Patch LC LC Fiber cable for 10GB nic

[kevin wilson]

Hi,
I am interested in connecting 10 GB ports of IXGBE nic by an optic cable. This nic have optical transcivers to which I can connect LC male to LC male fiber optic cable. A short, MMC cable is good for me. My question is: i am a newbie to optic cables. From the search I made in eBay, I do not see anywhere mentioning which is the speed that the cable which is sold supports - whether it is 1 GB, 10GB, 40 GB or 100 GB.
See for example,

1M Jumper Cable Duplex Multimode LC-LC LC To LC Fiber Optic Optical Patch Cord | eBay

How can I know - does the cable in the link above support 10GB ? And how can I know if it supports IXGBE nic ?

Regards,
Kevin

 

[i386]

That's because the speed is not depending on the fibers but on the optics & electronics (=transceivers) used.
I assume ixgbe is an Intel nic and from what I know they can be picky about transceivers.

 

[kevin wilson]

Hi,
I need confirmation that my understanding is correct: as a general rule, given that the optical transceivers are the ones officially supported by the nic vendor, then any LC to LC fiber cable will do. And that same fiber cable can be used in 1GB setup, 10GB setup, 25 GB setup , 40GB, 100 GB and so on. There is no special requirement regarding speed from optic cables, and this is the reason that this is not mentioned in eBay/Amazon ads selling Fiber LC to LC cables. Is this correct?
Regards,
Kevin

 

[ttabbal]

The exception is that some of the speeds might call for a specific rating of cable. OM2/OM3 etc.. Think of it a bit like CAT5/6. For a 1M jumper though, I bet just about anything will work.

The Difference Between OM Multimode Fibers - OM1, OM2, OM3 & OM4
FiberCables.com - What do OM1, OM2, OM3 and OM4 mean?

 

[Jerry Renwick]

Hi,
I am interested in connecting 10 GB ports of IXGBE nic by an optic cable. This nic have optical transcivers to which I can connect LC male to LC male fiber optic cable. A short, MMC cable is good for me. My question is: i am a newbie to optic cables. From the search I made in eBay, I do not see anywhere mentioning which is the speed that the cable which is sold supports - whether it is 1 GB, 10GB, 40 GB or 100 GB.
See for example,

1M Jumper Cable Duplex Multimode LC-LC LC To LC Fiber Optic Optical Patch Cord | eBay

How can I know - does the cable in the link above support 10GB ? And how can I know if it supports IXGBE nic ?

Regards,
Kevin

Fiber optic cable can be broadly divided into single-mode and multimode fiber types. Single-mode fiber are short for OS1 and OS2. Mulitmode fiber are short for OM1, OM2, OM3 and OM4. Each of them have different specification and usage. For the detailed information, please see this blog : Comparison Between Different Fiber Optic Cable Types - Fiber Optic Solution And for the high-speed applications, there are several types of MTP cables.

How to choose what type of fiber patch cables for 1G, 10G, 40G and 100G setup, it depends on the devices of your network like fiber optic transceivers, NIC, router and siwtches. For example, 10G SR SFP+ cable operate over LC duplex multimode fibers, and 1000BASE-SX SFP modules also connect with LC duplex multimode fibers. That is to say, the LC-LC multimode fiber patch cables can be both used for 1Gbps and 10Gbps network since ebay doesn't mention it is the OM2/OM3/OM4.

In fact, some vendors provide clearer information (such as OS1, OS2, OM1, OM2, OM3 and OM4). From that, you can judge whether it is suitable for your network or not. But a newbie of telecommunication industry, you'd better consult with the rep before purchasing your goods.

 

[pc_doom]

Hi,
I am interested in connecting 10 GB ports of IXGBE nic by an optic cable. This nic have optical transcivers to which I can connect LC male to LC male fiber optic cable. A short, MMC cable is good for me. My question is: i am a newbie to optic cables. From the search I made in eBay, I do not see anywhere mentioning which is the speed that the cable which is sold supports - whether it is 1 GB, 10GB, 40 GB or 100 GB.
See for example,

1M Jumper Cable Duplex Multimode LC-LC LC To LC Fiber Optic Optical Patch Cord | eBay

How can I know - does the cable in the link above support 10GB ? And how can I know if it supports IXGBE nic ?

Regards,
Kevin

Fiber optic cable can be used for all Gigabit Ethernet. 1G, 10G, 40G, or 100G, the transmission speed does not rely on the cable itself, but relied on the modules you used. For example, if you use a 10GBase-SR module, you have to choose a MMF duplex LC fiber optic cable, and the whole cable assembly can achieve 10G data rate.

 

[ziggygt]

this reference is interesting. 12356169 (broadcom.com)
I would like to know why I cannot use Aqua OM4 cables that do not have red and black shields, The ones that have the yellow/white shields do not work. Is there some way to setup the transceivers? or perhaps I had a bunch of bad cables. I see that OM3 and OM4 operate at different laser frequencies. are the transceivers built for a particular frequency? Are they marked? I have a lot of different brand transceivers they work with the red/black cables but no the yellow/white ones. I can I tell what I need to buy next time I need a cable or transceivers. I see some cables labeled as OM3 with red/black shields. Please hele me understand the cable descriptions so I can get the right ones.

