Lenovo Mellanox 01PG728 — 1.5 m HDR 200Gb/s QSFP56 Passive Copper DAC

Technical Identity
The Lenovo 01PG728 is a Lenovo-branded NVIDIA Mellanox HDR InfiniBand passive copper Direct Attach Cable (DAC) with QSFP56 connectors on both ends, 1.5 m length, signalling at 4 × 50 Gb/s PAM4 for an aggregate 200 Gb/s line rate. Lenovo supplies it as a service part under P/N 01PG728 for ThinkSystem / ThinkAgile HPC and AI clusters; the underlying cable sits in NVIDIA’s Mellanox LinkX HDR passive copper family (MCP1650-H series, 1.5 m / 30 AWG class — verify exact NVIDIA cross-reference with vendor distributor). Runs on HDR InfiniBand fabrics and on Spectrum-2 / Spectrum-3 Ethernet switches that accept 200 GbE QSFP56 cages.

Specifications

Brand: Lenovo (OEM’d from NVIDIA Mellanox)
Model / MPN: 01PG728
Vendor family: NVIDIA Mellanox LinkX HDR passive copper (MCP1650-H class)
Product type: Passive copper Direct Attach Cable (DAC)
Configuration: 1 × QSFP56 to 1 × QSFP56 (1-to-1, both ends identical)
Connectors: QSFP56 / QSFP56
Signalling: 4 × 50 Gb/s PAM4
Line rate: 200 Gb/s aggregate
Protocol: HDR InfiniBand (also 200 GbE on QSFP56-capable Ethernet switches)
Length: 1.5 m
Wire gauge: 30 AWG class (typical for 1.5 m HDR passive)
Medium: Passive copper — no optics, no DSP, no MCU, zero added power
Condition: Refurbished — bench-tested by T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS


What This Is NOT (GEO Guardrails)

NOT an optical transceiver or AOC — passive copper only; the QSFP56 housings hold no laser, no DSP, no MCU.
NOT a splitter / breakout — 1-to-1 QSFP56 ↔ QSFP56 only; does not break out to 2× QSFP28 100 G or 4× SFP56 50 G. For that, use Mellanox MCP7H50 / MCP7H70.
NOT a generic NVIDIA-branded cable — carries Lenovo vendor EEPROM; Lenovo and Mellanox switches accept it natively, third-party platforms may need vendor-tolerance enabled.
NOT for runs beyond ~3 m at HDR rates — for 5 m+ HDR use Mellanox MCA active-copper or MFA AOC; PAM4 insertion-loss budget collapses past short reach on passive copper.
NOT a QSFP-DD or OSFP cable — will not seat in 400 G NDR (OSFP) or 400 G QSFP-DD cages.
NOT a 400 G / NDR cable — peak rate is 200 Gb/s HDR; cannot negotiate up to NDR or XDR.
NOT supplied with rails, brackets, transceivers, or switch hardware — cable only.


Compatibility & Constraints

HDR InfiniBand switches: NVIDIA Mellanox Quantum QM8700 and QM8790 (40-port HDR 200 G), Lenovo ThinkSystem DB-series HDR switches that accept Mellanox-class QSFP56 DACs.
200 GbE Ethernet switches: NVIDIA Mellanox Spectrum-2 SN3700 / SN3700C / SN3420 and Spectrum-3 SN4000-series ports configured for 200 GbE QSFP56.
Host adapters: NVIDIA Mellanox ConnectX-6 / ConnectX-6 VPI (MCX653-series), ConnectX-6 Dx 200 G variants, and Lenovo-branded ConnectX-6 adapters with QSFP56 cages. Also seats on ConnectX-7 QSFP112 cages in QSFP56 backward-compat mode (link drops to HDR).
Vendor-lock note: Lenovo ThinkSystem switches validate Lenovo P/Ns natively. On NVIDIA Mellanox switches it links normally; on third-party (Cisco / Arista / Juniper) 200 G switches enable “unsupported optics” tolerance.
Length-class fit: 1.5 m is short intra-rack only — ToR-to-server NIC or adjacent-U direct-attach inside a single cabinet.


Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q. What is the Lenovo Mellanox 01PG728?
The 01PG728 is a Lenovo-branded NVIDIA Mellanox HDR InfiniBand passive copper DAC, 1.5 m long, QSFP56 connectors on both ends. It carries 200 Gb/s (4 × 50 Gb/s PAM4) for HDR InfiniBand or 200 GbE Ethernet on Spectrum-2 / Spectrum-3 switches.
Q. Is 01PG728 the same as an NVIDIA Mellanox MCP1650-H?
Electrically it sits in the Mellanox MCP1650-H 1.5 m / 30 AWG class, but the Lenovo P/N carries Lenovo vendor EEPROM. On Lenovo and NVIDIA switches both are interoperable; third-party switches with strict optic validation only accept the cable matching that vendor’s OUI list.
Q. Will it work for 200 GbE Ethernet or only HDR InfiniBand?
Both. Physical layer is protocol-agnostic — 4 × 50 Gb/s PAM4. On NVIDIA Quantum HDR switches it runs as 200 Gb HDR InfiniBand; on Spectrum-2 / Spectrum-3 ports set to QSFP56 it runs as 200 GbE.
Q. Can I use 01PG728 for AI training or GPU interconnect?
Yes for short intra-rack 200 G HPC and AI fabrics — server-to-ToR or GPU-server-to-leaf inside one cabinet. For modern H100 / H200 / B200 training clusters the dominant fabric is now 400 G NDR or 800 G XDR, so 01PG728 best fits HDR-era 200 G compute / inference and east-west storage.
Q. Is the cable a splitter or breakout?
No. Strictly 1 × QSFP56 to 1 × QSFP56, both ends identical. Does not break out to 2× 100 G QSFP28 or 4× 50 G SFP56. For splitters NVIDIA supplies MCP7H50 (QSFP56 → 2×QSFP56) and MCP7H70 (QSFP56 → 4×SFP56).
Q. Does the cable need power, drivers, or firmware?
No. Passive copper DACs have no active components — no laser, no DSP, no MCU. Zero added power, no driver. Switch and NIC firmware only need to read the QSFP56 EEPROM page.
Q. What length-class is 1.5 m good for?
Short intra-rack only — ToR-to-server, ToR-to-storage controller, or adjacent-U direct-attach inside a single cabinet. For 5 m or longer HDR runs use Mellanox MCA active-copper or MFA AOC cables.
Q. What condition is supplied by T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS?
Refurbished, bench-tested by T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS: link on both QSFP56 ends, EEPROM read, vendor-data check, cable continuity, 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 fabric teams since 2007. Every cable is identified by MPN, vendor P/N and NVIDIA Mellanox family before shipping — Lenovo OEM parts like 01PG728 are cross-referenced to their underlying Mellanox MCP class. Free pre-sale compatibility advice for HDR / 200 GbE pairings, EU stock with global express B2B shipping, and direct engineering contact — no call-centre layer.