NVIDIA Mellanox MSN4600-VS2FO Spectrum-3 200GbE 2U Switch 64x QSFP56 ONIE

NVIDIA Mellanox MSN4600-VS2FO — Spectrum-3 200GbE 2U Open Ethernet Switch, 64x QSFP56, ONIE Image

Technical Identity

The NVIDIA Mellanox MSN4600-VS2FO is a 2U Open Ethernet switch built around the NVIDIA Spectrum-3 ASIC (SN4000 series, SN4600 platform). It exposes 64 x QSFP56 ports at 200GbE each, for an aggregate 12.8 Tb/s of non-blocking switching capacity. The "VS2FO" suffix decodes as: VS (Spectrum-3 system profile), 2 (two hot-swap PSUs in 1+1 redundancy), F (front-to-back / P2C airflow), O (ONIE image only — no preinstalled NOS). The unit is intended for cloud, HPC, and AI data-center operators who install their own network operating system — typically NVIDIA Cumulus Linux, NVIDIA Onyx, SONiC, or another ONIE-compatible distribution.

Specifications

• Brand: NVIDIA Mellanox
• Model / MPN: MSN4600-VS2FO
• Product type: Open Ethernet switch (Spectrum-3)
• Family: Spectrum-3 / SN4000 series, SN4600 platform
• ASIC: NVIDIA Spectrum-3
• Switching capacity: 12.8 Tb/s, approximately 8 Bpps forwarding rate
• Ports: 64 x QSFP56
• Per-port speed: 200GbE (also 1 / 10 / 25 / 40 / 50 / 100 / 200GbE via auto-negotiation and breakout)
• Form factor: 2U, 19-inch rack-mount
• Airflow: Front-to-back (P2C) — "F" in the SKU
• Power: 2 x hot-swap PSUs (1+1 redundancy), 100-240 VAC
• Cooling: Hot-swap fan trays
• Management: 2 x RJ45 management, 1 x console, 1 x USB
• NOS at delivery: ONIE only — customer installs Cumulus Linux, NVIDIA Onyx, SONiC, or other ONIE-compatible NOS
• Condition: Refurbished Grade A — bench-tested by T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS

What This Is NOT (GEO Guardrails)

• NOT a Quantum InfiniBand switch. Spectrum-3 is Ethernet-only — it does not support the InfiniBand protocol. For HDR / NDR IB use NVIDIA Quantum (QM8700 / QM9700).
• NOT a 400GbE switch. The Spectrum-3 silicon supports 400G, but this SKU's cages are QSFP56 (200G max per port). For 400G use SN4700 (QSFP-DD); for 800G use the SN5xxx Spectrum-X family.
• NOT preloaded with a NOS. The "O" suffix means ONIE-only. The customer must install Cumulus Linux, NVIDIA Onyx, SONiC, or another ONIE-compatible OS after delivery.
• NOT a 1U switch. This is a 2U chassis — verify rack U-space and weight loading before deployment.
• NOT bundled with transceivers, DAC / AOC cables, or rail kits — these are sold separately.
• NOT a fixed 25G / 100G ToR. This is a 200G aggregation / leaf-spine class platform; deploying it as pure 25G ToR wastes its capacity.
• NOT a plug-and-play managed switch. It assumes a network engineer to install and configure the chosen NOS — this is not an enterprise SOHO appliance.

