Mellanox IB to Ethernet Gateway With Switching Solutions Available

Mellanox Technologies, Ltd. announced the next step in its Virtual Protocol Interconnect (VPI) solution strategy, with the availability of an integrated IB to Ethernet gateway in its SwitchX-based IB and Ethernet switch systems.

With the new gateway functionality, the edge switches can now be used for both IB and Ethernet switches at the same time with an integrated gateway capability between the two networks. Together with ConnectX-3 VPI interconnect adapters, IT managers can take advantage of Mellanox’s efficient end-to-end interconnect solutions for their unified and flexible IB and Ethernet data centers.

Built with SwitchX-based switches, the IB to Ethernet gateway software license, or system, provides port flexibility to toggle between 56Gb/s IB and either 10, 40 and 56GbE with low 400ns latency.

Mellanox’s gateway software license provides:

• VPI on the Box – converts entire IB switch to Ethernet switch and vice versa
• VPI per Port – flexible port definition of IB and Ethernet fabrics on one system
• VPI Gateway – flexible port definition of IB and Ethernet fabrics with gateway capabilities between the two fabrics

"Mellanox’s new IB to Ethernet gateway functionality built within Mellanox switches provides the most cost-effective, high-performance solution for data center unified connectivity solutions," said Gilad Shainer, VP marketing at Mellanox. "Mellanox’s systems enable data centers to operate at 56Gb/s network speeds while seamlessly connecting to 1, 10 and 40GbE networks. Existing LAN infrastructures and management practices can be preserved, easing deployment and providing significant return-on-investment."

IB to Ethernet Gateway license is available. IB to Ethernet gateway system will be available in the third quarter of 2013.