40GBASE-CR4 Active Copper Cable, 10m

[marine253]

Hello ,

I am new to the 40Gbps world.

I was quoted the above cable for cabling my nexus 9k. Is this what we call a DAC cable? Does the cable really have 2 40Gbps SFPs at both end? Thus i wont require additional SFP right?

Will it be compatible between a Cisco nexus C93108TC-FX and a cisco nexus N9K-C9336C-FX2?

Will the same cable be compatible betwen a cisco nexus N9K-C9336C-FX2 and cisco firepower 4120?

We also have the passive copper cable. Why would i use active instead of passive? Is it a better option? 

Thanks

[cassiolange]

Hello Marine,

1) Yes this is a DAC cable. Below the picture of the cable.

2) According compatible matrix this cable is compatible with nexus N9K-C9336C-FX2 and C93108TC-FX.

3) FTD is compatible too. 

4) A passive twinax cable carries a signal over short lengths (5m or under) of copper with no additional components to boost signal. While an active copper cable contains electrical components in the connectors that boost signal levels.This makes active copper cables a little more expensive than passive copper cables.

Regards,

[marine253]

Hello Cassiolange,

Thank you.

According to what i heard , DAC is not recommended for inter-vendor connectivity. Would you recommend a DAC cable between a cisco and a fortigate device?

Thanks

[cassiolange · Accepted solution]

Hello, 

This is true, because Fortinet is not will homologate Cisco DAC cables. In much cases this works :D

Regards

[marine253]

:) make sense.

Thanks