Mellanox 40Gb IB Products for Sun Blade Modular Systems

Mellanox Technologies, Ltd. announced that Sun has selected the company’s leading 40Gb/s InfiniBand ConnectX adapters and InfiniScale IV switch silicon for Sun Microsystems‘ new line of Sun Blade’ modular systems and Sun Datacenter Switches.

The new Sun Blade X6270 and Sun Blade X6275 server modules incorporate the Intel Xeon processor 5500 series, previously code named Nehalem, fueling the need for InfiniBand’s industry-leading application performance and enhanced data center networking capabilities.

According to IDC, the market for total InfiniBand adapters is expected to increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 51.5% to 991,878 shipping in 2011, and a switch port shipment CAGR of 54.5%, with 1,561,543 shipping in 2011.

"The unparalleled performance and scalability of Mellanox’s 40Gb/s InfiniBand adapters and switch silicon balance the system CPUs to guarantee high-efficiency while minimizing power consumption per application," said John Monson, vice president of marketing at Mellanox Technologies. "The combination of Sun’s innovative server technology and Mellanox’s leading 40Gb/s InfiniBand products is an attractive mix across a broad set of applications – from dynamic web services to virtualization to demanding HPC applications."

"The increasing demands to provide critical business services have expanded the need for higher bandwidth and capabilities," said Raju Penumatcha, Vice President of Netra Systems and Networking at Sun. "Organizations leveraging the Sun Blade X6275 server module, powered by the new Intel Xeon processor 5500 series and Mellanox’s industry-leading 40Gb/s InfiniBand technology, should realize the full potential, power, and performance of their systems."

Up to two industry-standard Mellanox ConnectX 40Gb/s InfiniBand PCI Express ExpressModules (EMs) can be dedicated to each server module. EMs are hot-plug capable according to the standard defined by the PCI SIG, and fully customer replaceable without opening either the chassis or removing the server module. Each of the two InfiniBand ports can supply power to support passive as well as active cables for an extended reach.