QSA Adapters Get Even Better at 25Gb/s

March 6, 2017 Brad Smith
100G, AOC, DAC, Ethernet, Link-X, Multi-mode, Single-mode100G, Active Optical Cables, AOC, CR, DAC, ethernet, interconnect, LinkX, LR, Multi-mode, QSA adapters, Single-Mode, SR, transceivers, Twinax

QSA solves problems linking different port sizes and speeds equipment together

Problems: You have a 4-channel QSFP port on a switch or network adapter but you’ve got a single-channel subsystem that uses SFP and you want to connect older equipment, storage or a 10G device. Or you have a new shiny 25Gb/s-based Spectrum switch or ConnectX-4 or -5 network adapters and you want to connect to slower 10Gb/s equipment. How do you connect the different port types and speeds together?

Answer: Get the Mellanox QSA Adapter. QSFP-to-SFP Adapter – now supporting 25Gb/s!

Sometimes, the simplest things can solve big problems and frustrations. The QSA is one such device and costs less than a dinner for one.

 

What is a QSA?

The QSA is a Mellanox designed and patented, mechanical adapter that fits neatly inside a QSFP port and enables plugging in a smaller, single-channel SFP device into a QSFP 4-channel port.  Only the one-channel gets passed through even though the mechanical port is 4-channels.  The QSA contains a configuration EPROM to tell the host what it is and what speed to run at.  Unless one is configuring it to run a slower line rate, it is plug-and-plug again-and-play – nothing to configure in software.

 

Features and Notes

1. QSAs are available in 2 versions: 10G and 25G.
   • 10G version also supports 1G
   • 25G version supports 1G and 10G
2. QSA accepts a huge range of 10G and 25G cables and transceiver types:
   • CR DAC copper SFP (3-7m)
   • SR SFP multi-mode transceiver (100m)
   • SFP multi-mode AOCs (100m)
   • LR SFP single-mode transceiver (10km)
   • SX 1G SFP+ multi-mode transceiver (500m)
   • Base-T 1G SFP converter that uses CAT-5 copper UTP cables (100m)
3. Passive and consumes no power
4. Does not induce and signal latency delays
5. Contains an EPROM to tell the switch port what it is – used in the initial configuration
6. Only one channel passes through to the QSFP port
7. Supports Ethernet-only as InfiniBand doesn’t generally use SFP single-channel links.
8. There is even a DAC adapter cable with SFP on one end and QSFP on the other.
9. MC2309130-xxx to 3m and to 3 meters and MC2309124-xxx to 7 meters.

 

The copper DACs have a maximum reach of 3 – 7 meters but with a LR transceiver module with single-mode fiber can reach as far a 10km or 6.25 miles!

10G and 25Gb/s Cables and Transceivers Options For Use in QSA Adapters

 

In the past, Mellanox offered network adapters in SFP and QSFP versions of the cards. But starting with ConnectX-6, only the QSFP28 versions will be offered and if a SFP single-channel is required, the QSA will be the solution to create the connection.

Summary

Not everything in the world runs or needs to run at 25Gb/s so the QSA is a neat way to link slower 10G sub-systems to new high-speed Spectrum switches and ConnectX-5 network adapter and later upgrade the slower equipment to 25Gb/s.

More Information: 

• Learn more: LinkX cables and transceivers
• Details about the new QSA28: QSA Adapters
• Learn more about: Mellanox’s complete 100GbE Switches and Adapter solutions
• Follow Mellanox on: Twitter, Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, and YouTube

LinkX is the Mellanox trademark and name for its cables and transceivers product line