NVIDIA Spectrum-2 SN3700
The NVIDIA Spectrum-2 SN3700 is a 1U high-density datacenter spine and leaf switch delivering 32 ports of 100G/200G QSFP56. Powered by the Spectrum-2 ASIC delivering 12.8 Tbps of switching capacity and 8.33 Bpps forwarding rate, the SN3700 bridges 100G and 200G leaf-spine tiers for cloud datacenters and high-performance computing clusters. Hardware brokers trade the SN3700 as an anchor 12.8T switching platform with exceptional RoCE throughput and rich telemetry.
Specifications
| Brand | NVIDIA |
|---|---|
| Family | Spectrum |
| Form factor | 1U fixed switch |
| Released | Sep 2018 |
| Ports | 32x 100G/200G QSFP56 ports (backward compatible with QSFP28) |
| Switching capacity | 12.8 Tbps / 8.33 Bpps wire-speed forwarding performance |
| Silicon | NVIDIA Spectrum-2 12.8 Tbps ASIC with fully shared 42 MB dynamic packet buffer |
| Latency | Sub-425 nanoseconds cut-through latency |
| Cooling and power | Dual hot-swappable power supplies and reversible cooling fans |
Generations
- Previous generation: NVIDIA Spectrum SN2700
- Next generation: NVIDIA Spectrum-3 SN4700
Works together
How the NVIDIA Spectrum-2 SN3700 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 R750 2U rack
Dell PowerEdge R240 1U rack
Dell PowerEdge R340 1U rack
Dell PowerEdge R740xd2 2U rack
Dell PowerEdge R840 2U rack
Dell PowerEdge R940xa 4U 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
Lenovo ThinkSystem DE4000H 2U rack
Lenovo ThinkSystem DM5000H 2U rack
Lenovo ThinkSystem DM7000H 3U rack
Dell Unity XT 380F 2U rack
Dell Unity XT 380XT 2U rack
Dell Unity XT 480F 2U rack
Optics
MMA1T00-HS NVIDIA HDR 200Gb/s QSFP56 MPO Optical Transceiver
QSFP-100G-SR4 Arista 100GBASE-SR4 QSFP28 Optical Transceiver
SFP-25G-SR Arista 25GBASE-SR SFP28 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 R750 2U rack
- Dell PowerEdge R240 1U rack
- Dell PowerEdge R340 1U rack
- Dell PowerEdge R740xd2 2U rack
- Dell PowerEdge R840 2U rack
- Dell PowerEdge R940xa 4U 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
- Lenovo ThinkSystem DM5000H 2U rack
- Lenovo ThinkSystem DM7000H 3U rack
- Dell Unity XT 380F 2U rack
- Dell Unity XT 380XT 2U rack
- Dell Unity XT 480F 2U rack
Dell Unity XT 480XT 2U rack
Optics
- MMA1T00-HS NVIDIA HDR 200Gb/s QSFP56 MPO Optical Transceiver
- QSFP-100G-SR4 Arista 100GBASE-SR4 QSFP28 Optical Transceiver
- SFP-25G-SR Arista 25GBASE-SR SFP28 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 325 Gen10 1U rack
HPE SimpliVity 380 Gen10 2U rack
HPE SimpliVity 380 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
Optics
- MMA1T00-HS NVIDIA HDR 200Gb/s QSFP56 MPO Optical Transceiver
- QSFP-100G-SR4 Arista 100GBASE-SR4 QSFP28 Optical Transceiver
- SFP-25G-SR Arista 25GBASE-SR SFP28 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-2 SN3700.
- 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
Can the SN3700 accept standard 100GbE QSFP28 optical transceivers?
Yes, QSFP56 ports accept standard QSFP28 transceivers without adapters.
What is the packet buffer capacity on the Spectrum-2 ASIC?
It features a massive 42 MB fully shared packet buffer to absorb extreme microbursts.
Buying or selling Spectrum-2 SN3700?
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-2 SN3700 Product Overview, checked 2026-10-27
- NVIDIA Spectrum-2 SN3700 Datasheet, checked 2026-10-27