Introduction
The NVIDIA Quantum-3 family of fixed-configuration switches revolutionizes the performance, scalability, and efficiency of high-performance computing and AI infrastructures, enabling faster and more effective AI processing and computation. These switches are available in both 4U and 2U systems.
The NVIDIA Quantum-X800 Q3400-RA 4U switch, leverages 200Gb/s-per-lane serializer/deserializer (SerDes) technology. It features 144 ports at 800Gb/s distributed across 72 Octal Small Form-Factor Pluggable (OSFP) cages. The switch’s high radix supports a two-level fat-tree topology capable of connecting up-to 10,368 ConnectX-8 network interface cards (NICs) with minimal latency and optimal job locality. The Q3400 is air-cooled.
For integration with existing NDR or HDR infrastructures, the NVIDIA Quantum-X800 Q3200 2U air-cooled configuration switch is ideal. This system houses two independent switches within a single enclosure, together providing 72 ports at 800Gb/s (over 36 OSFP cages).
Both the Q3400 and Q3200 switches include a dedicated InfiniBand in-band management port specifically for NVIDIA Unified Fabric Manager (UFM®) management, separated on the front panel from the other ports. This separation allows the full set of standard ports to be used for data network connectivity, simplifying port allocation and streamlining topology design.
Additionally, NVIDIA Quantum-X800 switches feature optional router capabilities, facilitating the expansion of InfiniBand clusters to support a large scale of nodes located across multiple sites.
The 4U switch systems are ideal for HPC and AI workloads, leveraging the cutting-edge NVIDIA Scalable Hierarchical Aggregation and Reduction Protocol (SHARP)™, alongside enhanced adaptive routing and performance isolation technologies. With this powerful combination, they deliver unparalleled performance for handling the most demanding tasks in HPC and AI domains. The NVIDIA Quantum-3 switches are available with internal management capabilities.
As a rack-mounted InfiniBand solution, the NVIDIA Quantum-3 switches provide maximum flexibility for various network topologies. They support a wide range of configurations, including Fat Tree, Dragonfly+, multi-dimensional Torus, and more. In these setups, the 4U systems act as spines, while the 2U systems serve as leaves, complementing the overall network architecture.
Q3200-RA Front View
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Q3200-RA Rear View
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Q3400-RA Front View 
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Q3400-RA Rear View 
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For additional airflow options, see Airflow.
The table below describes maximum throughput and interface speed per system model.
The 4U switches offer a radix of 144 ports of 800Gb/s on 72 physical octal small form-factor pluggable (OSFP) connectors
The 2U systems come with 72 (2 x 36) ports of 800 Gb/s and are ideal for small-scale platforms.
System Model | XDR 800Gb/s OSFP Interfaces | Max Throughput |
Q3200-RA | 72 XDR ports over 36 OSFP cages | 57.6 Tb/s |
Q3400-RA | 144 XDR ports over 72 OSFP cages | 115.2 Tb/s |
The table below lists the various management interfaces and available replacement parts per system model.
System Model | USB and I2C | MGT | FNM - Fabric Management Port | Console | Replaceable PSU | Replaceable Fan |
Q3200-RA | Front (USB 2.0 type A) | Front (2 ports) | Front | Front | Yes, 4 | Yes, 5 |
Q3400-RA | Front (USB 2.0 type A) | Front (2 ports) | Front | Front | Yes, 8 | Yes, 10 |
For a full feature list, please refer to the system’s product brief. Go to https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/networking/. In the main menu, click on Products > InfiniBand > Switch Systems , and select the desired product page.
The list of certifications (such as EMC, Safety and others) per system for different regions of the world is located on the NVIDIA website at https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/networking/environmental-and-regulatory-compliance/.