Panduit PSF1AXD11MBL User Manual
web: www.panduit.com
e-mail: cs@panduit.com phone: 800-777-3300 page
1
TECHNICAL REFERENCE
TR104
SFP+ Copper Cable Assemblies Compatibility
Introduction
The Panduit
®
SFP+ 10 Gb/s Direct Attach Passive and Active Cable Assemblies are MSA, SFF-8431, SFF-8432
and SFF-8472 compliant, which means they are compatible with all active equipment with MSA compliant ports.
Unfortunately, Panduit SFP+ Direct Attach Copper (DAC) cable assemblies may not be compatible with
equipment built with non-MSA compliant or non up-to-date ports. Additionally, some equipment vendors may
utilize a lock-out mechanism by requiring vendor specific information on the EEPROM located on the SFP+ DAC
cable assembly connector. This was originally implemented to ensure authorized optical transceivers were used
with a particular vendor’s equipment, and now some equipment vendors have implemented similar requirements
for SFP+ DAC cable assemblies as well. Since DAC cables are often used between two different vendors
equipment, most vendors have removed EEPROM lock-out from their equipment. However, a few vendors
maintain this lock-out feature. The goal of this technical reference is to provide guidance for understanding the
compatibility of Panduit
Unfortunately, Panduit SFP+ Direct Attach Copper (DAC) cable assemblies may not be compatible with
equipment built with non-MSA compliant or non up-to-date ports. Additionally, some equipment vendors may
utilize a lock-out mechanism by requiring vendor specific information on the EEPROM located on the SFP+ DAC
cable assembly connector. This was originally implemented to ensure authorized optical transceivers were used
with a particular vendor’s equipment, and now some equipment vendors have implemented similar requirements
for SFP+ DAC cable assemblies as well. Since DAC cables are often used between two different vendors
equipment, most vendors have removed EEPROM lock-out from their equipment. However, a few vendors
maintain this lock-out feature. The goal of this technical reference is to provide guidance for understanding the
compatibility of Panduit
®
SFP+ DAC Cable Assemblies.
Compatibility Guide
While most equipment vendors currently are open to third party SFP+ DAC cables, the below table provides
awareness of different known compatibility issues with Panduit DAC cable assemblies. The table below will be
updated any time prior compatibility issues are resolved or new compatibility issues are discovered. It should be
noted that while most servers are open, compatibility issues can occur with a few CNA server cards (noted
below). Additionally, some FCoE ports require active copper cables.
awareness of different known compatibility issues with Panduit DAC cable assemblies. The table below will be
updated any time prior compatibility issues are resolved or new compatibility issues are discovered. It should be
noted that while most servers are open, compatibility issues can occur with a few CNA server cards (noted
below). Additionally, some FCoE ports require active copper cables.
Vendor(s)
Model
Comments
Switches from: Arista, IBM (Blade Networks), Dell,
Extreme, Juniper, Voltaire
Extreme, Juniper, Voltaire
Open to all 3
rd
party cables
Servers and adapter cards from: HP, IBM, Dell, Intel,
Qlogic, Emulex.
Qlogic, Emulex.
Open to all 3
rd
party cables
Cisco
Nexus 5000/2000 switches
Open to 3
rd
party cables. Note: Panduit is the only 3
rd
party vendor
to have SFP+ DAC Cisco certified cable assemblies on the Nexus
5000 and 2000 platforms.
5000 and 2000 platforms.
Cisco
Nexus switches
All Cisco Nexus products are open to 3
rd
party SFP+ cables. Ensure
that the latest OS is installed.
Cisco
Catalyst Series Switches
The standard configuration is closed to 3rd party cables. Starting
from the 12.2(25)SE release, the user has the option via CLI to turn
on the support for 3rd party SFPs.
from the 12.2(25)SE release, the user has the option via CLI to turn
on the support for 3rd party SFPs.
HP
Procurve switches
Not open to 3
rd
party cables. Requires a HP code in the SFP+ DAC
cable assembly EEPROM.
Brocade
8000 FCoE Switch
Not open to 3
rd
party cables. Uses proprietary SFP+ ports that
requires a proprietary Brocade active cable.
Brocade
VDX6730 and Iron series
switches
switches
3rd party cables require a custom EEPROM code to work.
Panduit can provide a Brocade VDX6730 specific cable.
Panduit can provide a Brocade VDX6730 specific cable.
Brocade
1010/1020 CNA
These FCoE server cards only work with active SFP+ DAC cable
assemblies.
assemblies.
QLogic
QLE-8xxx-SR CNA
These FCoE server cards only work with active SFP+ DAC cable
assemblies.
assemblies.
EMC
2
VNX Series Unified Storage
Systems
Systems
Will only work with active SFP+ DAC cable assemblies.