Directly Connect two QSFP NICs with Active Optical cable?

[0xbit]

Good Day,
I wanted to directly connect two computers which have Mellanox MCX313A-BCBT (QSFP 40GBE) cards directly to each other w/ an optical link and I wanted to inquire as to whether or not this is possible with this Active Optical cable :
15m (49ft) Dell Force10 CBL-QSFP-40GE-15M Compatible 40G QSFP+ Active Optical Cable | FS.COM

I already have them wired together functional w/ a Copper DAC but need to relocate them across a longer run. I did some research but just want to make sure there is no complication going to optical for direct connection. Do the Nics via the active transceivers just auto-negotiate as they do w/ copper Dacs? Is this cable compatible w/ Mellanox cards?

Thanks so much in Advance !
This site and forum have really put me on to a new realm of computing ^_^

 

[i386]

Is this cable compatible w/ Mellanox cards?

Mellanox nics are not picky about third party transceivers/active cables.

If you need to connect two hosts over longer distances why not buy 40gbe optical transceivers? That should give you more flexibility.

 

[0xbit]

Mellanox nics are not picky about third party transceivers/active cables.

If you need to connect two hosts over longer distances why not buy 40gbe optical transceivers? That should give you more flexibility.

Excellent. Thank you very much for the reply and information.
As far as your question, doesn't the above cable have the transceivers attached at the end of the cable thus making it an Active optical cable? Please correct me if I'm wrong. Is there something different about this compared to buying a transceiver separately and then plugging an optical cable into it? Does the pictured allow you to remove the optical cable and replace it with a new one? What are the pros and cons?

As far as my specific use-case, I am relocating some of the compute into a separate room thus need about 40-50feet. This Summer's heat is intense !
The active-cable linked [w/ transceivers built in?] is about $30 from the person I intend to buy it from.

 

[fohdeesha]

an "active optical cable" is just two optics/transceivers with a fiber cable in between them, just like you'd set up manually, except the fiber cable is usually permanently attached to the optics in one way or another. So the upside is you don't need to worry about buying fiber and transceivers separately, but the downside is if you ever want to change out the fiber for something longer, you can't and would need to buy new transceivers.

if you're getting that whole setup for $30 I wouldn't worry about it, that's a good option. I was going to suggest just buying 2x QSFP+ SR4 transceivers and a run of MPO fiber on ebay for ~60 bucks total to save a ton of money off the fiberstore price, but if you can get the whole assembly for $30 that's even better

 

[0xbit]

an "active optical cable" is just two optics/transceivers with a fiber cable in between them, just like you'd set up manually, except the fiber cable is usually permanently attached to the optics in one way or another. So the upside is you don't need to worry about buying fiber and transceivers separately, but the downside is if you ever want to change out the fiber for something longer, you can't and would need to buy new transceivers.

if you're getting that whole setup for $30 I wouldn't worry about it, that's a good option. I was going to suggest just buying 2x QSFP+ SR4 transceivers and a run of MPO fiber on ebay for ~60 bucks total to save a ton of money off the fiberstore price, but if you can get the whole assembly for $30 that's even better

Thank you very much. I thought this was the case. However, I just wanted to confirm before plopping down the money. I will go ahead and make my purchase. It's a brand new cable for $35 shipped 10m run. Perfect for what I need.