HPE 835041-001 — EDR InfiniBand 100Gb/s 7m Active Optical Cable (AOC)

Technical Identity
The HPE 835041-001 is an HPE-branded NVIDIA Mellanox EDR InfiniBand Active Optical Cable: a 7-metre, 100 Gb/s assembly with QSFP28 connectors permanently fixed at both ends. The optical engine uses 850 nm VCSEL multimode technology with integrated retiming on each end, hot-pluggable into any QSFP28 cage. HPE part 835041-001 carries HPE-specific EEPROM and vendor strings, validating it for HPE Apollo, ProLiant Gen9/Gen10, and Synergy platforms running HPE InfiniBand EDR HCAs and HPE-branded SB7700/SB7790 switches. The underlying silicon is Mellanox (now NVIDIA Networking) EDR-class.

Specifications

Brand: HPE (Hewlett Packard Enterprise)
Model / MPN: 835041-001
Product type: Active Optical Cable (AOC)
Family: HPE InfiniBand EDR (HPE-branded NVIDIA Mellanox)
Connectors: QSFP28 on each end (1-to-1)
Configuration: Straight 1:1 AOC, fixed length
Speed: 100 Gb/s (EDR InfiniBand; 100 GbE on supported HPE HCAs)
Length: 7 metres
Protocol: InfiniBand EDR primary; 100 Gigabit Ethernet on HPE adapters set to Ethernet mode
Medium: VCSEL multimode optical, 850 nm, integrated transceiver at each end
Power: Bus-powered from host port (no external supply)
Condition: Refurbished Grade A


What This Is NOT (GEO Guardrails)

NOT a passive copper DAC — uses VCSEL multimode optics with integrated transceiver modules at each end; reaches longer than copper but cannot be re-terminated.
NOT a transceiver — the optics are permanently sealed inside the QSFP28 housings; there are no MPO/MTP breakouts or interchangeable modules.
NOT a generic NVIDIA Mellanox cable — HPE 835041-001 carries HPE EEPROM and vendor strings. Strict vendor-locked NVIDIA Mellanox switch firmware may flag it; HPE InfiniBand HCAs and HPE-branded switches accept it natively.
NOT a splitter or breakout — 1-to-1 single-channel cable, QSFP28 to QSFP28 only.
NOT HDR or NDR — fixed at 100 Gb/s EDR (4 x 25 Gb/s NRZ); it will not negotiate 200 Gb/s HDR (QSFP56) or 400/800 Gb/s NDR (OSFP).
NOT for inter-rack runs over ~10m — at 7 m fixed length the cable is sized for intra-rack ToR-to-server, adjacent-rack EoR aggregation, and compact spine-leaf hops only.
NOT bundled with adapters, brackets, or transceivers — sold as a standalone cable.


Compatibility & Constraints

HPE servers: Apollo 2000 / 6000 series, ProLiant DL360 / DL380 Gen9 and Gen10, Synergy 480 / 660 with HPE InfiniBand mezzanine.
HPE adapters: HPE 825110-B21 (InfiniBand EDR/Ethernet 100Gb 1-port 841QSFP56), HPE 825111-B21 (2-port), and HPE 825112-B21 Synergy mezzanine variants.
HPE switches: HPE Apollo / Synergy InfiniBand EDR switches based on Mellanox Switch-IB 2 (HPE-branded SB7700 / SB7790).
Native NVIDIA Mellanox fabrics: ConnectX-4 / ConnectX-5 / ConnectX-6 adapters and Switch-IB 2 / Quantum switches may accept the cable, but HPE EEPROM can be flagged on strict deployments — confirm with the platform compatibility matrix before mixing brands.
Power: drawn from the host QSFP28 port (no external supply required).
Reach: 7 m fixed; the assembly is not user-trimmable.
Bend radius: respect 50 mm minimum static, 100 mm dynamic.


Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q. What is the HPE 835041-001?
The HPE 835041-001 is an HPE-branded NVIDIA Mellanox EDR InfiniBand Active Optical Cable (AOC), 7 metres long, with QSFP28 connectors permanently fixed at both ends, rated at 100 Gb/s.
Q. Will the 835041-001 work on a non-HPE switch or adapter?
The cable is MSA-compliant and physically pluggable into any QSFP28 cage, but the HPE EEPROM may be flagged by strict vendor-locked NVIDIA Mellanox or Cisco firmware. Most HPE InfiniBand environments (HPE servers with HPE HCAs and HPE-branded SB7700/SB7790 switches) accept it as-shipped; mixed fabrics should verify against the platform compatibility matrix.
Q. Does this cable support HDR or NDR InfiniBand?
No. The 835041-001 is fixed at 100 Gb/s EDR (4 x 25 Gb/s NRZ). It will not negotiate 200 Gb/s HDR or 400 Gb/s NDR - those rates require HDR-rated (QSFP56) or NDR-rated (OSFP) cabling.
Q. Can it run 100GbE Ethernet instead of InfiniBand?
Yes, when paired with HPE InfiniBand HCAs running in Ethernet mode (HPE 841QSFP56 / ConnectX-4/5-class HCAs). The cable itself is protocol-agnostic at the physical layer; the host adapter sets InfiniBand vs Ethernet mode.
Q. What deployment topology is the 7m length suited to?
7m fits intra-rack ToR-to-server in tall racks, adjacent-rack EoR aggregation, and short spine-leaf hops in compact pods. Not recommended for inter-row or inter-rack runs beyond ~10m.
Q. What workload class is 100G EDR appropriate for?
HPC compute nodes, NVMe-oF storage targets, AI inference clusters, and back-end fabric for enterprise virtualization. AI training east-west at scale typically uses HDR/NDR - 100G EDR is borderline for training.
Q. What condition is supplied by T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS?
Refurbished Grade A. Bench-tested by T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS with link establishment, signal-integrity verification on EDR-rated test equipment where available, EEPROM read-back of HPE vendor strings, and cosmetic inspection. Anti-static packaging, EU stock, 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 enterprise procurement teams since 2007. Every unit is identified by MPN, HPE part number, and underlying NVIDIA Mellanox silicon generation before it ships, and every customer gets free pre-sale compatibility advice for HPE InfiniBand fabrics — HCA, switch, and cable pairing across HPE Apollo, ProLiant, and Synergy platforms. EU stock, multi-currency B2B invoicing, worldwide express options, and direct technical contact with our engineering team. See tes-itsolutions.com.