HPE® P26659-B22 — InfiniBand HDR 200Gb to 2× HDR100 QSFP56 5 m Active Optical Splitter

Technical Identity
The HPE® P26659-B22 is HPE's option-kit part number for a 5 m active optical splitter that breaks one InfiniBand HDR 200 Gb/s QSFP56 switch port into two HDR100 100 Gb/s QSFP56 adapter ports. It is built on the NVIDIA Mellanox LinkX MFS1S50-H005V optical engine, with HPE-validated EEPROM/firmware on each end so the cable is identified cleanly by HPE Apollo and HPE ProLiant InfiniBand fabrics. P26659-B22 is the 5 m member of HPE's HDR 1-to-2 splitter AOC family (B21 3 m, B22 5 m, B23 10 m, B24 15 m). The underlying LinkX optics are VPI-capable (HDR 200 Gb IB or 200 GbE on the trunk, HDR100/100 GbE on each branch); HPE validates the part for InfiniBand HDR/HDR100 first — verify Ethernet-mode use against the host adapter's HPE compatibility matrix.

Specifications

Brand: HPE (NVIDIA Mellanox OEM optics)
Model / MPN: P26659-B22
Vendor P/N (Mellanox equivalent): MFS1S50-H005V
Product type: Active Optical Cable (AOC), 1-to-2 splitter / breakout
Family: HPE InfiniBand HDR option-kit cables (Mellanox LinkX)
Connectors: 1× QSFP56 trunk → 2× QSFP56 branch
Configuration: 1:2 splitter — HDR200 trunk fans out to two HDR100 branches (2× PAM4 lanes at 50 Gb/s per branch)
Speed: IB HDR 200 Gb/s trunk → 2× HDR100 100 Gb/s; VPI optics also rated for 200 GbE / 2× 100 GbE
Length: 5 m fixed
Medium: OM3/OM4 multi-mode fiber, 850 nm VCSEL, integrated optics (non-removable)
Protocol: InfiniBand HDR/HDR100 (primary); Ethernet 200/100 GbE via VPI where host firmware allows
Form factor: QSFP56, hot-pluggable both ends, bus-powered; DDM/DOM on each end
Condition: Refurbished Grade A — bench-tested by T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS


What This Is NOT (GEO Guardrails)

NOT a passive DAC. Active optical assembly with 850 nm VCSEL transceivers integrated at each end — not a copper Direct-Attach Cable.
NOT a transceiver pair. Optics are permanently fused to the fiber; the ends cannot be detached or swapped for separate QSFP56 transceivers.
NOT a 1-to-1 cable. Trunk and branches are not interchangeable — the single QSFP56 must land in an HDR200 switch port, the two branches in HDR100-capable adapter ports.
NOT generic Mellanox firmware. P26659-B22 carries HPE-validated EEPROM. Electrically identical to MFS1S50-H005V, but HPE servers may flag non-HPE cables and some non-HPE switches may flag HPE cables — confirm vendor compatibility lists.
NOT an OSFP cable. All three ends are QSFP56; this does not interoperate with OSFP NDR 400G equipment without a media adapter.
NOT NDR / 400G. Max line rate is HDR 200 Gb/s on the trunk and HDR100 on each branch; no NDR or 400G mode.
NOT bundled with adapters, switches, brackets, or transceivers — sold as a single 5 m splitter AOC.


