HPE 670769-B21 — Mellanox SX6036 36-Port QSFP FDR 56Gb/s Managed InfiniBand Switch, 1U
Technical Identity
The HPE 670769-B21 (HPE spare P/N 674865-001) is the HPE option part number for the Mellanox SX6036 — a 1U managed InfiniBand switch with 36 QSFP ports at FDR 56Gb/s per port. The SX6036 is built on the Mellanox SwitchX-2 switch device and carries an onboard subnet manager, so a fabric can be brought up without a separate external SM host. HPE-branded OEM build of Mellanox hardware. Protocol: InfiniBand FDR. Condition: Refurbished.
Specifications

Brand: HPE — OEM hardware manufactured by Mellanox Technologies
HPE option P/N: 670769-B21
HPE spare P/N: 674865-001
Mellanox model: SX6036
Switch silicon: Mellanox SwitchX-2
Product type: Managed InfiniBand switch, fixed configuration
Ports: 36 x QSFP (QSFP+ cage)
Port speed: FDR 56Gb/s per port
Aggregate switching capacity: 4.032Tb/s (36 x 56Gb/s, bidirectional)
Protocol: InfiniBand FDR (IBTA)
Management: Managed — onboard subnet manager, MLNX-OS
Form factor: 1U rack-mount
PSU / airflow: per unit label — confirm before ordering
Compliance: RoHS, WEEE
Condition: Refurbished

Engineering Context
FDR InfiniBand carries 14.0625Gb/s per lane over four lanes with 64/66 encoding, giving the 56Gb/s per-port figure quoted for the 670769-B21 / SX6036. That is a different generation from FDR10 (40Gb/s per port), QDR (40Gb/s), EDR (100Gb/s), HDR (200Gb/s) and NDR (400Gb/s). As the managed variant, MLNX-OS runs on an onboard x86 control plane and provides the subnet manager, CLI, SNMP and firmware management — useful for small and mid-size clusters with no dedicated SM server. Airflow direction and PSU population are configuration attributes and are not derivable from the 670769-B21 option number alone.
Use Cases

Top-of-rack InfiniBand FDR fabric for HPC clusters built on HPE ProLiant and Apollo nodes.
Storage back-end fabric for FDR-attached parallel file systems (Lustre, Spectrum Scale) where 56Gb/s per port is sufficient.
Lab, staging and burn-in fabrics needing a self-contained managed switch with onboard subnet manager.
Like-for-like replacement or cold spare for an installed 670769-B21 / SX6036.

What This Is NOT

NOT an Ethernet switch. 670769-B21 / SX6036 is InfiniBand FDR. InfiniBand-to-Ethernet gateway function is a separate model line (SX6036G / MSX6036G-xxxx).
NOT an EDR, HDR or NDR switch. Maximum per-port rate is FDR 56Gb/s. EDR 100Gb/s needs Switch-IB, HDR 200Gb/s needs Quantum, NDR 400Gb/s needs Quantum-2.
NOT a QSFP28, QSFP56 or OSFP switch. Cages are QSFP/QSFP+; QSFP28, QSFP56 and OSFP modules are not supported here.
NOT an unmanaged switch. 670769-B21 is the managed configuration. Unmanaged 36-port SwitchX-2 systems carry different part numbers.
NOT the HPE 670759-B21 or 670759-B25. Those are FDR QSFP passive copper cables (0.5m and 3m), not switches — a frequent ordering mistake.
NOT a chassis/director switch. Fixed 1U system; it does not accept leaf or spine blades.
NOT supplied with QSFP transceivers, DAC/AOC cables, rail kits or spare power supplies.

Compatibility & Hard Constraints

Typical fabric endpoints: Mellanox ConnectX-3 and ConnectX-3 Pro FDR 56Gb/s QSFP adapters, and HPE-branded FDR InfiniBand adapters in HPE ProLiant and Apollo servers.
Typical cabling: QSFP/QSFP+ FDR passive copper DAC (for example the HPE 670759-B2x family) and FDR active optical cables. Verify cable profile recognition in the switch CLI.
Link-rate negotiation: InfiniBand ports negotiate to lower IBTA rates with compatible endpoints; confirm the negotiated rate per port in the CLI rather than assuming it.
Software: MLNX-OS on the switch; MLNX_OFED or an in-box IB driver stack on hosts.
Rack and power: 1U plus rails. PSU count, PSU wattage and airflow direction must be confirmed from the unit label and matched to the rack cooling plan.
Pre-deployment verification: firmware / MLNX-OS level, subnet-manager state, licence state, PSU population, airflow direction.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q. What exactly is the HPE 670769-B21?
670769-B21 is the HPE option part number for a Mellanox SX6036: a 1U managed InfiniBand switch, 36 QSFP ports at FDR 56Gb/s per port, 4.032Tb/s aggregate switching capacity. The matching HPE spare is 674865-001.
Q. Is 670769-B21 the same hardware as a Mellanox SX6036?
Yes — it is the HPE-branded OEM build of the SX6036. Branding, labelling and the shipped firmware image can be HPE-specific, so firmware level should be checked against the intended fabric.
Q. Can the 670769-B21 run Ethernet?
No. 670769-B21 / SX6036 is classified as an InfiniBand FDR 56Gb/s switch. Gateway capability to Ethernet belongs to the separate SX6036G model line.
Q. Is 670769-B21 managed or unmanaged?
Managed. It carries an onboard x86 control plane running MLNX-OS with an integrated subnet manager, so a 36-port FDR fabric can be brought up without an external SM host.
Q. How is 670769-B21 different from 670759-B21?
Unrelated products. 670769-B21 is the 36-port FDR 56Gb/s managed switch; 670759-B21 is a 0.5m FDR QSFP passive copper cable and 670759-B25 is the 3m cable in that family.
Q. What must be verified before ordering?
PSU population, airflow direction and firmware / MLNX-OS level. These are per-unit configuration attributes; T.E.S can confirm them from the unit label on request before dispatch.
Q. What condition is supplied by T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS?
Refurbished. Each 670769-B21 is powered up and inspected where test topology is available, with port and management checks, cosmetic inspection and anti-static packaging. EU stock, global B2B shipping.
Why T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS
Every unit ships with: (1) power-on and management verification where test topology is available, (2) firmware and vendor-data check, (3) full cosmetic inspection, (4) professional anti-static packaging, (5) global B2B shipping from EU stock, (6) technical consultation for InfiniBand fabric design at no extra cost.
Condition
Condition: Refurbished. Pre-owned enterprise hardware, cleaned, inspected and tested by T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS. Supplied without HPE warranty or support entitlement; T.E.S provides its own return and support terms.