VxRail: Identification Procedure for SFP, Transceiver, Cable

Summary: This article details how to find one or more part numbers and type of a VxRail node's SFP transceivers. It can help with determining whether the attached network cables are Direct Attach Copper (DAC). The article provides examples of how to find the information during a live support session or within logs. ...

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Instructions

How to determine the type, vendor, and part number of a network transceiver using the iDRAC (and its logs - TSR):

Method 1: iDRAC UI

  1. Log in to the node's iDRAC UI and go to System > Inventory > Hardware Inventory > Network Transceiver
  2. From here, view the InterfaceType, PartNumber, VendorName, and so on.

Example:

iDrac System Inventory


Method 2: iDRAC CLI - racadm:

  1. SSH directly to the iDRAC's IP address or from a VxRail node's CLI with the command:
ssh root@169.254.0.1
  1. From the racadm CLI, run the command:
racadm hwinventory
  1. Search the output for the keyword Transceiver
  2. From here, view the InterfaceType, PartNumber, VendorName, and so on.

Example:

racadm>>racadm hwinventory
…
[InstanceID: NetworkTransceiver.Integrated.1:NIC.Integrated.1-1]
Device Type = NetworkTransceiver
DeviceDescription = Network Transceiver in Integrated NIC 1 Port 1
FQDD = NetworkTransceiver.Integrated.1:NIC.Integrated.1-1
IdentifierType = SFP/SFP+/SFP28
InstanceID = NetworkTransceiver.Integrated.1:NIC.Integrated.1-1
InterfaceType = Direct Attach Copper
PartNumber = D0R73
Revision = A
SerialNumber = XXXXXXXX
VendorName = DELL EMC


Method 3: iDRAC log bundle (SupportAssist - TSR):

  1. After parsing the TSR with Tesseract, browse the resulting UI's Hardware > Network > Ethernet page and look for the Transceiver section.
  2. From here, view the InterfaceType, PartNumber, VendorName, and so forth.

Example:

VxRail Hardware tab

How to determine the type of network transceiver using ESXi (and its logs):

Method 1: ESXi CLI

  1. SSH to the node 
  2. Run the following command to create a .txt file in the node's /tmp directory
/usr/lib/vmware/vm-support/bin/nicinfo.sh > /tmp/nicinfo.sh.txt
  1. Search the /tmp/nicinfo.sh.txt file for the keywords Cable Type
Note: DA = DAC, FIBRE = optic cable, Twisted Pair = copper/ethernet


Example 1:

NIC:  vmnic1
 
NICInfo:
   Advertised Auto Negotiation: true
   Advertised Link Modes: Auto, 10000BaseT/Full
   Auto Negotiation: true
   Cable Type: DA
...

Example 2:

NIC:  vmnic0
 
NICInfo:
   Advertised Auto Negotiation: true
   Advertised Link Modes: Auto, 1000BaseSR/Full, 10000BaseSR/Full
   Auto Negotiation: true
   Cable Type: FIBRE
  ...

Example 3:

NIC:  vmnic0
 
NICInfo:
   Advertised Auto Negotiation: true
   Advertised Link Modes: Auto, 1000BaseT/Full, 100BaseT/Full, 100BaseT/Half, 10BaseT/Full, 10BaseT/Half
   Auto Negotiation: true
   Cable Type: Twisted Pair
 ...


Method 2: ESXi log bundle - vm-support

  1. The same outputs that are detailed above in Method 1 are found in a log bundle's /commands/nicinfo.sh.txt file.


How to determine the Type or Form-Factor of a network transceiver (and if "Dell Qualified) using CLI of a physical Dell switch:

  1. SSH into the switch as the admin user
  2. Run the command:
show inventory media
(This command works in both operating system 9 and operating system 10)

Example 1:

Top_TOR>show inventory media
Slot   Port     Type        Media               Serial Number        Dell Qualified
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   1      1     SFP+        10GBASE-CU3M          16127xxxx            Yes
   1      2              Media not present or accessible
   1      3     SFP+        10GBASE-CU3M          16144xxxx            Yes
   1      4              Media not present or accessible
...

Example 2:

VCF-Bottom-TOR# show inventory media
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                  System Inventory Media
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Node/Slot/Port      Form-Factor              Media                    Serial-Number            Qualified
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1/1/1               SFP+           SFP+ 10GBASE-CR-2.0M                    CN05CWK60xxxxxC          true
1/1/2               Not Present
...
1/1/17              SFP28          SFP28 25GBASE-CR-2.0M                   CN0LXD000xxxxx5          true
1/1/18              Not Present
...
1/1/53              QSFP28         QSFP28 100GBASE-CR4-0.5M                CN0APX00xxxxxxH          true
1/1/54              Not Present


How to determine the part number of a network transceiver using the CLI of a Cisco Nexus switch:

  1. SSH into the switch as the admin user
  2. Run the command:
show interface Ethernet X/X transceiver details
Example: 
switch# show interface ethernet 1/1 transceiver details
Ethernet1/1
     transceiver is present
     type is 10Gbase-SR
     name is CISCO-SOMETHING
     part number is SPP5100SR-C1
...

Affected Products

VxRail, VxRail 460 and 470 Nodes, VxRail Appliance Series, VxRail D Series Nodes, VxRail D560, VxRail D560F, VxRail E Series Nodes, VxRail E460, VxRail E560, VxRail E560F

Products

VxRail G Series Nodes, VxRail E560N, VxRail E660, VxRail E660F, VxRail E660N, VxRail E665, VxRail E665F, VxRail E665N, VxRail G560, VxRail G560F, VxRail P Series Nodes, VxRail P470, VxRail P570, VxRail P570F, VxRail P580N, VxRail P670F, VxRail P670N , VxRail P675F, VxRail P675N, VxRail S Series Nodes, VxRail S470, VxRail S570, VxRail S670, VxRail Software, VxRail V Series Nodes, VxRail V470, VxRail V570, VxRail V570F, VXRAIL V670F, VxRail VD-4510C, VxRail VD-4520C, VxRail VD Series Nodes, VxRail VE-660, VxRail VE-6615, VxRail VP-760, VxRail VP-7625, VxRail VS-760 ...
Article Properties
Article Number: 000202677
Article Type: How To
Last Modified: 23 May 2025
Version:  8
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