 

[piranha32]

this reference is interesting. 12356169 (broadcom.com)
I would like to know why I cannot use Aqua OM4 cables that do not have red and black shields, The ones that have the yellow/white shields do not work. Is there some way to setup the transceivers? or perhaps I had a bunch of bad cables. I see that OM3 and OM4 operate at different laser frequencies. are the transceivers built for a particular frequency? Are they marked? I have a lot of different brand transceivers they work with the red/black cables but no the yellow/white ones. I can I tell what I need to buy next time I need a cable or transceivers. I see some cables labeled as OM3 with red/black shields. Please hele me understand the cable descriptions so I can get the right ones.

Color denotes the type and grade of the cable. In the linked note there is a table describing what color is assigned to which cable.

OMx cables use multi-mode fibers. The fiber is thicker, light travels inside by bouncing from the walls. These cables can be used with transceivers which have "850nm" written on the label. These are the most commonly used cables for 1G and 10 G speeds in LANs.

OSx cables use single-mode fiber. The light travels in a straight line, with almost no bouncing. The transceivers use laser diodes, and the number on the label usually is >1000nm (1310nm is probably the most popular in non-telecom applications). Often used for 100G+ links. Also used for long range links.

The number 'x' in the type tells you what grade of fiber is used in the cable. The higher the number, the better the cable, and the faster you can transmit data through it.

OM and OS cables are not interchangeable.

 

[klui]

You need to start with the transceivers and go through their datasheets. Typically $MODEL-SR... will require multi-mode fiber while $MODEL-LRn.../-ZR... will require single-mode.

The disadvantage of getting cheap transceivers is you may not be able to find the relevant datasheet. The exception of single- and multi-mode fibers not interchangeable is 40G-UNIV transceivers. They use duplex LC fiber and can be single- or multi-mode. Using single-mode just increases the allowed distance of the run.

Again, the datasheet will tell you what kinds of cables you need for any transceiver.

The document is really old and out of date for current capabilities: OM4 use aqua- or magenta-colored jacket; OM5 use lime-colored; OS1 is obsolete and OS2 (yellow jacket) should be deployed; there are 400G transceivers can allow OM3/OM4 fiber although they may need MPO-16 rather than the more common MPO-12.

 

[ziggygt]

Color denotes the type and grade of the cable. In the linked note there is a table describing what color is assigned to which cable.

OMx cables use multi-mode fibers. The fiber is thicker, light travels inside by bouncing from the walls. These cables can be used with transceivers which have "850nm" written on the label. These are the most commonly used cables for 1G and 10 G speeds in LANs.

The number 'x' in the type tells you what grade of fiber is used in the cable. The higher the number, the better the cable, and the faster you can transmit data through it.

Thanks for taking the time to respond. The reason for my question is that I bought some " LC-LC Duplex 50/125 Multimode 10 Gb Fiber Patch Cable Aqua om3-9213" cables from a cable company. They did not work. Those cables were aqua and had yellow/white strain relief and had a thicker cover. Intially I thought they would be more robust. It seems like that was the difference?

The cables that work are C2G 33047 3m LC-LC 10Gb 50/125 Duplex Multimode OM3 Fiber Cable - 757120330479 757120330479 | eBay Cable - or CablesToGo 3m LC-LC 10Gb 50/125 OM4 Duplex Aqua Fiber Cable (#00999) - Brand New 757120009993 | eBay You can see that they have the black/red strain relief.

So what is in the designation of the C2G-33047 cable that shows that it is the wrong cable? I thought it was the yellow/white vs Black/red strain relief. That looks wrong as I see both OM3 and OM4 sold that have that feature. I want to get the right cable next time I need one.

Transceivers are:
Mellanox -MFM1T02A-SR PB_MFM1T02A-SR_10GbE_SFP+_MMF_Transceiver.pdf (nvidia.com)
INTEL - FTL8571D3BCV-IT Intel FTLX8571D3BCV-IT Datasheet (genuinemodules.com)
SOLARFLARE - FTLX8574D3BCL-SL ftlx8574d3bcl-transceiver-ds.pdf (coherent.com)
ARISTA - SFP-10G-SRL

 

[klui]

Your problem most likely stems from the fact that the polarity is wrong between the cable that work vs the the that doesn't. The color of the strain relief has nothing to do with the fiber other than telling you what polarity it is. A duplex transceiver has a port for transmit and another for receive. On the other end the transmit fiber from the first transceiver needs to go with the receive one and vice versa.

In the future get duplex cables that allow you to change the cable's polarity.

Another problem with fiber is the mating surfaces (tip and port) need to be clean. Never blow on the tip/port or wipe the tip on your shirt, cloth, paper, etc. except items meant for cleaning fiber connectors. Get a cleaning pen and use it every time you disconnect a cable and when using a new cable for the first time.