When it comes to data center 10G network interconnection solutions, we have to mention 10G AOC active optical cables and 10G DAC direct attach cables. Which is more suitable for data centers? ETU-LINK will analyze it for everyone in this blog.

Let's talk about ETU-LINK 10G AOC active optical cable first. It uses high-performance fiber core, good bending resistance, and is not sensitive to bending. In addition, it uses high-quality ceramic ferrule, high return loss, low insertion loss, thick gold finger, The electric shock is stable, and the cable length can be customized according to the equipment spacing.

10G AOC active optical cables are mainly used in 10G Ethernet servers, switches, storage and host card adapters in data centers. Compared with 10G DAC direct attach cable, 10G AOC active optical cable does not have electromagnetic interference, because active optical cable is transmitted by optical signal, while direct attach cable is transmitted by electrical signal, so direct attach cable is used When operating in an environment free of electromagnetic interference.

Next, let’s take a look at ETU-LINK 10G DAC direct attach cable, which is a common cable for top-of-rack wiring in data centers and is used to connect small access switches and servers. Since the SFP+ connectors at both ends of the DAC do not have lasers, detectors, amplifiers and other optical devices and MCU control chips, and the price of copper cables is cheaper than optical cables, the overall price of DAC high-speed cables will be cheaper than optical modules and AOC active optical cables. Many, can greatly reduce the cost of interconnection between devices. The 10G SFP+ DAC supports a passive copper cable length of 7m. Since the DAC is driven purely by electricity, the transmission distance is generally not far. Unless it is an active cable, the transmission distance will increase after adding an amplifier.

Now that we understand both of these transport schemes, which one is better for the data center? In fact, if the budget is sufficient, it is a better choice to choose 10G AOC active optical cable, because its transmission performance is indeed better than that of 10G DAC direct connection cable. If it exceeds 30 meters, it is very suitable to choose 10G AOC active optical cable. If the transmission distance is within 7 meters and the budget is limited, it is suitable to choose 10G DAC direct attach cable.