Cut Sheet

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T E C H N I C A L R E F E R E N C E
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® 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
CAN server cards (noted below). Additionally, some Fibre Channel ports require active copper cables.
Vendor
Equipment
Compatibility Comments
Arista
Switch
Arista does not restrict the use of third-party copper cables. These cables need to
comply with the IEEE specifications, to allow them to be correctly recognized by the
Arista switch. Interfaces with cables not recognized correctly will be disabled. DAC
compatible on 7010T, 7048T, 7150S, 7280E, 7280R, 7500E,7500R series.
https://www.arista.com/en/products/transceivers-cables
Avaya
Switch
Avaya recommends that you only use Avaya-qualified transceivers. If you use other
vendor transceivers, Avaya does not support them. DAC compatible on all models.
https://downloads.avaya.com/css/P8/documents/101012862
Brocade
Switch
DAC compatible on VDX 6740, VDX 6740T, VDX 6940-36Q, VDX 6940-144S, VDX 8770
series. 8000 FCoE series switches are not open to third-party cables. Proprietary SFP+
ports require a proprietary Brocade active cable. VDX6730 and Iron series switches
third-party cables require a custom EEPROM code to work. Panduit can provide a
Brocade VDX6730 specific cable. 1010/1020 CNA server cards only work with Active
DAC cable assemblies.
https://www.brocade.com/content/dam/common/documents/content-types/product-matrix/brocade-vdx-sfp-transceivers-support-mx.pdf
Cisco
Switch/NIC
When a customer reports a product fault or defect and Cisco believes the fault or defect can
be traced to the use of third-party memory products, cables, GBIC's, filters, or other non-
Cisco components by a customer or reseller, then, at Cisco's discretion, Cisco may withhold
support under warranty or a Cisco support program such as SMARTnet™ service. When a
product fault or defect occurs in the network, and Cisco concludes that the fault or defect is
not attributable to the use of third-party memory, cables, GBICs, filters, or other non-Cisco
components installed by a customer or reseller, Cisco will continue to provide support for
the affected product under warranty or covered by a Cisco support program. Nexus
5000/2000 switches are open to third-party cables. Panduit is the only third-party vendor
to have SFP+ DAC Cisco certified cable assemblies on the Nexus 5000 and 2000 platforms.
All other Nexus switches and UCS products are open to third-party cables. Ensure that the
latest OS software is installed. Catalyst Series Switches standard configuration is closed to
third-party cables. Starting from the 12.2(25)SE release, the user has the option via CLI to
turn on the support for third-party SFPs.
http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/prod_warranty09186a00800b5594.html