Direct Attach Copper Cable vs. Active Optical Cable
Nowadays, more bandwidth is needed to Meet the Requirements of Increasing data transmission between the servers and switches. Then many Network Equipment Such as Direct Attach Cable are Designed to provides more bandwidth.
Direct Attach Cable, short for DAC, is a form of cable terminated with transceiver modules on each end. It's Widely applied in the storage area network, data center, and high-performance computing, connectivity, etc. It's a cost-effective, low power consumption and low latency solutionwhich is ideal for high-density.
: According to the materials of the cable, the DAC can be classified into Direct Attach Copper Cable and Active Optical Cable (AOC). Direct attach copper cables can either be passive or active, while the AOC cables are always active. The follo wing figure shows leading types of passive and active cable for data centers. As two kinds of Commonly Used Interconnect DAC assemblies, both Direct Attach Copper Cable and AOC havetheir advantages and disadvantages.
- Advantages of Direct Attach Copper Cable
Enough data rate for Various Applications Today's direct attach copper cable can support higher data rates than traditional copper interfaces-from 4Gbps to 10Gbps per channel. Interchangeable Ability eeeAs the development of copper cable technology, direct-attach copper cable is interchangeable and hot swappable with fiber optic modules. Cost effective-Supporting Such multiple protocols as Gigabit and 10G Ethernet, 8G FC, FCoE and InfiniBand, direct attach copper cable is a Cost Effective Solution over optical transceivers.
- Disadvantages of Direct Attach Copper Cable
The defect of Direct Attach Copper Cable Is that it is heavy and bulky, making it Difficult to be managed. Further More, due to the nature of electrical signal, direct attach copper cable is vulnerable to the effects of electromagnetic interference (EMI), Such as undesirable responses, degradation, or complete system failure.
AOC is an alternative to optical transceivers, Which Eliminates the separable interface between the transceiver module and optical cable. It offers a number of advantages over direct attach copper cable.
- Advantages of AOC
Greater bandwidth-Needing no equipment upgrades, It has a throughput of up to 40Gbps with QSFP +. Lightweight Due to its materials, AOC weighs less than a Comparable direct attach copper cable. EMI immunity-Since the optical fiber is a kind of dielectric (not able to conduct electric current), AOC is immune to electro-magnetic energy.
- Disadvantages of AOC
Compared with direct attach copper cable, the drawback of AOC Is that it May be a little expensive for customers.
Direct Attach Cables Provide good performance in high speed applications in storage, networking and telecommunication. Direct Attach cables can finns save cost and power in short reach applications Because They use the same port as an optical transceiver. For example, QSFP-H40G-AOC7M active optical direct-attach cables from Fiber Store are Suitable for very short distances and sacrifice a very cost-effective way to Establish a 40-Gigabit link between QSFP ports of Cisco switches within racks and across adjacent racks. It's certainement That the products will Continuously evolving to meet consumers' needs of higher data rates with lower power consumption and cost. DAC is Widely applied in the storage area network, data center, and high-performance computing, connectivity, etc.
