HPE P08238-001 — InfiniBand HDR/200GbE 1-Port 940QSFP56 PCIe x16 Adapter
Technical Identity
HPE 940QSFP56 (HPE PN P08238-001): single-port QSFP56 VPI adapter delivering InfiniBand HDR 200Gb/s or 200GbE Ethernet over one physical cage. Built on NVIDIA Mellanox ConnectX-6 VPI HDR silicon, branded and firmware-qualified for HPE ProLiant Gen10 and Apollo Gen10 servers. PCIe 4.0 x16 host interface. Hardware offloads include RoCE v2, IB verbs, RDMA, NVMe-oF, SR-IOV, and overlay-network encap/decap.
Specifications

Brand: HPE (OEM)
HPE PN: P08238-001
HPE model: 940QSFP56
Underlying silicon: NVIDIA Mellanox ConnectX-6 VPI HDR
Ports: 1 x QSFP56 (single-port)
Protocol: VPI dual-protocol — InfiniBand HDR 200Gb/s or 200GbE Ethernet
Host interface: PCIe 4.0 x16
Qualification: HPE ProLiant Gen10 / Apollo Gen10
Offloads: RoCE v2, IB verbs, RDMA, NVMe-oF, SR-IOV, ASAP2 (OVS offload)
Form factor: Low-profile / full-height PCIe
Condition: Refurbished Grade A

What This Is NOT

NOT dual-port. Single QSFP56 cage only — use P23665-B21 or NVIDIA MCX653106A-HDAT for dual-port HDR.
NOT HDR100. Full HDR 200Gb/s — distinct from the HDR100 (100Gb/s) HPE variant P24248-001.
NOT a retail NVIDIA card. HPE OEM firmware — verify behaviour outside ProLiant before deploying.
NOT supplied with cables, QSFP56 transceivers, or rail kits — order DAC/AOC separately.
NOT a ConnectX-7. ConnectX-6 generation; PCIe 4.0 x16, not PCIe 5.0 / NDR 400Gb/s.

Compatibility

Switches (InfiniBand HDR): NVIDIA Quantum HDR series — QM8700 / QM8790 (40-port HDR managed/unmanaged). Also pairs with Quantum-2 NDR switches at HDR speed via NDR-to-2x-HDR splitter cables.
Switches (200GbE Ethernet): NVIDIA Spectrum-2 (SN3700) and Spectrum-3 (SN4000) 200GbE switches, plus any 200GbE switch with native QSFP56 cages.
Cables (HDR / 200GbE): MCP1650 passive copper DAC (up to 2m), MFS1S00 series AOC (3–100m), MFA1A00 / MFA7U10 splitter AOCs (HDR splitter to 2x HDR100).
Hosts: HPE ProLiant DL360/DL380 Gen10, Apollo 2000/6500 Gen10, Synergy 480 Gen10. Other servers possible — confirm BIOS/firmware compatibility.
OS / Drivers: NVIDIA MLNX_OFED, MFT, DOCA; native inbox drivers in RHEL 8/9, Ubuntu 20.04/22.04, Windows Server 2019/2022, ESXi 7/8.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q. What is the HPE P08238-001?
HPE 940QSFP56: single-port QSFP56 VPI adapter at InfiniBand HDR 200Gb/s or 200GbE Ethernet. PCIe 4.0 x16, qualified for HPE ProLiant Gen10.
Q. What IB speed does P08238-001 support?
Full HDR 200Gb/s. It pairs with NVIDIA Quantum HDR switches (QM8700 / QM8790) and is not the 100Gb/s HDR100 variant (HPE P24248-001).
Q. What is the underlying NVIDIA part?
NVIDIA Mellanox ConnectX-6 VPI HDR silicon — functionally equivalent to MCX653105A-HDAT with HPE OEM firmware.
Q. Can P08238-001 be used in non-HPE servers?
Often yes, but HPE OEM firmware may impose restrictions. Validate boot, link, and driver load on the target chassis before production deployment.
Q. What condition does T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS supply?
Refurbished Grade A — EEPROM-verified, link-tested at HDR / 200GbE, cosmetically inspected, shipped from EU stock.
Why buy from T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS
T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS is a Europe-based data-center networking specialist. Every adapter is MPN-identified, EEPROM-verified, and cosmetically inspected before leaving our EU warehouse. Multi-currency invoicing, worldwide express shipping, and free pre-sale technical consultation on switch and cable pairing included.