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Dell SFP+ 10GbE Copper Twinax Cabling for PS6210x Array
Are these cables compatible/supported for 10GB iSCSI connectivity between the PS6210X and Dell N4032F switches?
I've already purchased the array and two N4032F switches. I wanted the non-F model of the N4032 switches and was going to use 10GBASE-T all the way through but the fiber models got ordered inadvertently and the restocking fee makes exchanging them infeasible.
I have three PowerEdge R630 servers that I am ordering fiber NICs for (info on that below). I have already confirmed the twinax cables can be used for connectivity from the servers to the N4032F switches but am having a hard time getting confirmation on using the same cables from the PS6210x to those switches. Can anyone confirm whether they will work prior to me ordering them? These are the cables I am asking about:
Dell Force10 CBL-10GSFP-DAC-1.5M Compatible 10G SFP+ Passive Direct Attach Copper Twinax Cable
https://www.fs.com/products/40139.html
In case it is relevant, these are the fiber NICs I am ordering for the R630 servers:
QLogic 57810 Dual Port 10Gb Direct Attach/SFP+ Low Profile Network Adapter
http://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/qlogic-57810-dual-port-10gb-direct-attach-sfp-low-profile-network-adaptercustomer-kit/apd/540-bbdx/networking
bealdrid2
117 Posts
1
April 25th, 2018 11:00
I know for certain we have "non-Dell" SFP+ twinax (I even think some of the exact ones you linked to from fs.com) deployed in our environment which consists of PS6210 arrays and N4032F switches, and there are no problems. I believe you would be more likely to hit issues if you tried to use non-approved optical transceivers in the array. I have used a number of different vendors SFP+ twinax cables in our arrays and switches over the years, and have not once had an incompatibility.
Anonymous
5 Practitioner
5 Practitioner
•
274.2K Posts
1
April 25th, 2018 12:00
Hello,
I agree I don't see any reason those cables won't work fine. Key things are:
1.) Passive not active
2.) Less than 7M length.
3.) Typically follow the suggestions of the switch mfr, when they don't conflict with other items.
Regards,
Don
dell-richard g
605 Posts
1
April 25th, 2018 22:00
On the cables you mentioned (fs.com), it's interesting that they mention Force10 qualified. Sounds promising.
I would recommend that you occasionally check the switch port statistics and make sure that there are no unexpected link errors (i.e. CRCs). Such errors "usually" indicate cable/media related failures.
Also, switches have a CLI command to confirm if a cable is DELL qualified. For example, on DELL S-Series switches, you can run a "show inventory media" to get status. (even though it may not be DELL qualified, it can still function). I don't have a N-Series switch, so you may want to chk the equivalent CLI command in the user's guide.
Example DELL S-Series Switch
show inventory media
Port Type Media Dell EMC - Qualified
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5 SFP+ 10GBASE-SR Yes
49 QSFP28 100GBASE-CR4-1M Yes
54 QSFP28 100GBASE-CR4-2M No
Supernaut2018
9 Posts
0
April 25th, 2018 11:00
Thank you, the twinax seemed like the safest bet to me also but I just wanted to verify. I appreciate the fast response.
Supernaut2018
9 Posts
0
April 26th, 2018 11:00
Thank you guys for the help, I appreciate your time and input. I went ahead and ordered the cables today, I will post back if any issues. If I don't post back we can assume they worked as we expect them to.
Thanks again,
Steve