What’s the Difference of 10GBASE-T Module and SFP+ DAC Cable?

With the sharp increased of Ethernet data processing in the applicable field of cloud computing, super computer, IDC and enterprise data center etc., we are now seeing large demand of I/O. To keep pace with network development and meet the demand, transmission data rates have upgraded from 1Gb/s to 10Gb/s. To accomplish 10GBASE Ethernet network, there are different existing solutions to the access including DAC(Direct Attach Cable) and 10GBASE-T SFP+ transceiver. Each of which comes with distinguished benefits and shortages from each other. But the 10G SFP+ copper transceiver achieves the connectivity with power saving by employing CAT6a/7 cabling structure, and it has a advantage of much flexible usage.

 

10GBASE-T SFP+ Copper Transceiver Overview

10GBASE-T, know as the standard of IEEE802.an, which was released in 2006 support 10Gbps Ethernet network over un-shielded or shielded twinax cables(CAT6/CAT7) with a distance of up to 30m by CAT6 copper. It has developed by the forth generation BASE-T technology of IEEE standard. Upon combined with RJ45 connector and un-shielded twisted pair copper cable to implement 10Mbps, 100Mbps, 1Gbps and 10Gbps data transmission,while compatible application with previous generations.

 

Noticeably, this is the first 10G SFP+ module with RJ45 connector available to deliver a rate of up to 10Gb/s over copper cables. By Compliant with SFF-8431 and SFF-8432 MSA(Multi Source Agreement), the 10G SFP+ copper transceiver is typically invented for high speed network transmission based on 10G Ethernet.

 

SFP+ DAC Twinax Cable Basics

10G SFP+ DAC is established on copper inter-connectivity by using a twinax cable assembly to connect with SFP+ housing. It substitutes the costly optical transceiver required in the Ethernet deployment and tremendously decreases the power consumption, latency and installation time. Based on above, it’s the prior choice of SFP+ DAC to adapt to modern 10G network with requirement of short-distance and high-speed. With a limited transmitted length of up to 12m, SPF+ DAC is very much general used in intra-rack and inter-rack connections. such as interconnected with top-of-rack switches and servers, as well as between storage devices in one rack or neighboring racks.

 

10GBASE-T SFP+ Modules Vs. SFP+ DAC Cables

In terms of transmission length, 10GBASE-T SFP+ is 30m much wider range than SFP+ 10G copper cable which is 7m. 10GBASE-T SFP+ Module has low power consumption copper module which is meaningful to heavy-loaded 10G data center. Despite 10G SFP+ DAC cable has considerably lower overall cost when the counting includes switch, NIC and cable, however 10GBASE-T copper SFP+ transceiver features better flexibility and broader reach length.

 

For data centers, SFP+ 10G copper cable is very much good enough for it’s  transmission requirement, that’s why SFP+ DAC is popular and practical to new data centers. But for wiring closets, 10GBASE-T copper SFP+ module is definitely a priority in order to meet a comprehensive demand of broaden bandwidth, competitive price and down power consumption.

 

Conclusion

Considering above benefits compared SPF+ DAC, we believe 10GBASE-T SFP+ copper transceiver is your first choice to build a flexible and cost-effective 10G Ethernet network. With the continual decrease of it’s price and power consumption, 10GBASE-T will just tend to be more and more popular than SFP+ solutions in 10G rack-based data center that use ToR Switch.