ConnectX & BlueField
NVIDIA ConnectX and BlueField Adapters
ConnectX is the adapter most GPU-cluster fabrics terminate on, and the range spans four generations that are still all in service: ConnectX-4 and ConnectX-4 Lx at 25GbE, 40GbE and 100GbE, ConnectX-5 at 25GbE and 100GbE, ConnectX-6 Lx and Dx at 25GbE and 100GbE on QSFP56, and ConnectX-7 at 200GbE on QSFP112 and 400GbE on OSFP.
Alongside them sit the BlueField-3 DPUs — B3210 at 100GbE dual-port and B3140H at 400GbE single-port — which move the network, storage and security data path off the host CPU rather than simply moving packets faster. That is a different purchase from a faster NIC, and worth being deliberate about.
Cards are listed both as NVIDIA parts and as the Dell-branded ConnectX options for PowerEdge, because which one you should buy depends on whose firmware and support the server is under. We confirm the card is supported on your specific platform before it ships, and quote the optic or DAC that matches the port at the same time.
15 configurations below · quotes returned within 48 business hours · purchase orders accepted
NVIDIA ConnectX and BlueField Adapters we configure and supply
Every system below is quoted to your workload — accelerator count, CPU, memory, storage and fabric are specified together rather than sold as a fixed SKU.
NVIDIA ConnectX -4 Lx 10/25GbE Dual-Port SFP28 Ethernet Network Adapter Card
SmartNIC with RoCE and hardware offload for storage and AI fabrics.
- Authorized supply
- Compatibility checked
- Volume pricing
NVIDIA ConnectX -6 Lx 25GbE Dual-Port SFP28 Ethernet Network Adapter Card
SmartNIC with RoCE and hardware offload for storage and AI fabrics.
- Authorized supply
- Compatibility checked
- Volume pricing
NVIDIA ConnectX -6 Dx 100GbE Dual-Port QSFP56 Ethernet Network Adapter Card
SmartNIC with RoCE and hardware offload for storage and AI fabrics.
- Authorized supply
- Compatibility checked
- Volume pricing
NVIDIA ConnectX -7 200GbE Dual-Port QSFP112 Ethernet Network Adapter Card
SmartNIC with RoCE and hardware offload for storage and AI fabrics.
- Authorized supply
- Compatibility checked
- Volume pricing
NVIDIA ConnectX -7 400GbE Single-Port OSFP Ethernet Network Adapter Card
SmartNIC with RoCE and hardware offload for storage and AI fabrics.
- Authorized supply
- Compatibility checked
- Volume pricing
Dell Mellanox ConnectX-6 Lx 25GbE Dual-Port OCP 3.0 Network Adapter for PowerEdge Servers
Dell-qualified NDC and PCIe adapters with iDRAC inventory reporting intact.
- Authorized supply
- Compatibility checked
- Volume pricing
NVIDIA Mellanox ConnectX-5 MCX512A-ACAT 25GbE Dual-Port Ethernet Network Adapter
The RDMA adapter generation most existing GPU clusters were built on.
- Authorized supply
- Compatibility checked
- Volume pricing
NVIDIA Mellanox ConnectX-5 MCX516A-CCAT 100GbE Dual-Port Ethernet Network Adapter
The RDMA adapter generation most existing GPU clusters were built on.
- Authorized supply
- Compatibility checked
- Volume pricing
NVIDIA Mellanox ConnectX-5 MCX515A-CCAT 100GbE Single-Port Ethernet Network Adapter
The RDMA adapter generation most existing GPU clusters were built on.
- Authorized supply
- Compatibility checked
- Volume pricing
NVIDIA Mellanox ConnectX-4 MCX4121A-ACAT 25GbE Dual-Port Ethernet Network Adapter
Widely deployed 40G and 100G RDMA adapters, still a common like-for-like replacement.
- Authorized supply
- Compatibility checked
- Volume pricing
NVIDIA Mellanox ConnectX-4 MCX414A-BCAT 40GbE Dual-Port Ethernet Network Adapter
Widely deployed 40G and 100G RDMA adapters, still a common like-for-like replacement.
- Authorized supply
- Compatibility checked
- Volume pricing
NVIDIA Mellanox ConnectX-4 MCX416A-CCAT 100GbE Dual-Port Ethernet Network Adapter
Widely deployed 40G and 100G RDMA adapters, still a common like-for-like replacement.
- Authorized supply
- Compatibility checked
- Volume pricing
NVIDIA BlueField-3 B3140H 400GbE Single-Port Data Processing Unit
DPUs that move storage and network processing off the host CPU, for multi-tenant and AI fabrics.
- Authorized supply
- Compatibility checked
- Volume pricing
NVIDIA BlueField-3 B3210 100GbE Dual-Port Data Processing Unit
DPUs that move storage and network processing off the host CPU, for multi-tenant and AI fabrics.
- Authorized supply
- Compatibility checked
- Volume pricing
Dell Mellanox ConnectX-5 25GbE Dual-Port Network Adapter for PowerEdge Servers
Dell network daughter cards for 13G to 15G PowerEdge, with iDRAC reporting.
- Authorized supply
- Compatibility checked
- Volume pricing
What we need to quote accurately
A configuration quote takes minutes when these are known and days of back-and-forth when they are not. You do not need all of them to start — send what you have.
- The workload: model sizes, training or inference, and expected concurrency
- Node count, and whether this is a single system or a scaling cluster
- Rack power and cooling available per rack, and inlet temperature
- Existing estate — the vendor and management tooling you already run
- Network fabric: InfiniBand, Ethernet, and the speed you are standardised on
- Timeline, and whether the budget is approved or being built
How we quote
- 1
Send the requirement
An email, a bill of materials, or a rough description of the workload. All three work.
- 2
We validate the configuration
Accelerator, chassis, fabric, power and cooling checked against each other before anything is priced.
- 3
Itemised quote within 48 hours
Line-by-line pricing, current availability and lead time, with warranty terms stated.
NVIDIA ConnectX adapter — buyer questions
ConnectX-6 Dx or ConnectX-7?
ConnectX-6 Dx tops out at 100GbE dual-port on QSFP56 and is the sensible card for a 100G leaf design or for extending a fleet already standardised on it. ConnectX-7 is the step up: 200GbE dual-port on QSFP112, or 400GbE single-port on OSFP for nodes hanging off 400G spine capacity. Tell us the switch and the port speed you are landing on and we will say which applies rather than defaulting to the newer part.
When do we need a BlueField-3 DPU instead of a faster NIC?
A DPU is worth it when you want the network, storage and security data path handled off the host — multi-tenant isolation, offloaded storage initiators, infrastructure services that should not consume the CPU cores you bought for compute. If you simply need more bandwidth to the same host stack, a ConnectX card is the cheaper and simpler answer. We will say so.
Which cable or optic pairs with these cards?
It follows the connector. ConnectX-4/5 100GbE cards use QSFP28, ConnectX-6 Dx uses QSFP56, ConnectX-7 200GbE uses QSFP112, and ConnectX-7 400GbE uses OSFP — and the cages ship empty, so the optic or DAC is a separate line and has to be coded for the platform at the far end. We quote the adapter and its matching cable together so a link is not delayed by one missing part.
Is a Dell-branded Mellanox card the same as the NVIDIA one?
Electrically they are the same silicon, but the Dell-branded ConnectX options for PowerEdge carry Dell firmware and sit under Dell's support and lifecycle tooling, which matters if the server is under a Dell contract. Buying the NVIDIA-branded card into a Dell chassis can leave you supporting the adapter separately. We check which route fits the estate you already run.
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