technology enables higher cluster effi-
ciency and scalability to tens of thousands of nodes.
CPU offload Adapter functionality enabling reduced CPU overhead allowing more available
CPU for computation tasks.
Quality of Service (QoS) Support for port-based Quality of Service enabling various application require-
ments for latency and SLA.
Hardware-based I/O
Virtualization ConnectX-4 provides dedicated adapter resources and guaranteed isolation and
protection for virtual machines within the server.
Storage Acceleration
A consolidated compute and storage network achieves significant cost-perfor-
mance advantages over multi-fabric networks. Standard block and
file access protocols can leverageInfiniBand RDMA for high-performance stor-
age access.
SR-IOV ConnectX-4 SR-IOV technology provides dedicated adapter resources and
guaranteed isolation and protection for virtual machines (VM) within the server.
a. This section describes hardware features and capabilities. Please refer to the driver release notes for feature availability. See
Table 2, “Documents List,” on page 10.
Table 5 - Featuresa

ConnectX-4 VPI Single and Dual Port QSFP28 Adapter Card User Manual Rev 1.9
Mellanox Technologies 16
2 Interfaces
Each adapter card includes the following interfaces:
•“InfiniBand Interface”
• “The network ports of the ConnectX®-4 adapter cards are compliant with the Infini-
Band Architecture Specification, Release 1.3. InfiniBand traffic is transmitted through
the cards' QSFP28 connectors.”
• “PCI Express Interface”
• “LED Interface”
The adapter cards include special circuits to protect from ESD shocks to the card/server when
plugging copper cables.
2.1 InfiniBand Interface
The network ports of the ConnectX®-4 adapter cards are compliant with the InfiniBand Architec-
ture Specification, Release 1.3. InfiniBand traffic is transmitted through the cards' QSFP28 connec-
tors.
2.2 Ethernet QSFP28 Interface
The network ports of the ConnectX®-4 adapter card are compliant with the IEEE 802.3 Ethernet
standards listed in Table 5, “Features,” on page 14. Ethernet traffic is transmitted through the
cards' QSFP28 connectors.
2.3 PCI Express Interface
The ConnectX®-4 adapter card supports PCI Express 3.0 (1.1 and 2.0 compatible) through Uses
PCIe Gen 3.0 (1.1 and 2.0 compatible) through anx8 or x16 edge connector. up to 8GT/s The device can
be either a master initiating the PCI Express bus operations, or a slave responding to PCI bus
operations. The following lists PCIe interface features:
• PCIe Gen 3.0 compliant, 1.1 and 2.0 compatible
• 2.5, 5.0, or 8.0 GT/s link rate x8/x16
• Auto-negotiates to x16, x8, x4, x2, or x1
• Support for MSI/MSI-X mechanisms
2.4 LED Interface
There is a one bi-color I/O LED per port. For LED specifications, please refer to Section 7.8,
“Adapter Card LED Operations,” on page 46.

ConnectX-4 VPI Single and Dual Port QSFP28 Adapter Card User Manual Rev 1.9
Mellanox Technologies 17
3Hardware Installation
3.1 System Requirements
3.1.1 Hardware
A system with a PCI Express x8 or x16 slot are required for installing the card.
3.2 Operating Systems/Distributions
Please refer to Section 1.3, “Operating Systems/Distributions,” on page 15.
3.2.1 Software Stacks
Mellanox OpenFabric software package MLNX_OFED for Linux. See Chapter 4,“Driver Instal-
lation” on page 24.
3.3 Safety Precautions
1. Remove any metallic objects from your hands and wrists.
2. Make sure to use only insulated tools.
3. Verify that the system is powered off and is unplugged.
4. It is strongly recommended to use an ESD strap or other antistatic devices.
3.4 Pre-installation Checklist
1. Verify that your system meets the hardware and software requirements stated above.
2. Shut down your system if active.
3. After shutting down the system, turn off power and unplug the cord.
4. Remove the card from its package. Please note that the card must be placed on an antistatic
surface.
5. Check the card for visible signs of damage. Do not attempt to install the card if damaged.
3.5 Bracket Installation Instructions
The card is usually shipped with a tall bracket installed. If this form factor is suitable for your
requirements, you can skip the remainder of this section and move to Section 3.6, “Card Installa-
tion Instructions,” on page 19. If you need to replace it with the short bracket that is included in
the shipping box, please follow the instructions in this section.
The adapter is being installed in a system that operates with voltages that can be lethal.
Before opening the case of the system, observe the following precautions to avoid
injury and prevent damage to system components.
Due to risk of damaging the EMI gasket, it is not recommended to replace the bracket
more than three times.

ConnectX-4 VPI Single and Dual Port QSFP28 Adapter Card User Manual Rev 1.9
Mellanox Technologies 18
To replace the bracket you will need the following parts:
• The new bracket of the proper height
• The 2 screws saved from the removal of the bracket
• The 2 fiber washers saved from the removal of the bracket
3.5.1 Removing the Existing Bracket
1. Remove the two screws holding the bracket in place. The bracket comes loose from the card.
2. Save the two screws and the two fiber washers.
3.5.2 Installing the New Bracket
1. Place the bracket onto the card until the screw holes line up.
2. Screw on the bracket using the screws and washers saved from the bracket removal procedure
above.
3. Make sure that the LEDs are aligned onto the bracket holes.
4. Use a torque driver to apply up to 2.9 lbf-in torque on the screws.
Be careful not to put stress on the LEDs.
Do not force the bracket onto the card. You may have to gently push the LEDs using a
small screwdriver to align the LEDs with the holes in the bracket.

ConnectX-4 VPI Single and Dual Port QSFP28 Adapter Card User Manual Rev 1.9
Mellanox Technologies 19
3.6 Card Installation Instructions
1. Before installing the card, make sure that the system is off and the power cord is not con-
nected to the server. Please follow proper electrical grounding procedures.
2. Open the system case.
3. Locate an available PCI Express slot for the adapter card.
4. Applying even pressure at both corners of the card, insert the adapter card into the PCI
Express slot until firmly seated.
Please note that the following figures are for illustration purposes only.

ConnectX-4 VPI Single and Dual Port QSFP28 Adapter Card User Manual Rev 1.9
Mellanox Technologies 20
5. When the adapter is properly seated, the port connectors are aligned with the slot opening,
and the adapter faceplate is visible against the system chassis.
6. Secure the adapter with the adapter clips or screws.
7. Close the system case.
3.7 Cables and Modules
To obtain the list of supported cables for your adapter, please refer to www.mellanox.com => Prod-
ucts => Cables and Transceivers.
3.7.1 Cable Installation
1. All cables can be inserted or removed with the unit powered on.
2. To insert a cable, press the connector into the port receptacle until the connector is firmly
seated.
a. Support the weight of the cable before connecting the cable to the adapter card. Do this by using a cable
holder or tying the cable to the rack.
b. Determine the correct orientation of the connector to the card before inserting the connector. Do not try and
insert the connector upside down. This may damage the adapter card.
c. Insert the connector into the adapter card. Be careful to insert the connector straight into the cage. Do not
apply any torque, up or down, to the connector cage in the adapter card.
d. Make sure that the connector locks in place.
Do not use excessive force when seating the card, as this may damage the system or
the adapter.
When installing cables make sure that the latches engage.