PCIe Auxiliary Card Kit

There are two available PCIe auxiliary kit functionalities:

1. Utilizing the Socket-Direct capability, where the PCIe extension card is connected to the BlueField-3 DPU, used as an end-point.

2. Utilizing the Down Stream Port (DSP) extension option, where the PCIe extension card is connected to the BlueField-3 DPU, used as a root complex for storage devices.

The two Cabline SA-II Plus harnesses in the PCIe auxiliary kit have different routings. To distinguish between these two harnesses, one black harness is marked with a “WHITE” label while the harness is marked with a “BLACK” label.

The Cabline harness marked with the "WHITE" label should be connected to the connector on the networking card and PCIe Auxiliary card engraved with “White Cable” while the one marked with the "BLACK" label should be connected to the connector on the networking card and the PCIe Auxiliary card engraved with “Black Cable”. The Cabline SA-II Plus harness mates with two 60 -pin connectors (P/N 20790-060E-01), on both sides. The black Cabline SA-II Plus harness mates with the connector on the component side (top side) of the network card, while the White Cabline SA-II Plus harness mates with the print side (bottom side) of the main network card. For hardware installation, please refer to [Optional] PCIe Extension Connection (2x PCIe x16) Installation Instructions.

Socket Direct network cards, which cost-effectively integrate a single network adapter silicon on a primary board, and an auxiliary PCIe connection card and Cabline SA-II Plus Harness connecting the two. Socket Direct enables direct access from each CPU to the network through its dedicated PCIe interface as the card's 32-lane PCIe bus is split into two 16-lane buses, with one bus accessible through a PCIe x16 edge connector and the other bus through an x16 Auxiliary PCIe Connection card. The two cards should be installed into two PCIe x16 slots and connected using two Cabline SA-II Plus harnesses.

The PCIe auxiliary kit can be purchased separately to operate in a dual-socket server. The table below lists the available PCIe auxiliary kit ordering part numbers, depending on the desired length of the Cabline SA-II Plus harnesses and the PCI Express interface, Gen 4.0 or Gen 5.0.

The BlueField-3 DPUs with downstream port extension option integrate a single network adapter silicon on a primary board, and an auxiliary PCIe connection card and Cabline SA-II Plus Harness connecting the two.

This enables direct access from each CPU to the network through its dedicated PCIe interface as the card's 32-lane PCIe bus is split into two 16-lane buses, with one bus accessible through a PCIe x16 edge connector and the other bus through an x16 Auxiliary PCIe Connection card. The two cards should be installed into two PCIe x16 slots and connected using two Cabline SA-II Plus harnesses.

The PCIe auxiliary kit can be purchased separately to allow downstream port extension. The table below lists the available PCIe auxiliary kit ordering part numbers, depending on the desired length of the Cabline SA-II Plus harnesses and the PCI Express interface, Gen 4.0 or Gen 5.0.

PCIe Auxiliary Card Package Contents