NVIDIA Spectrum SN2700
The NVIDIA Spectrum SN2700 is a 1U datacenter spine and high-density leaf switch providing 32 ports of 40G/100G QSFP28. Delivering 6.4 Tbps of throughput and 4.76 Bpps forwarding rate, the SN2700 is powered by the first-generation Spectrum ASIC with a 16 MB shared packet buffer. Renowned for deterministic low latency, zero packet loss, and wire-speed RoCE v2 performance, the SN2700 remains an anchor workhorse on secondary broker markets for cloud fabrics and AI compute interconnects.
Specifications
| Brand | NVIDIA |
|---|---|
| Family | Spectrum |
| Form factor | 1U fixed switch |
| Released | Jun 2015 |
| Ports | 32x 40G/100G QSFP28 ports |
| Switching capacity | 6.4 Tbps / 4.76 Bpps wire-speed forwarding performance |
| Latency | 300 nanoseconds cut-through latency across all packet sizes |
| Buffer | 16 MB fully shared dynamic packet buffer |
| Power and cooling | Dual redundant hot-swappable AC or DC power supplies and reversible fan trays |
Generations
- Next generation: NVIDIA Spectrum-2 SN3700
Works together
How the NVIDIA Spectrum SN2700 connects to servers, storage and the network: 3 ways, with the parts and products on each path.
iSCSI and NVMe/TCP over Ethernet
Keep the speed the same at all three points: a 25GbE server, a 25GbE switch port and a 25GbE array port. Mixed speeds work but the slowest link sets the pace.
Servers
Dell PowerEdge R230 1U rack
Dell PowerEdge R330 1U rack
Dell PowerEdge R930 4U rack
HPE Apollo 4200 Gen9 2U rack
HPE ProLiant DL20 Gen9 1U rack
HPE ProLiant DL560 Gen9 2U rack
Adapters for the server
MBF2H516C-CESCOT NVIDIA BlueField-2 DPU Dual-Port 25GbE SFP28 16GB Arm Crypto PCIe 4.0 x8 Data Processing Unit
MCX512A-ACAT NVIDIA ConnectX-5 EN Dual-Port 25GbE SFP28 PCIe 3.0 x8 Low-Profile Ethernet Network Adapter
MCX556A-ECAT NVIDIA ConnectX-5 VPI Dual-Port 100Gb/s EDR InfiniBand and 100GbE QSFP28 PCIe 3.0 x16 Adapter
MCX623105AN-VDAT NVIDIA ConnectX-6 Dx EN Dual-Port 25GbE SFP56 PCIe 4.0 x16 Ethernet Network Adapter
Storage
Dell Unity XT Unity 300 2U rack
Dell Unity XT Unity 400 2U rack
HPE MSA 2040 2U rack enterprise SAN
HPE MSA 2050 2U rack enterprise SAN
Lenovo ThinkSystem DS4200 2U rack
Lenovo ThinkSystem DE2000H 2U rack
Optics
MMA1T00-HS NVIDIA HDR 200Gb/s QSFP56 MPO Optical Transceiver
MMA4Z00-NS NVIDIA NDR 400Gb/s OSFP Optical Transceiver
QSFP-100G-SR4 Arista 100GBASE-SR4 QSFP28 Optical Transceiver
File storage (NFS and SMB)
Front-end ports face the clients; back-end ports (on scale-out systems) connect the nodes to each other and need their own switch pair.
Servers
- Dell PowerEdge R230 1U rack
- Dell PowerEdge R330 1U rack
- Dell PowerEdge R930 4U rack
- HPE Apollo 4200 Gen9 2U rack
- HPE ProLiant DL20 Gen9 1U rack
- HPE ProLiant DL560 Gen9 2U rack
Adapters for the server
- MBF2H516C-CESCOT NVIDIA BlueField-2 DPU Dual-Port 25GbE SFP28 16GB Arm Crypto PCIe 4.0 x8 Data Processing Unit
- MCX512A-ACAT NVIDIA ConnectX-5 EN Dual-Port 25GbE SFP28 PCIe 3.0 x8 Low-Profile Ethernet Network Adapter
- MCX623105AN-VDAT NVIDIA ConnectX-6 Dx EN Dual-Port 25GbE SFP56 PCIe 4.0 x16 Ethernet Network Adapter
MCX623106AN-CDAT NVIDIA ConnectX-6 Dx EN Dual-Port 100GbE QSFP56 PCIe 4.0 x16 Ethernet Network Adapter
Storage
- Dell Unity XT Unity 300 2U rack
- Dell Unity XT Unity 400 2U rack
Dell PowerStore 7000T 2U rack
Lenovo ThinkSystem DM3000H 2U rack
Lenovo ThinkSystem DM5000H 2U rack
Lenovo ThinkSystem DM7000H 3U rack
Optics
- MMA1T00-HS NVIDIA HDR 200Gb/s QSFP56 MPO Optical Transceiver
- MMA4Z00-NS NVIDIA NDR 400Gb/s OSFP Optical Transceiver
- QSFP-100G-SR4 Arista 100GBASE-SR4 QSFP28 Optical Transceiver
Hyperconverged cluster
Plan at least two 25GbE ports per node to two switches; all-NVMe clusters often move to 100GbE.
HCI nodes
Dell VxRail P Series P570F 2U rack (1 node)
HPE SimpliVity 380 Gen10 2U rack
HPE SimpliVity 380 Gen9 2U rack
Lenovo ThinkAgile HX3320 1U rack
Adapters for the server
- MBF2H516C-CESCOT NVIDIA BlueField-2 DPU Dual-Port 25GbE SFP28 16GB Arm Crypto PCIe 4.0 x8 Data Processing Unit
- MCX512A-ACAT NVIDIA ConnectX-5 EN Dual-Port 25GbE SFP28 PCIe 3.0 x8 Low-Profile Ethernet Network Adapter
- MCX623105AN-VDAT NVIDIA ConnectX-6 Dx EN Dual-Port 25GbE SFP56 PCIe 4.0 x16 Ethernet Network Adapter
- MCX623106AN-CDAT NVIDIA ConnectX-6 Dx EN Dual-Port 100GbE QSFP56 PCIe 4.0 x16 Ethernet Network Adapter
Optics
- MMA1T00-HS NVIDIA HDR 200Gb/s QSFP56 MPO Optical Transceiver
- MMA4Z00-NS NVIDIA NDR 400Gb/s OSFP Optical Transceiver
- QSFP-100G-SR4 Arista 100GBASE-SR4 QSFP28 Optical Transceiver
Plan and size it
- Draw this setup in the topology planner mrplanb.com
- Add up rack power and space rack-density.com
- iSCSI explained mrplanb.com
- Virtualization storage Ledger: scored storage platforms 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 Spectrum SN2700.
- Compatibility NVIDIA Qualified System Catalog (certified GPU servers)
- Specifications NVIDIA Networking documentation (adapters, switches, cables)
- Support NVIDIA Enterprise Support
Equivalent models from other brands
FAQ
How many 25GbE ports can the SN2700 support with breakout cables?
Using 4x 25G breakout cables across all 32 ports, it delivers up to 128 wire-speed 25GbE interfaces.
Does the SN2700 support OpenFlow and SDN?
Yes, it supports standard SDN protocols, OpenFlow via ONIE, and open NOS deployments.
Buying or selling Spectrum SN2700?
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 Spectrum SN2700 Product Overview, checked 2026-10-27
- NVIDIA Spectrum SN2700 Datasheet, checked 2026-10-27