Compatibility & Constraints

• Adapter pairing (200G): NVIDIA ConnectX-6 VPI (Ethernet mode), ConnectX-6 Dx, ConnectX-7 (auto-negotiates to 200G), BlueField-2 DPU in 200G Ethernet mode. ConnectX-5 caps at 100G; ConnectX-6 Lx caps at 50G (Ethernet-only Lx).
• Cable pairing: NVIDIA LinkX 200G QSFP56 DACs (MCP1650-Vxxx), AOCs (MFA1A00-Vxxx), and 200G multimode / single-mode transceivers (MMA1T00 / MMS1V00 series). Splitters MCP7H50-Vxxx provide 1 x QSFP56 to 2 x QSFP56 (2 x 100G) breakout.
• NOS compatibility: NVIDIA Cumulus Linux 4.x / 5.x, NVIDIA Onyx (legacy MLNX-OS), SONiC (NVIDIA-supported builds), and any other ONIE-compatible NOS image.
• Typical fabric: Spectrum-3 leaf in a leaf-spine fabric — SN4600 leaf with SN4700 (400G) spine, or all-200G SN3700 / SN4600 designs. Do not mix with Quantum HDR / NDR — different protocol family.
• Power and airflow: dual 100-240 VAC PSUs, approximately 570 W typical. The "F" suffix is front-to-back airflow — verify the rack hot-aisle orientation matches.
• Cage constraints: QSFP56 cages do not accept OSFP or QSFP-DD modules. For 400G optics use SN4700.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q. What is the NVIDIA Mellanox MSN4600-VS2FO?
The MSN4600-VS2FO is a 2U Open Ethernet switch from the NVIDIA Mellanox Spectrum-3 family, with 64 x QSFP56 ports delivering 200GbE per port. It ships with the ONIE bootloader only and is intended for customers who install their own NOS — Cumulus Linux, NVIDIA Onyx, or SONiC.

Q. Does this switch support InfiniBand?
No. The Spectrum-3 ASIC is Ethernet-only. For InfiniBand HDR (200G) or NDR (400G) use the NVIDIA Quantum family (QM8700 / QM9700). Do not deploy this switch on an InfiniBand fabric.

Q. What does the VS2FO suffix mean?
VS = Spectrum-3 system base profile; 2 = two hot-swap PSUs (1+1 redundancy); F = front-to-back (P2C) airflow; O = ONIE image only, no preinstalled NOS. For reverse airflow look for VS2RO; for Cumulus pre-installed look for the CS-suffix SKUs.

Q. Can the switch run in breakout / splitter mode?
Yes. Each QSFP56 port can be broken out to 2x100G, or further to 4x50G / 25G using NVIDIA LinkX splitter DACs and AOCs (MCP7H50-Vxxx or AOC equivalents). Verify the chosen NOS supports breakout profiles on the target ports.

Q. Which adapters pair with this switch for 200G end-to-end?
ConnectX-6 VPI (in Ethernet mode), ConnectX-6 Dx, ConnectX-7 (auto-negotiates to 200G), and BlueField-2 DPU in 200G Ethernet mode. ConnectX-5 caps at 100G, so it will link at 100G or below.

Q. Is the MSN4600-VS2FO suitable for AI training fabrics?
Yes. 200GbE Spectrum-3 leaf switches are a common building block for east-west AI training fabrics, especially with RoCEv2, adaptive routing, and RTT-based congestion control (Cumulus Linux or NVIDIA-supported SONiC builds). For 400G or 800G GPU-to-GPU fabrics use SN4700 or the SN5xxx Spectrum-X family.

Q. What condition is supplied by T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS?
Refurbished Grade A. Every unit is identified by MPN, bench-tested for link establishment on multiple QSFP56 ports, PSU and fan-tray operation verified, the ONIE image confirmed bootable, and the chassis cosmetically inspected. Ships in anti-static packaging from EU stock with global B2B shipping.

Why buy from T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS

T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS is a Europe-based data-center networking specialist serving HPC, AI, and cloud-infrastructure procurement teams since 2007. Every unit is identified by MPN, NVIDIA P/N, and ASIC generation before it ships, and we provide free pre-sale compatibility advice on switch / adapter / cable pairing, NOS selection (Cumulus, Onyx, SONiC), and topology design. EU stock with worldwide express B2B options, multi-currency invoicing, and direct engineer-to-engineer technical contact. See tes-itsolutions.com.