HPE Mellanox P25960-B21 MCX623106AS-CDAT Ethernet 100Gb 2-port QSFP56 Adapter

HPE Mellanox 100Gb ConnectX-6 Dx Dual-Port Adapter (P25960-B21)

Future-proof your data center with the HPE P25960-B21 Mellanox ConnectX-6 Dx Ethernet Network Adapter. This SmartNIC (Smart Network Interface Card) provides two 100 Gigabit Ethernet (100GbE) ports using the high-density QSFP56 interface, delivering a combined 200Gbps of bidirectional throughput.⁴

Powered by the Mellanox ConnectX-6 Dx chipset, this adapter is more than just a NIC; it’s a dedicated network processor. It offloads mission-critical functions from the CPU—including security (Root-of-Trust), virtualization (SR-IOV), and storage (NVMe-oF)—to ensure applications run with the lowest possible latency and highest possible performance. It is a critical component for HPE Gen10 Plus servers requiring top-tier network acceleration.

Key Features & Workload Acceleration

Ideal Use Cases for the ConnectX-6 Dx

• Hyperscale Cloud & Virtualization: Accelerates virtual switches and routers using ASAP² offload, freeing up CPU cycles for application workloads.⁵

   

• NVMe over Fabrics (NVMe-oF): Enables the creation of high-speed, disaggregated storage networks by offloading NVMe-oF target and initiator functions.⁶

   

• High-Performance Computing (HPC): Delivers ultra-low latency via RoCE v2 (RDMA over Converged Ethernet), essential for large, tightly coupled clusters.⁷

   

• Cyber Security: Features inline hardware IPsec and TLS encryption/decryption offload, securing data-in-motion without compromising performance.⁸

   

Technical Deep Dive: The Advantage of QSFP56

The QSFP56 port uses PAM4 signaling technology, allowing it to double the data rate over the same number of copper traces compared to the older QSFP28 standard. This allows the adapter to achieve 100Gbps connectivity per port while maintaining power efficiency and compatibility with modern server infrastructure.