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BlueField-3 DPU, 400 Gb/s

NVIDIA BlueField-3 data processing unit with 400 Gb/s connectivity, Arm cores and onboard memory, offloading networking, storage and security from servers.

Illustration of a network adapter card
Speed
400 Gb/s, 1 x 400 Gb/s or 2 x 200 Gb/s, InfiniBand or Ethernet
Compute
Arm cores with onboard DDR memory running the DOCA software stack
Offloads
Software defined networking, NVMe over Fabrics storage, encryption, firewall and telemetry
Host interface
PCIe Gen5 x16, with PCIe switch for downstream devices
Form factor
FHHL PCIe card, dual QSFP112 ports
Use
North south frontend on HGX servers, multi tenant isolation, storage initiator and target

Overview

BlueField-3 is a network adapter with its own Arm processor and memory, so the host sees a standard device while networking, storage and security services run on the card. This is why it is the frontend adapter on HGX servers: the GPU node's north south traffic, storage mounts and tenant isolation are handled without taking CPU cycles from the job.

Typical uses are software defined networking for multi tenant GPU clouds, NVMe over Fabrics initiators that present remote storage as local drives, inline encryption, and zero trust security enforced on the card rather than in the host operating system. In the MGX server class it is part of the reference design, and large GPU cloud operators use the same approach.

We supply BlueField-3 as a 400 Gb/s dual port card for HGX, PCIe GPU, CPU and storage servers, with the DOCA software and matching optics. Tell us the role, from simple frontend NIC to full DPU with tenant services, and we configure the firmware mode before shipment.

Use cases

  • HGX server frontend networking
  • Multi tenant GPU cloud isolation
  • NVMe over Fabrics initiators and targets
  • Inline encryption and zero trust

Specifications

Network
Speed400 Gb/s, 1 x 400 Gb/s or 2 x 200 Gb/s
ProtocolsInfiniBand NDR and Ethernet up to 400 GbE
Ports2 x QSFP112
Compute and offload
ProcessingArm cores with onboard DDR memory, isolated from the host
SoftwareNVIDIA DOCA, runs standard Linux on the DPU
OffloadsOVS and SDN, NVMe over Fabrics and SNAP storage emulation, IPsec and TLS, firewall, telemetry
Physical
Form factorFHHL PCIe Gen5 x16 card
CoolingPassive heatsink, server airflow required
Cables400G QSFP112 transceivers, direct attach and active optical cables

Figures describe the system class. Exact configuration, weights and power draw are confirmed on the quotation.

What's included

  • Original manufacturer part in retail or bulk packaging
  • Compatibility check against your server or workstation model
  • Manufacturer warranty passed through, advance replacement options
  • Full height bracket
  • DOCA software access

Compliance

This product is not a data center GPU system and does not require NVIDIA end user registration. Standard export documentation applies. Read about export compliance.

Compare it with the next class up or down

The nearest classes we quote are the ConnectX-7 400 Gb/s adapter and the MGX 8 GPU AI server. If neither is quite right, tell us the workload and we specify the system between them.

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