NVIDIA Quantum CS7500
The NVIDIA Mellanox CS7500 is a modular Director chassis switch providing up to 648 ports of 100 Gb/s EDR InfiniBand QSFP28. Delivering up to 130 Tbps of non-blocking throughput with ultra-low latency, the CS7500 served as the central spine for major national laboratories and supercomputing centers. In secondary hardware channels, the CS7500 is traded as an established high-capacity InfiniBand director for large compute fabrics.
Specifications
| Brand | NVIDIA |
|---|---|
| Family | Quantum |
| Form factor | modular chassis |
| Released | Jun 2015 |
| End of sale | Dec 2021 |
| End of support | Dec 2026 |
| Ports | Up to 648x 100 Gb/s EDR InfiniBand QSFP28 ports |
| Switching capacity | Up to 130 Tbps non-blocking aggregate switching throughput |
| Form factor | 29U modular Director chassis with redundant power and cooling |
| Line cards | Houses up to 18 line card slots supporting 36 ports each |
| Reliability | Fully redundant fabric modules, management controllers, power shelves, and fan trays |
Generations
- Next generation: NVIDIA Quantum CS8500
Compatible parts
Cables
MCP1600-E003E30 NVIDIA 100GbE QSFP28 Direct Attach Copper Cable 3m
MFS1S00-E003E NVIDIA Mellanox 100Gb/s EDR QSFP28 Active Optical Cable 3m
Transceivers
MMA1L10-CR NVIDIA Mellanox 100GbE QSFP28 SR4 Optical Transceiver
MMA1L30-CM NVIDIA Mellanox 100GbE QSFP28 CWDM4 Optical Transceiver
Works together
How the NVIDIA Quantum CS7500 connects to servers, storage and the network: 1 way, with the parts and products on each path.
GPU cluster fabric
InfiniBand adapters and switches must match the generation: HDR is 200Gb, NDR is 400Gb. VPI adapters such as ConnectX-6 and ConnectX-7 can run either InfiniBand or Ethernet.
Servers
NVIDIA DGX H100 8U rackmount
HPE ProLiant DL580 Gen10 4U rack
HPE ProLiant ML350 Gen10 4U tower
HPE Apollo 6500 Gen10 4U rack
HPE ProLiant XL675d Gen10 Plus 6U chassis (HPE Apollo d6500 Gen10 Plus), one XL675d per chassis
HPE Apollo 6500 Gen10 Plus 4U rack
GPUs
NVIDIA Data Center GPU T4 PCIe low-profile half-height half-length
NVIDIA Data Center GPU Tesla V100 SXM2 32GB SXM2 module
NVIDIA Data Center GPU A100 SXM4 80GB SXM4 module
NVIDIA Data Center GPU A40 PCIe 4.0 dual-slot full-height full-length
Adapters for the server
MCX556A-ECAT NVIDIA ConnectX-5 VPI Dual-Port 100Gb/s EDR InfiniBand and 100GbE QSFP28 PCIe 3.0 x16 Adapter
MCX75310AAS-NEAT NVIDIA ConnectX-7 Single-Port 400Gb/s NDR InfiniBand and 400GbE OSFP PCIe 5.0 x16 Adapter
MCX755106AS-HEAT NVIDIA ConnectX-7 Dual-Port 200Gb/s NDR200 InfiniBand and 200GbE QSFP112 PCIe 5.0 x16 Adapter
540-BCVE Dell NVIDIA Mellanox ConnectX-6 VPI Single Port 200Gb/s HDR InfiniBand / 200GbE PCIe Adapter
Plan and size it
- Draw this setup in the topology planner mrplanb.com
- Tokens per kWh calculator for GPU racks rack-density.com
- Add up rack power and space rack-density.com
- Power, cooling and racks for dense GPU servers mrplanb.com
- Network monitoring tools compared mrplanb.com
Check compatibility with NVIDIA
Before you buy, confirm the exact configuration against the vendor's own lists: firmware levels, operating systems, adapters and optics that NVIDIA has tested with the NVIDIA Quantum CS7500.
- Compatibility NVIDIA Qualified System Catalog (certified GPU servers)
- Specifications NVIDIA Networking documentation (adapters, switches, cables)
- Support NVIDIA Enterprise Support
FAQ
How many ports can the CS7500 accommodate?
It accommodates up to 648 wire-speed 100 Gb/s EDR InfiniBand ports across 18 line cards.
Are line cards hot-swappable in the CS7500?
Yes, all line cards, fabric boards, management modules, and power supplies are hot-swappable.
Buying or selling CS7500?
New, refurbished or used. Tell us the quantity and condition and we connect you with a vetted reseller in your region, usually within one working day.
Sources
- NVIDIA CS7500 Product Overview, checked 2026-10-27
- NVIDIA CS7500 Datasheet, checked 2026-10-27