Mellanox QM9700 InfiniBand Switch Sets New Benchmark for Next-Generation HPC Networking

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Sunnyvale, CA – The insatiable demand for computational power in modern High-Performance Computing (HPC) and AI clusters is pushing networking infrastructures to their limits. To address this, the adoption of high-speed, low-latency InfiniBand technology has become the de facto standard for connecting the world's most powerful supercomputers. NVIDIA's Mellanox division, a pioneer in this field, has once again raised the bar with the introduction of the Mellanox QM9700 quantum switch, a cornerstone for the next era of HPC networking.

Unprecedented Performance and Scalability for Demanding Workloads

The Mellanox QM9700 is engineered to serve as the foundational fabric for exascale computing infrastructures. It supports NDR (Next Data Rate) InfiniBand, delivering staggering raw data rates of 400 Gb/s per port and aggregate bidirectional throughput of 162.6 Tb/s in a single 40-port switch. This represents a 4x performance leap compared to the previous HDR generation. For HPC and AI applications, this translates to drastically reduced training times for complex models and faster time-to-solution for scientific simulations, enabling researchers to tackle problems previously thought intractable.

The Mellanox QM9700: A Deep Dive into Architectural Advantages

Beyond raw speed, the Mellanox QM9700 incorporates several key architectural innovations that solidify its leadership in HPC networking:

• Adaptive Routing and SHARP Technology: The switch features enhanced adaptive routing to dynamically avoid congested paths, ensuring optimal data flow. Its support for Scalable Hierarchical Aggregation and Reduction Protocol (SHARP) reduces MPI operation overhead by offloading collective operations from the CPU to the network switch, accelerating performance by up to 50% for message-heavy applications.
• Advanced Telemetry and RoCE Support: Built-in NVIDIA NetQ software provides deep visibility into network performance, enabling proactive management and rapid diagnostics. While an InfiniBand powerhouse, the QM9700 also offers robust support for RoCE (RDMA over Converged Ethernet), providing flexibility for heterogeneous data center environments.
• Power and Cooling Efficiency: Despite its immense power, the switch is designed with efficiency in mind, featuring a port-level power optimization that reduces energy consumption by up to 30% compared to legacy systems, significantly lowering the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO).

Quantifiable Impact on Real-World HPC and AI Applications

The performance metrics of the Mellanox QM9700 directly translate into tangible benefits across various sectors:

Conclusion and Strategic Value for Enterprises and Research Institutions

The NVIDIA Mellanox QM9700 quantum switch is more than just an incremental update; it is a strategic enabler for the next decade of computational discovery. By providing unmatched bandwidth, ultra-low latency, and intelligent network capabilities, it removes the networking bottleneck that has historically constrained cluster performance. For organizations investing in AI research, quantum computing simulations, or large-scale data analytics, deploying an NDR InfiniBand fabric anchored by the QM9700 is a definitive step towards achieving exascale-level efficiency and maintaining a competitive edge.