The NVIDIA ConnectX-7 family of network adapters supports both the InfiniBand and Ethernet protocols. It enables a wide range of smart, scalable, and feature-rich networking solutions that address traditional enterprise needs up to the world’s most demanding AI, scientific computing, and hyperscale cloud data center workloads.

ConnectX-7 network adapters are offered in two form factors and various flavors : stand-up PCIe and Open Compute Project (OCP) Spec 3.0 cards. This user manual covers the PCIe stand-up cards, for the OCP 3.0 cards, please refer to NVIDIA ConnectX-7 Cards for OCP Spec 3.0 User Manual.

Port Splitting

ConnectX-7 SuperNICs offer a variety of network port configurations designed to meet the demands of different environments and deployments.

The Port Splitting feature allows a single physical networking module to be split into multiple network ports. This provides flexibility in optimizing port configurations for various network topology use cases. For the supported OPNs and configurations, refer to Port Splitting Configurations.

PCIe x16 Stand-up Adapter Cards

ConnectX-7 HCAs are available in various configurations; Single-port 400Gb/s or 200Gb/s, with octal small form-factor pluggable (OSFP) connectors or Dual-port 100 or 200Gb/s with quad small form-factor pluggable (QSFP112) connectors on PCIe standup half-height, half-length (HHHL) form factor, with options for NVIDIA Socket Direct. Also available, Dual-port 50/25 GbE with quad small form-factor pluggable (SFP56) connectors on PCIe standup full-height, half-length (FHHL) form factor, with timing capabilities.

ConnectX-7 cards can either support both InfiniBand and Ethernet, or Ethernet only, as described in the below table. The inclusive list of OPNs is available here.

Socket Direct Ready Cards

The Socket Direct technology offers improved performance to dual-socket servers by enabling direct access from each CPU in a dual-socket server to the network through its dedicated PCIe interface.

NVIDIA offers ConnectX-7 Socket Direct adapter cards, which enable 400Gb/s or 200Gb/s connectivity, and also for servers with PCIe Gen 4.0 capability. The adapter’s 32-lane PCIe bus is split into two 16-lane buses, with one bus accessible through a PCIe x16 edge connector and the other bus through an x16 Auxiliary PCIe Connection card. The two cards should be installed into two PCIe x16 slots and connected using two Cabline SA-II Plus harnesses.

To use this card in the Socket-Direct configuration, please order the additional PCIe Auxiliary Card kit according to the desired harness length. Cards that support socket direct can function as separate x16 PCIe cards.

Socket Direct cards can support both InfiniBand and Ethernet, or InfiniBand only, as described below.

For more information on the passive PCIe Auxiliary kit, please refer to PCIe Auxiliary Card Kit.