IBM 00WT179 — Mellanox ConnectX-5 VPI EDR 100Gb/s QSFP28 PCIe Adapter
Technical Identity
The IBM 00WT179 is an IBM FRU part number for a Mellanox ConnectX-5 EDR 100Gb/s adapter. ConnectX-5 VPI silicon supports EDR InfiniBand at 100Gb/s and 100GbE Ethernet per port over QSFP28 cages, with sub-600 nanosecond latency and a very high message rate. Condition: Refurbished.
Port configuration unverified — read before ordering. The QSFP28 port count of this 00WT179 (single versus dual), the PCIe generation of the specific board (ConnectX-5 is PCIe 3.0 x16, ConnectX-5 Ex is PCIe 4.0 x16), the bracket height and the card form factor are all per unit label. They are not derivable from the IBM 00WT179 number in any source T.E.S can verify, so no claim is made about them here. Everything below states only verified ConnectX-5 EDR 100Gb family facts.
Specifications

Brand: IBM (FRU) — OEM hardware manufactured by Mellanox Technologies
IBM P/N: 00WT179
ASIC family: Mellanox ConnectX-5 (VPI)
Product type: Server network adapter / host channel adapter
Connector: QSFP28
Port speed: EDR InfiniBand 100Gb/s, or 100GbE Ethernet, per port
Port count: per unit label — single versus dual QSFP28 not verified
Protocol: VPI — InfiniBand or Ethernet selectable per port on ConnectX-5 VPI silicon
Latency: sub-600ns (ConnectX-5 family)
Offloads (ConnectX-5 family): RDMA / RoCE, NVMe over Fabrics offload, SR-IOV, ASAP2
Host interface: PCIe x16 — generation per unit label (ConnectX-5 Gen3, ConnectX-5 Ex Gen4)
Bracket / form factor: per unit label
Condition: Refurbished

Engineering Context
EDR InfiniBand runs 25Gb/s per lane with 64/66 encoding over four lanes, giving 100Gb/s per QSFP28 port. On ConnectX-5 VPI silicon each port can be placed in InfiniBand or Ethernet mode with mlxconfig, for example mlxconfig -d <device> set LINK_TYPE_P1=<ETH|IB|AUTO>. The practical constraint on a 100Gb/s adapter is the host slot: a dual-port card at full line rate needs PCIe 4.0 x16 bandwidth, and a PCIe 3.0 x16 slot caps aggregate throughput below 2 x 100Gb/s. That is why the port count and PCIe generation of this 00WT179 must be confirmed from the label before it is designed into a system.
Use Cases

EDR 100Gb/s InfiniBand host connectivity for HPC and AI training nodes.
100GbE RoCE host connectivity for RDMA-attached storage and low-latency Ethernet fabrics.
NVMe over Fabrics initiator or target connectivity using ConnectX-5 hardware offloads.
Service replacement or spare for a server already populated with a 00WT179 FRU.

What This Is NOT

NOT verified as single-port or dual-port. The QSFP28 port count of this 00WT179 must be read from the unit label. Do not size a fabric on an assumption.
NOT verified as ConnectX-5 or ConnectX-5 Ex. The PCIe generation is therefore unconfirmed — ConnectX-5 is PCIe 3.0 x16, ConnectX-5 Ex is PCIe 4.0 x16.
NOT HDR or NDR capable. Maximum per-port rate on ConnectX-5 is EDR 100Gb/s. HDR 200Gb/s requires ConnectX-6, NDR 400Gb/s requires ConnectX-7.
NOT a ConnectX-4 or ConnectX-4 Lx card. Different ASIC generation with different offload capability.
NOT a QSFP56 or OSFP adapter. QSFP28 cages only; QSFP56 and OSFP modules will not fit.
NOT confirmed as a standard PCIe card versus an OCP mezzanine card. Form factor must be confirmed from the unit label.
NOT supplied with QSFP28 transceivers, DAC or AOC cables, or alternate-height brackets.

Compatibility & Hard Constraints

Typical InfiniBand switches: Mellanox Switch-IB and Switch-IB 2 EDR systems such as the SB7700, SB7800 and SB7890 families at 100Gb/s per port.
Typical Ethernet switches: Mellanox Spectrum 100GbE systems and other 100GbE QSFP28 switches, when the port is configured for Ethernet.
Typical cabling: QSFP28 EDR / 100GbE passive copper DAC, active optical cable, or QSFP28 transceivers. Verify module recognition on both ends.
Drivers: MLNX_OFED or DOCA on Linux, in-box mlx5_core on upstream Linux, WinOF-2 on Windows, nmlx5 on VMware ESXi. Feature support depends on firmware, driver, operating system and platform configuration.
Pre-deployment verification: port count, ConnectX-5 versus ConnectX-5 Ex, PCIe generation, bracket height, form factor, firmware level.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q. What is the IBM 00WT179?
00WT179 is an IBM FRU part number for a Mellanox ConnectX-5 EDR 100Gb/s QSFP28 adapter. ConnectX-5 VPI silicon supports EDR InfiniBand at 100Gb/s and 100GbE Ethernet per port with sub-600ns latency.
Q. Is the 00WT179 a single-port or dual-port card?
Not verified. The QSFP28 port configuration must be read from the unit label. T.E.S will confirm and photograph the label on request before dispatch.
Q. What speed does the 00WT179 run?
EDR 100Gb/s InfiniBand or 100GbE Ethernet per QSFP28 port. It is not an HDR 200Gb/s or NDR 400Gb/s adapter — those require ConnectX-6 and ConnectX-7.
Q. Can a 00WT179 port be switched between InfiniBand and Ethernet?
ConnectX-5 VPI silicon supports per-port mode selection with mlxconfig using LINK_TYPE_P1 and LINK_TYPE_P2. Confirm the firmware level and that the board is a VPI build before relying on this.
Q. What PCIe slot does the 00WT179 need?
PCIe x16. The generation depends on whether the board is ConnectX-5 (PCIe 3.0 x16) or ConnectX-5 Ex (PCIe 4.0 x16), which is not verified for this part number and must be read from the label.
Q. What connector does the 00WT179 use?
QSFP28. QSFP56 (HDR 200Gb/s) and OSFP (NDR 400Gb/s) modules and cables are not compatible.
Q. What condition is supplied by T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS?
Refurbished. Each 00WT179 is inspected and tested where test topology is available, with label and firmware verification, cosmetic inspection and anti-static packaging. EU stock, global B2B shipping.
Why T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS
Every unit ships with: (1) link verification where test topology is available, (2) label, firmware and vendor-data check, (3) cosmetic inspection, (4) anti-static packaging, (5) global B2B shipping from EU stock, (6) technical consultation at no extra cost.
Condition
Condition: Refurbished. Pre-owned enterprise hardware, cleaned, inspected and tested by T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS. Supplied without IBM or NVIDIA warranty or support entitlement. Because the port configuration is unverified, ask T.E.S to confirm the unit label before ordering.