A Selection Guide to ConnectX and BlueField
Select adapters by role, protocol, host requirements, and ordering variant.
Start with the role
Basic connectivity, GPU communication, storage control, and infrastructure offload have different requirements. Define software features and operational ownership before choosing a ConnectX adapter, SuperNIC, or BlueField DPU. Keep the chip designation, board name, and ordering part number distinct.
Check host and link requirements
Verify PCIe generation and lane count, HHHL/FHHL/OCP form factor, bracket height, clearance, cooling, and auxiliary power. Check protocol mode, port count, connector, and rate on the network side. A dual-port label does not guarantee that both ports can simultaneously achieve the headline aggregate bandwidth.
Compare ordering variants
Crypto, Secure Boot, Arm cores, onboard memory, BMC, and cold-aisle configurations can vary by part number. Do not copy the highest family specification to every SKU. Prefer an exact ordering table; retain an unresolved status where only family documentation exists.
Validate delivery
Check server support, driver and firmware combinations, interconnects, and required entitlements. Test enumeration, link establishment, workload traffic, and restart behavior. Record confirmed features separately from unresolved requirements and keep the full ordering part number.
Related products
These products are topic references, not a certified configuration. Verify exact part numbers and deployed software.
- NVIDIA MCX631432AS-ADAB 25GbE OCP3.0 Network Adapter
- NVIDIA MCX623106AN-CDAT 100GbE Network Adapter
- NVIDIA MCX75343AMS-NEAC 400GbE OCP3.0 Network Adapter
- NVIDIA ConnectX-8 C8240 900-9X81Q-00CN-ST0 400GbE / 400Gb/s HHHL Network Adapter
- NVIDIA ConnectX-8 C8180P OCP3.0 900-9X85E-00EX-MJ0 2x400GbE OCP3.0 Network Adapter
- NVIDIA BlueField-3 B3140H E-series HHHL 900-9D3D4-00EN-HA0 400GbE HHHL Network Adapter