At Interop Las Vegas 2010, Mellanox Technologies, Ltd. (NASDAQ: MLNX), a supplier of end-to-end connectivity platforms for data center servers and storage systems, announced that it has completed the development of a Quad-to-Serial Adapter (QSA) adapter module to enable connectivity of its Virtual Protocol Interconnect (VPI) or 40 Gigabit Ethernet adapters using QSFP ports to 1 or 10 Gigabit Ethernet networks using SFP or SFP+ based cabling.
The company says the patent-pending QSA provides connectivity to enable easy deployment of 40G InfiniBand or Ethernet technologies while maintaining connectivity to current infrastructures.
The Mellanox VPI technology enables a single adapter card to easily connect to 20Gb/s and 40Gb/s InfiniBand and 1/10/40 Gigabit Ethernet switches, eliminating server upgrades when changing fabrics. The QSA when combined with Mellanox adapters solves the QSFP to SFP+ physical conversion challenge.
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The company maintains that Ethernet switches with 40Gb/s QSFP ports can utilize the QSA to connect to 10Gb/s Ethernet switches or server with 10Gb/s Ethernet NIC ports, delivering added flexibility.
“Financial services, business intelligence, Cloud networking and Web 2.0 applications are driving the need for 40Gb/s data center fabrics, with the option to upgrade gradually as needed and maintain connectivity to 1 and 10Gb/s fabrics,” said Shai Rephaeli, vice president of interconnect products at Mellanox Technologies. “Mellanox’s QSA makes such deployment scenarios possible and easier, thereby enhancing the 40Gb/s fabric ecosystem and driving faster deployments in the data center.”
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The Mellanox QSA conforms to the SFF-8431 SFP+ and SFF-8436 QSFP connector standards and is 100 percent tested to strict quality requirements. The adapter enables users to maintain their SFP+ cabling solutions to connect 10/40Gb/s equipment to 10 Gigabit Ethernet. The adapter is built in QSFP form factor with a receptacle for a SFP+ cable connector.
The QSA is sampling now. Visit Mellanox at Interop Las Vegas (April 26-28) booth #2307.