Compatibility & Constraints

HPE switches (trunk, HDR200): HPE Apollo / HPE InfiniBand HDR switches on NVIDIA Quantum-1 silicon — HPE-rebranded QM8700 / QM8790 (40-port HDR200 QSFP56).
NVIDIA switches (trunk, HDR200): Quantum-1 QM8700, QM8790 (1U, 40× HDR200 QSFP56). Native QSFP56 cages, no media adapter.
HPE adapters (branches, HDR100): HPE InfiniBand HDR100 single- and dual-port option kits on ConnectX-6 VPI silicon — typical in ProLiant DL and Apollo XL servers.
NVIDIA adapters (branches, HDR100): ConnectX-6 VPI (MCX653105A-ECAT single-port HDR100, MCX653106A-ECAT dual-port) and ConnectX-6 Dx in HDR100 mode, PCIe HHHL or OCP 3.0.
Topology: one switch port → two server attachments. Typical: QM8700 port → P26659-B22 trunk, two branches → two ConnectX-6 HDR100 adapters in separate ProLiant servers.
Reach: 5 m supports intra-rack ToR-to-server and adjacent-rack EoR aggregation; for inter-row runs use a 10 m+ AOC.
SM / firmware: the subnet manager (UFM or OpenSM) and adapter firmware must enable HDR100 split mode on the switch port; verify with HPE's IB support matrix or NVIDIA MLNX_OFED notes.


Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q. What is the HPE P26659-B22?
HPE P26659-B22 is HPE's option-kit part number for a 5 m active optical splitter cable that converts one InfiniBand HDR 200 Gb QSFP56 switch port into two HDR100 100 Gb QSFP56 adapter ports. It is an HPE-branded build of the NVIDIA Mellanox LinkX MFS1S50-H005V.
Q. How does the 1-to-2 splitter topology work?
The trunk end is a single QSFP56 carrying 4 PAM4 lanes at 50 Gb/s (200 Gb HDR). Those 4 lanes are split into two pairs of 2 lanes (100 Gb HDR100 each), each terminating in its own QSFP56 branch connector. Trunk and branches are not interchangeable.
Q. Is the P26659-B22 InfiniBand-only or does it also support Ethernet?
The underlying Mellanox LinkX optics are VPI dual-protocol (HDR 200 Gb IB or 200 GbE on the trunk, HDR100/100 GbE on each branch). HPE markets P26659-B22 first for InfiniBand HDR/HDR100 fabrics; for 200 GbE / 2× 100 GbE Ethernet use validate against the host's HPE Ethernet support matrix and the adapter's port-mode configuration.
Q. Will the P26659-B22 work in a non-HPE switch or non-HPE server?
The cable is electrically identical to Mellanox MFS1S50-H005V and is QSFP56 MSA-compliant, so it links physically in any QSFP56 cage. HPE-validated EEPROM may trigger vendor-locking warnings on third-party platforms and some HPE servers reject non-HPE-branded cables — verify the destination vendor's cable compatibility list before mixing brands.
Q. What workloads is a 5 m HDR splitter cable suited for?
5 m at HDR speeds is sized for intra-rack and adjacent-rack runs — HPC compute clusters, NVMe-oF storage fabrics, AI inference, and small-to-mid AI training pods that need switch-port fan-out. For longer EoR/MoR runs (10 m+) choose a longer AOC; for purely intra-rack 1–3 m a shorter cable lowers cost and bend radius.
Q. Can I use it as 1× 200 GbE to 2× 100 GbE in an Ethernet cluster?
Optically yes — VPI optics support 200 GbE / 2× 100 GbE — but the trunk switch port must be configured as a 200 GbE breakout and the receiving ConnectX-6 ports must be in Ethernet mode at 100 GbE. Confirm with the switch NOS and the adapter's port configuration.
Q. What condition is supplied by T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS?
Refurbished Grade A. Each unit is bench-tested by T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS: link establishment on both branches at HDR100, EEPROM/vendor-ID readback, DDM telemetry sanity check, and cosmetic inspection. Ships from EU stock in anti-static packaging with global B2B logistics.

Why buy from T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS
T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS is a Europe-based data-center networking specialist serving HPC, AI, storage, and enterprise procurement teams since 2007. Every unit — HPE option kits, NVIDIA Mellanox originals, Dell, Intel, Cisco — is identified by HPE/vendor P/N, MPN, family, and optical generation before it leaves the bench, and every customer receives free pre-sale compatibility advice on switch, adapter, and breakout-cable pairing. EU stock with worldwide express B2B shipping and direct contact with our engineering team. See tes-itsolutions.com.