M3M-CL-{01 ... 08}, M2M-CL-{01 ... 10}

Myrinet-SAN Cables

These Myrinet-SAN cables are rated for use at either the SAN-1280 link data rate of 1.28+1.28 Gb/s (160+160 MB/s) or the SAN-2000 link data rate of 2+2 Gb/s (250+250 MB/s). However, the 10-foot cables should be used only between SAN-1280 ports.

Because these cables are unshielded and emit electromagnetic interference (EMI) in use, and because these cables will withstand only moderate abuse, they are intended for in-cabinet applications only.

These Myrinet-SAN cables are available in standard lengths of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, and 10 feet. The cable is approximately one inch wide, 0.02 inches thick, and highly flexible. The cable-end connectors lock to the board-mount connectors in Myrinet interface and switch components.

Two links in one cable! A Myrinet-SAN cable carries two links. Each link is a full-duplex pair of Myrinet-SAN channels. The two links in the cable are referred to as the A and B links. The B link of a Myrinet-SAN cable will commonly be unused. Think of these cables as analogous to the common RJ-11 phone cords, which carry an extra line for phones and phone jacks equipped for the extra line. For example, the B link is unused in the Myrinet-SAN ports of the M3M-PCI64B and M3M-PMC64B interfaces; however, both links may be used in the SAN-cable-connector ports of Myrinet switches. A variety of Myrinet-SAN-cable accessories is available on special order, for example, to split the A and B links on a switch port onto separate cables, or to loop the output channels back to the input channels for testing.


M2M-CL-03 Myrinet-SAN Cable

Myrinet-SAN-Cable Factoids

These remarkable "microstrip" or "micro-ribbon" cables are made for Myricom by AMP. They contain 81 conductors at a pitch of approximately 0.012 inch. Alternate conductors, including the two outermost conductors, carry electrical ground. The 40 remaining conductors, 10 for each Myrinet-SAN channel, are excellent 50-ohm transmission lines. The cable is terminated with connectors in which central blades form a ground plane, so that the connectors introduce only a very small impedance discontinuity.

The connector ports on Myrinet-SAN interfaces and switches are female. Cables have male connectors on both ends.

Myricom originally supplied these cables in a form in which the cable-end connectors did not lock. The locking cable-end connectors are slightly larger than the original type, and may not fit in the SAN-port opening of products manufactured prior to 1997. The non-locking M2M-CB-{01 ... 10} cables are still available for customers who may need or prefer them.

OEM customers may wish to purchase these cables directly from AMP. If you do so, please tell AMP that we referred you to them, and that you need Myrinet-SAN cables, not standard cables. Most computer cables connect a given pin on the connector on one end of the cable with the same pin on the connector on the other end, and this is how you'd normally receive microstrip cables from AMP. However, because Myrinet cables can be used to connect an interface to another interface, an interface to a switch, or a switch to a switch, they must provide a way of connecting a given output signal on one end to the corresponding input signal on the other end. As described in the Myrinet link and routing specifications, this input-output mapping is accomplished very simply by wiring the cables with the ribbon "flipped," so that each pin on the connector on one end of the cable connects to the mirror-image pin on the connector on the other end.


27 August 1996 ; last significant revision 17 January 2002