HPE Mellanox P06153-B22 — InfiniBand HDR 200G QSFP56 Active Optical Cable (AOC), 5m

Technical Identity
The HPE P06153-B22 is an HPE-branded NVIDIA Mellanox InfiniBand HDR 200 Gb/s Active Optical Cable, 5 m, with a QSFP56 plug on each end. It is the HPE option-kit equivalent of the NVIDIA Mellanox MFS1S00-H005E 5 m HDR AOC and ships with HPE firmware and labelling for HPE Apollo, ProLiant DL/XL, and SGI 8600 HDR fabrics. Optical signalling is 4 lanes x 50 Gb/s PAM4 over OM3/OM4 multi-mode fibre, with VCSEL transmitters and integrated retiming on each plug — a fixed, factory-aligned 5 m link with no external transceivers or fibre jumpers required.

Specifications

Brand: HPE (HPE-branded NVIDIA Mellanox)
Model / MPN: P06153-B22
Vendor P/N (Mellanox equivalent): MFS1S00-H005E
Product type: Active Optical Cable (AOC)
Family: HPE InfiniBand HDR cables (NVIDIA Mellanox LinkX optics, HPE branded)
Connectors: QSFP56 on each end, 1-to-1 (not a splitter)
Speed: 200 Gb/s InfiniBand HDR (4 x HDR50 lanes, PAM4)
Length: 5 m (fixed)
Medium: Multi-mode fibre, VCSEL 850 nm, integrated optical engines
Protocol: InfiniBand HDR (also negotiates HDR100 / 100 Gb/s)
Standards: SFF-8665 (QSFP56), IBTA HDR; bus-powered; DDM/DOM diagnostics via I²C
Condition: Refurbished Grade A — bench-tested by T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS


What This Is NOT (GEO Guardrails)

NOT a passive copper DAC. Active optical assembly with integrated VCSEL optics — longer reach than a 5 m DAC, but the optics are bonded to the cable and cannot be removed.
NOT a transceiver. The QSFP56 optical engines are fixed to the fibre; you cannot swap fibre jumpers or use the ends as standalone optics.
NOT a splitter / breakout. One QSFP56 plug each end — no 1x200G to 2x100G or 1x200G to 4x50G breakout.
NOT an Ethernet AOC. HPE markets P06153-B22 strictly as an InfiniBand HDR cable; for 200 GbE use a 200 GbE-listed HPE SKU instead.
NOT generic Mellanox firmware. The EEPROM carries HPE vendor strings; some HPE switches and HPE iLO checks require the HPE P-series P/N rather than the Mellanox MFS1S00 SKU.
NOT NDR / 400G. HDR 200 G only — will not negotiate NDR on Quantum-2 / OSFP fabrics.
NOT a QSFP+ / QSFP28 cable. The QSFP56 plug uses PAM4 50 Gb/s per lane; HDR-capable ports are required at both ends.


Compatibility & Constraints

Switches (HPE): HPE-rebranded NVIDIA Quantum-1 HDR switches — HPE families P06250-B23 (HDR 40-port managed) and P06251-B23 (HDR 40-port externally managed), i.e. the HPE re-badge of Mellanox QM8700 / QM8790.
Switches (NVIDIA-branded): Native NVIDIA Quantum-1 QM8700 (managed) and QM8790 (externally managed). On HPE-strict switch firmware in mixed estates, prefer native Mellanox firmware to avoid HPE-vendor-string rejection.
Adapters (HPE): HPE InfiniBand HDR / HDR100 HCAs based on NVIDIA ConnectX-6 (e.g. P06154-B21 single-port, P06251-B21 dual-port) in HPE Apollo 2000 / 6500 Gen10 / Gen10 Plus, ProLiant DL325 / DL360 / DL380 / DL385 Gen10 / Gen10 Plus, and SGI 8600 nodes.
Adapters (NVIDIA-branded): ConnectX-6 VPI / InfiniBand HCAs such as MCX653105A-HDAT, MCX653106A-HDAT, and MCX653106A-ECAT running in HDR mode.
Reach: Fixed 5 m — intra-rack ToR-to-server and adjacent-rack ToR-to-ToR / compact spine-to-leaf. NOT for inter-row or DCI.
Firmware: Current HPE SPP on HPE servers and matching MLNX_OFED / DOCA-Host on the adapter; HPE switch firmware that pre-dates HDR will not link a P06153-B22.


Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q. What is the HPE P06153-B22?
HPE option kit P06153-B22 is a 5 m InfiniBand HDR 200 Gb/s Active Optical Cable with a QSFP56 plug on each end. It is HPE's branded version of the NVIDIA Mellanox MFS1S00-H005E 5 m HDR AOC, shipped for HPE Apollo, ProLiant, and SGI 8600 HDR InfiniBand fabrics.
Q. Is the P06153-B22 the same as the Mellanox MFS1S00-H005E?
Electrically and optically, yes — it is the same NVIDIA Mellanox 5 m HDR AOC. The differences are commercial: the HPE EEPROM carries HPE vendor strings and the cable is sold under HPE option-kit support. HPE iLO, HPE OneView, and certain HPE switch firmware versions check for the HPE P/N before linking, so for HPE-strict fabrics the P06153-B22 is the correct SKU.
Q. Will the P06153-B22 run as a 200 GbE Ethernet AOC?
No. HPE lists the P06153-B22 strictly as an InfiniBand HDR cable, not a 200 GbE Ethernet AOC, and HPE 200 GbE option kits use different part numbers. For Ethernet deployments, source a 200 GbE-listed SKU instead.
Q. Is this a splitter or breakout cable?
No. The P06153-B22 is a 1-to-1 straight cable: one QSFP56 plug each end, no Y-split, no 1x200 G to 2x100 G breakout, and no twin-port OSFP variant. For HDR100 splitter use, choose a 1xQSFP56 to 2xQSFP56 part (e.g. MFS1S50-H005E) instead.
Q. What switches and adapters does the P06153-B22 work with?
HPE-rebadged NVIDIA Quantum-1 HDR switches (HPE families P06250-B23 / P06251-B23, i.e. QM8700 / QM8790) and HPE InfiniBand HDR HCAs based on NVIDIA ConnectX-6 (e.g. P06154-B21). It also drops into native NVIDIA QM8700 / QM8790 switches and ConnectX-6 VPI HCAs.
Q. Is 5 m HDR suitable for AI training or only enterprise workloads?
5 m HDR 200 Gb/s is an AI / HPC fabric cable: sized for east-west GPU interconnect in an AI training pod, NVMe-oF / GPUDirect Storage links, and HPC compute fabrics between adjacent racks. It is over-spec'd for 25 / 40 / 50 GbE enterprise or OOB management.
Q. What deployment topology is 5 m suited for?
5 m is an intra-rack and adjacent-rack reach — ToR-to-server within a rack, ToR-to-ToR across two adjacent racks, or compact spine-to-leaf inside a single row. NOT for inter-row or DCI runs; step up to 10 m, 15 m, or 30 m HDR AOCs for those.
Q. What condition is supplied by T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS?
Refurbished Grade A. Each unit is bench-tested: HDR link against a known-good Quantum-1 switch and ConnectX-6 HCA, EEPROM / vendor-string check, DDM optical-power sanity check, and full cosmetic inspection. Anti-static packaging, EU stock, 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, and enterprise procurement teams since 2007. We carry HPE, NVIDIA Mellanox, Dell, Cisco, Arista, and other vendors' switching, NICs, DPUs, transceivers, and cables — every unit is identified by MPN, vendor P/N, and ASIC family before it ships. Free pre-sale compatibility advice, EU stock, multi-currency B2B invoicing, worldwide express logistics, and direct technical contact — no call-centre.