PowerEdge MX7000 supported optics and cables
he PowerEdge MX7000 supports various optics and cables. The sections in this appendix provide a summary of the specified industry standards and the use case regarding the chassis. The following table shows the various cable types that are supported.
Cable type | Description |
DAC (copper) |
|
AOC (optical) | Active Optical Cable |
MMF (optical) |
|
SMF (optical) |
|
The following table shows the different optical connectors and a brief description of the standard.
Connector | Description |
Small Form-factor Pluggable (SFP)
| SFP
|
Quad Small Form-factor Pluggable (QSFP)
| QSFP
|
Quad Small Form-factor Pluggable Double - Density (QSFP-DD)
| QSFP-DD
|
The following table shows the model of IOM where each type of media is relevant.
Media type | MX9116n | MX7116n | MX5108n | 25 GbE PTM |
SFP+ | x | |||
SFP28 | x | |||
QSFP+ | x | x | ||
QSFP28 | x | x | ||
QSFP28-DD | x | x |
Each type of media has a specific use case regarding the MX7000, with each type of media there are various applications. The following sections outline where in the chassis each type of media is relevant.
SFP+/SFP28
As seen in the preceding table, SFP+ is a 10 GbE transceiver and SFP28 is a 25 GbE transceiver, both of which can use either fiber or copper media to achieve 10 GbE or 25 GbE communication in each direction. While the MX5108n has four 10GBase-T copper interfaces, the focus is on optical connectors.
The SFP+ media type is typically seen in the PowerEdge MX7000 using the 25 GbE Pass-Through Module (PTM) and using breakout cables from the QSFP+ and QSFP28 ports. The following are supported on the PowerEdge MX7000:
- Direct Attach Copper (DAC)
- LC fiber optic cable with SFP+ transceivers
The use of SFP+/SFP28, as it relates to QSFP+ and QSFP28, as discussed in those sections.
The preceding figures show examples of SFP+ cables and transceivers. Also, the SFP+ form factor can be seen referenced in the QSFP+ and QSFP28 sections using breakout cables.
QSFP+
QSFP+ is a 40 Gb standard that uses either fiber or copper media to achieve communication in each direction. This standard has four individual 10-Gb lanes that can be used together to achieve 40 GbE throughput or separately as four individual 10 GbE connections (using breakout connections). One variant of the Dell QSFP+ transceiver is shown in the following figure.
The QSFP+ media type has several uses in the MX7000. While the MX9116n does not have interfaces that are dedicated to QSFP+, ports 41 through 44 can be broken out to 1x 40 GbE that enables QSFP+ media to be used in those ports. The MX5108n has one dedicated QSFP+ port and two QSFP28 ports that can be configured for 1x 40 GbE.
The following figures show examples of QSFP+ Coppers. The Direct Attach Copper (DAC) is a copper cable with a QSFP+ transceiver on either end. The Multi-fiber Push On (MPO) cable is a fiber cable that has MPO connectors on either end; these connectors attach to QSFP+ transceivers. The third variant is an Active Optical Cable (AOC) that is similar to the DAC with a fixed fiber optic cable in between the attached QSFP+ transceivers.
The MX7000 also supports the use of QSFP+ to SFP+ breakout cables. This offers the ability to use a QSFP+ port and connect to four SFP+ ports on the terminating end.
The following figures show the DAC and MPO cables, which are two variations of breakout cables. The MPO cable in this example attaches to one QSFP+ transceiver and four SFP+ transceivers.
QSFP28
The QSFP28 standard is 100 Gb that uses either fiber or copper media to achieve communication in each direction. The QSFP28 transceiver has four individual 25-Gb lanes which can be used together to achieve 100 GbE throughput or separately as four individual 25 GbE connections (using four SFP28 modules). One variant of the Dell QSFP28 transceiver is shown in the following figure.
There are three variations of cables for QSFP28 connections. The variations are shown in the following figures.
QSFP28 supports the following breakout configurations:
- 1x 40 Gb with QSFP+ connections, using either a DAC, AOC, or MPO cable and transceiver.
- 2x 50 Gb with a fully populated QSFP28 end and two depopulated QSFP28 ends, each with 2x 25 GbE lanes. This product is only available as DAC cables.
- 4x 25 Gb with a QSFP28 connection and using four SFP28 connections, using either a DAC, AOC, or MPO breakout cable with associated transceivers.
- 4x 10 Gb with a QSFP28 connection and using four SFP+ connections, using either a DAC, AOC, or MPO breakout cable with associated transceivers.
QSFP28 double density connectors
A key technology that enables the Scalable Fabric Architecture is the QSFP28 double-density (DD) connector. The QSFP28-DD form factor expands on the QSFP28 pluggable form factor by doubling the number of available lanes from four to eight, with each lane operating at 25 Gbps, the result is 200 Gbps for each connection.
The following figure shows that the QSFP28-DD connector is slightly longer than the QSFP28 connector. This is to enable the second row of pads that carry the additional four 25-Gbps lanes.
QSFP28-DD cables and optics build on the current QSFP28 naming convention. For example, the current 100 GbE short range transceiver has the following description:
Q28-100G-SR4: Dell Networking Transceiver, 100GbE QSFP28, SR4, MPO12, MMF
The equivalent QSFP28-DD description is easily identifiable:
Q28DD-200G-2SR4: Dell Networking Transceiver, 2x100GbE QSFP28-DD, 2SR4, MPO12-DD, MMF