SFP+ Cables?

[OhioYJ]

Quick question that google is failing me on. So I'm looking at SFP+ cables, and I'm noticing that these cables can be ordered "generic" or for specific brands (Example)? Would a generic cable work right (I would like to join two different brands of equipment)? Or am I really stuck having a custom cable made?

[Nick7]

Depends on what equipment you are connecting.

Not every equipment supports every SFP, so it depends what you are connecting.

[OhioYJ]

1 hour ago, Nick7 said:

Depends on what equipment you are connecting.

Not every equipment supports every SFP, so it depends what you are connecting.

Well both pieces would have SFP+ ports. (I'm still nailing down exactly which parts I'm buying for my network upgrade)  Looking through the manuals, I noticed, it appears the cables are "generic" unless the vendor locks it out for some reason, best I can tell.  So from my reading I could connect a Netgate firewall and Asus router using a SFP+ generic cable is my understanding?

[Nayr438]

4 hours ago, OhioYJ said:

Well both pieces would have SFP+ ports

It's a firmware compatibility thing. Just because it's SFP, doesn't mean its compatible. Sharing what 2 devices you are trying to connect would be helpful.

 

[OhioYJ]

6 minutes ago, Nayr438 said:

Sharing what 2 devices you are trying to connect would be helpful.

I'm still shopping and planning.  For instance, I was looking at maybe a Netgate 6100 and maybe an Asus RT-AX89X. I don't think these two have firmware "locks" from what I can tell?

 

Would an SFP+ to RJ45 converter perhaps simplify this a bit? Routers with SFP+ ports aren't exactly common anyways.

[RollinLower]

4 hours ago, OhioYJ said:

I'm still shopping and planning.  For instance, I was looking at maybe a Netgate 6100 and maybe an Asus RT-AX89X. I don't think these two have firmware "locks" from what I can tell?

 

Would an SFP+ to RJ45 converter perhaps simplify this a bit? Routers with SFP+ ports aren't exactly common anyways.

not really, as stated it's a firmware thing. so you might need to flash the SFP+to RJ45 adapter to the correct firmware aswell.

 

that being said, usually just a gereic SFP+ cable works. most devices know how to handle multiple firmwares. (from what i've seen working in datacenters anyway, there is probably always a device that wants some specific 1s and 0s.)