Datasheet

IBM Flex System Fabric CN4093 10Gb Converged Scalable Switch 5
With the flexibility of the CN4093 switch, clients can take advantage of the technologies that they require
for multiple environments:
For 1 GbE links (supported on external SFP+ ports 1 and 2 only), you can use 1 GbE SFP
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transceivers plus RJ-45 cables or LC-to-LC fiber cables, depending on the transceiver.
For 10 GbE (supported on external SFP+ ports and Omni Ports), you can use direct-attached cables
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(DAC, also known as Twinax), which come in lengths between 1 m and 5 m. These DACs are a
cost-effective and low-power alternative to transceivers, and are ideal for all 10 Gb Ethernet
connectivity within the rack, or even connecting to an adjacent rack. For longer distances, there is a
choice of SFP+ transceivers (SR or LR) plus LC-to-LC fiber optic cables.
For 40 GbE links (supported on QSFP+ ports), you can use QSFP+ to QSFP+ cables up to 3 m, or
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QSFP+ transceivers and MTP cables for longer distances. You also have the ability to break out the
40 GbE ports into four 10 GbE connections using optional break-out cables.
For 8 Gb FC links (supported on Omni Ports only), you can use SFP+ SW transceivers plus LC-to-LC

fiber optics cables.
Benefits
The IBM Flex System Fabric CN4093 10Gb Converged Scalable Switch is considered particularly suited
for these clients:
Clients who want to implement a converged infrastructure with FCoE where the CN4093 acts as a

Full Fabric FC/FCoE switch for the end-to-end FCoE configurations or as an integrated Fibre Channel
Forwarder (FCF) NPV Gateway breaking out FC traffic within the chassis for the native Fibre Channel
SAN connectivity.
Clients who are implementing a virtualized environment.
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Clients who require investment protection for 40 GbE uplinks.
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Clients who want to reduce TCO and improve performance while maintaining high levels of availability

and security.
Clients who want to avoid or minimize oversubscription, which can result in congestion and loss of

performance.
The switch offers the following key capabilities and benefits:
Convergence and flexibility

One of the key trends that is driving the transformation of the data center is converging to a simplified
networking infrastructure — collapsing Ethernet and Fibre Channel at the server and the edge of the
network while maintaining connectivity upstream to existing LANs and SANs. The CN4093
Converged Switch supports multiple protocols, including Ethernet, Fibre Channel, iSCSI, and FCoE;
IBM Omni Ports give clients the flexibility to choose between 10 Gb Ethernet uplink connections to the
top-of-rack switch and 4/8 Gb Fibre Channel for flexible, scalable, and convenient access to FC
storage.