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I did some googling about how to establish the connection between SFP+ ports. However, it seemed that there are many ways and combinations to do this. A little bit confusing.

here's the problem: trying to connect datacenter server NIC(basically, the HPE 562SFP+ Adapter) to the TOR Cisco(and Aruba) switches(which provide SFP+ interfaces) in a rack.

I discovered that there are several combinations of "transceiver modules" such as "10GBASE SR", "10GBASE LRM", "single mode transceivers"(10GBASE-LR, 10GBASE-ER, and 10GBASE-ZR), and "SFP+ Copper Transceiver".

Not so sure about how to choose cables for fiber optics.

  1. can I say using "copper transceiver with CAT cables" is a solution?
  2. what types of optical fiber cable can i choose to solve the SFP+ connection problem? does the "SFP+ DAC" provide the easiest way?
  3. will there be any compatibility issues between these optics transceiver and my NIC and switch?
  4. which combination of optics transceiver and cable is probably the cheapest?

quite confusing...

user53815
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  • Pick the cables that meet your requirements first, then look for the SFPs. SR fiber or copper should be sufficient (and cheapest). – Brandon Xavier Aug 10 '20 at 05:14

1 Answers1

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10GBASE-SR is suited for multimode fiber (MMF) over short ranges (depending on fiber grade, 26 to 400 m).

10GBASE-LRM makes sense only for legacy fiber when 10GBASE-SR's reach is too short and you can't redeploy.

10GBASE-LR, -ER, and -ZR are for long range over singlemode fiber (SMF), 10+ km.

10GBASE-T SFP+ modules aren't well supported - check the doc - and usually limited to 30 m reach due to power limitations of SFP+ ports. -T adds some latency as well (for low-density parity check encoding) and uses high power - not ideal unless you require 1000BASE-T downward compatibility.

DACs are (copper) twin-ax cables with integrated SFP+ modules as connectors. With the integrated modules, their major problem is compatibility - many HPE/Aruba switches accept HPE DACs only and the other side might have their own restrictions. You can often get custom-made 3rd-party DACs with bilateral compatibility but then you're stuck with them and can't re-use them elsewhere.

In mixed environments, 10GBASE-SR for short ranges and 10BASE-LR for long ranges make most sense. Do check your specs/manuals for compatible modules and cables.

Zac67
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