IT teams that need dependable server acceleration across mixed estates use Nvidia ConnectX Network Adapters to keep virtualisation, storage and security tasks off the host. The range supports mature SmartNIC deployment where stable behaviour, low latency and broad software compatibility matter more than constant fabric redesign.
In data centres, private-cloud platforms and research or analytics environments, the adapters help keep servers responsive and reduce contention as demand grows. ConnectX-6 suits established estates, ConnectX-7 adds headroom for faster GPU and data pipelines, and ConnectX-8 supports the most bandwidth-heavy AI clusters.
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| Model | Popularity | Deployment | Primary Use Case | Form Factor | PCIe Generation | Network Protocols | Max Network Ports | Maximum Port Speed | RDMA Support | Virtualisation Support | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nvidia ConnectX-8 Network Adapter
|
★ ★ ★ | Data Centre | AI / HPC Host Connectivity | OCP 3.0, PCIe | Gen6 | InfiniBand / Ethernet | 1 | 800G | Yes | SR-IOV | View |
Nvidia ConnectX-6 Dx Network Adapter
|
★ ★ ★ | Data Centre | Host Connectivity | OCP 3.0, PCIe | Gen4 | InfiniBand / Ethernet | 2 | 200G | Yes | SR-IOV | View |
Nvidia ConnectX-7 Network Adapter
|
★ ★ ★ | Data Centre | Host Connectivity | OCP 3.0, PCIe | Gen5 | InfiniBand / Ethernet | 4 | 400G | Yes | SR-IOV | View |
Cloud and enterprise data centres need secure Ethernet with broad compatibility for virtualisation, storage and network offload. Nvidia ConnectX adapters help teams improve server efficiency and keep infrastructure running smoothly without moving to higher bandwidth than they need.
Studios and content platforms need to move large files, render data and AI workloads between servers without slowing production. Nvidia ConnectX adapters provide the bandwidth and low latency needed to keep demanding creative pipelines moving.
IT teams running private cloud, virtual desktop and application estates need dependable acceleration they can operate in house. Nvidia ConnectX adapters support secure, straightforward deployment with offloads that reduce load on the host.
Clinical, research and imaging systems need stable data-centre networking for storage, virtualisation and secure data handling. Nvidia ConnectX adapters help these teams support growing datasets and accelerated workloads without disrupting established operations.
Banks and financial services firms need low-latency networking for transaction systems, databases and private cloud platforms. Nvidia ConnectX adapters add hardware offload and secure connectivity that can improve responsiveness without unnecessary fabric change.
Nvidia AI Enterprise, NIM, and AI Workbench give IT and data science teams validated, enterprise-ready platforms to deploy, serve, and manage AI workloads at scale. We help organisations implement and support these software environments so AI infrastructure remains performant, current, and straightforward to operate.
We provide end-to-end services to design, deploy, and optimise GPU-accelerated AI environments. From initial architecture through to integration and scaling, we help infrastructure teams build Nvidia environments that are aligned to workload demands and positioned to grow alongside the business.
As an authorised Nvidia partner, we help organisations maximise uptime and performance across their Nvidia estate. From technical support and software updates through to lifecycle planning, we help IT teams keep AI infrastructure reliable, current, and aligned to long-term operational requirements.
We help organisations get more from their Nvidia investments — from initial architecture through to ongoing optimisation and support. Contact our Nvidia specialists for guidance today.
Backed by decades of expertise in the IT sector, our specialists support every stage of your deployment — from initial selection through to long-term lifecycle management.
Standard Ethernet adapters can work well for general server connectivity. Pressure usually increases when storage, AI, virtualisation and distributed workloads begin placing more demand on bandwidth, latency and CPU usage.
ConnectX Network Adapters support high-speed Ethernet and InfiniBand connectivity with hardware acceleration for networking and storage tasks. For IT teams, this helps improve server-to-network performance while reducing the amount of infrastructure work handled by the host CPU.
Moving to newer adapter generations can increase infrastructure cost and bandwidth requirements before workloads actually need them. In many enterprise, healthcare and telecom environments, 100GbE or 200GbE connectivity may still provide enough performance.
ConnectX-6 Dx supports up to 200GbE connectivity with acceleration for networking, storage and virtualisation workloads. It is well suited to environments that need stable high-speed connectivity and infrastructure offload without moving immediately into 400GbE or 800GbE networking.
Traditional server networking can become a limitation once AI training, analytics and distributed compute environments begin moving large amounts of data between servers and storage systems.
ConnectX Network Adapters support higher-bandwidth, lower-latency communication for GPU servers and compute-intensive workloads. For AI, research and media environments, this helps reduce delays in data movement as workload scale increases.
100GbE and 200GbE networking can remain effective for many enterprise environments. This becomes more noticeable once GPU servers, high-speed storage and distributed compute platforms begin demanding more bandwidth per server.
ConnectX-7 supports up to 400Gb/s connectivity, making it better suited to AI, HPC and high-throughput data environments where larger datasets and compute-intensive workloads place more pressure on the network edge.
ConnectX-7 can support many modern AI and high-performance environments. The challenge tends to grow when very large AI clusters begin requiring more bandwidth between accelerated servers than 400Gb/s connectivity can provide efficiently.
ConnectX-8 SuperNIC supports up to 800Gb/s networking and is designed for very large AI and cloud environments. It is best suited to high-density compute platforms where server-to-server bandwidth is becoming a bottleneck.
A full network redesign can introduce unnecessary cost and disruption if the main limitation is concentrated at the server edge rather than across the wider environment.
ConnectX Network Adapters allow organisations to increase server bandwidth, improve data movement and reduce CPU overhead while keeping the wider infrastructure design in place. This gives IT teams a more practical way to scale AI, storage and high-performance environments without rebuilding the entire network prematurely.
If these options aren’t the right fit for your environment, we provide a wide portfolio of product series and solutions that may better suit your infrastructure. Explore below, or speak to our team and we’ll help you find the right match.
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