FS: Brocade brand 40Gb QSFP cables (new) and WTB

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Jason Antes

Active Member
Feb 28, 2020
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Twin Cities
WTB:
HPE Proliant DL360 Gen9 rail kit for standard rack.


For sale:
Various Brocade 40Gb QSFP cables that are brand new. Most are new in box, sealed, and a couple are new still sealed in static bags but not in box.

I accept Paypal or Google Wallet. Paypal fee splits 3% with me.
Ships from Minneapolis, MN USA. Pick-up available in North Metro (can pay cash if local).
Shipping to CONUS is included in the price via USPS. Other shipping must be arranged (i.e. different carrier or international).
I have Heatware and Beerology under Wingman (same email address as is on my profile here).
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-3x Brocade 10m 40G-QSFP-4SFP-AOC-1001. This is an Active Optical Cable breakout from 40GbE to 4x 10GbE. Picture is one I have that was used and is the same as what is in the sealed box shown. $200 each $150 each
20200511_094349.jpg 20200511_214651.jpg

SOLD:
-4x Brocade 1m 4x10GE QSFP Passive cable. Used this style cable for in rack switch stacking. Picture is one I have that was used and is the same as what is in the sealed static bags. $15 each Sold
20200511_095015.jpg 20200511_095048.jpg

-2x Brocade 5m 40G-QSFP-4SFP-C-0501. This is a DAC breakout cable from 40Gbe to 4x 10GbE. Picture is one I have that was used and is the same as what is in the sealed box shown. $75 each Sold
20200511_094416.jpg 20200511_094649.jpg
 
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Samir

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Is the optical breakout essentially the qsfp/sfp modules and fibre cables as a bundle or is it more custom than that? Just curious more than anything.
 

ArthurA

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Sep 26, 2018
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Is the optical breakout essentially the qsfp/sfp modules and fibre cables as a bundle or is it more custom than that? Just curious more than anything.
Samir,

Quad packed xcvrs have 4 individual signalling lanes that can then be converted to individual optical signals transmitted over multiple strands of multimode MPO fibre or as distinct wavelengths on a single mode lone pair. QSFPx breakouts bifurcate these individual optical, or electrical signals in the case of these DACs, into individual SFPx connectors.

The AOC's are basically just a pair of optical transceivers with fibre that can't be removed so the user needn't worry about munging up the connectors.

Arthur
 
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ArthurA

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Sep 26, 2018
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Thank you! This was the part I was curious about. :)
I got distracted and forgot to address your specific concern before mashing post. :p

I don't really understand the appeal of AOCs, but then I work in telco and could scope/clean fibre with my head in a bucket of mud. While I have been dispatched far too many times to find DC techs that one click a fibre then jack away, while not knowing they can one click a bulkhead or how to use a scope, that I alllllmost get AOCs... maybe if you can differ vendor codes for each end. But then I slap the snot out of myself and remember the sparing nightmare those things could cause. One or two in a home lab sure, if they were cheaper to offset some of the negatives but they probably aren't any cheaper to manufacture than the components and aren't as high volume... Used though is cool, sorry if this sounded like I was crapping on Jason's sale.

Arthur
 
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Jason Antes

Active Member
Feb 28, 2020
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Twin Cities
The appeal of AOC, at least data center wise, is that DAC's have limited length. Until RJ45 SFP+'s came out, if you wanted to go further than a DAC then you needed optic. Also, optic cable is smaller in diameter and more flexible. In my home setup, I am running all DAC because it's doing short runs of 5m or less, it was cheap, and it works. Once I have my out building, I will run optical cable to it from my 6610 so that I don't have to deal with ground differential issues which is the other reason optic is a preferred option when running outdoor cabling between buildings.
 
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ArthurA

Member
Sep 26, 2018
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I was denigrating AOCs in relation to typical optics and patch fibre. AOC fails; three otherwise discrete components go in the bin, unless it's a breakout in which case you're fishing a hydra with very awkward heads out of the rack to trash the equivalent of 10 discrete components.
10! you say? Of course because only a nutter would run a single breakout fibre to each fractional node. You intercept a panel and make this mess maintainable. And don't get me started on 2-400Gbe.

Even at the home lab level discrete components are cheaper and easier to troubleshoot, if you can keep em clean.

Are you're trenching conduit between outhouses? Do yourself a solid and run a few pairs of classic patch. I'm already looking at surplus 100G NIC prices for the HomeLab costing less than the last stick of ram I bought. Surplus 100G optics and switches are still a bit painful but decent QSFP28 cards will accept QSFP+ Xcvrs and with breakouts a mesh topology at home is feasible and a potential new playground for learning network engineering in virtual.

If you're feeling squirrely and planning to live there more than a decade I'd maybe throw in a couple pair with APC connectors or plan on trolling eBay for a used fusion splicer down the road. If you've got the bug 100G+ isn't far away and troubleshooting ORL at those higher signalling rates is utterly demoralizing.

Snap! It just occurred to me if you use AOCs you don't have to know squat about laser safety...

Arthur
 

Jason Antes

Active Member
Feb 28, 2020
224
76
28
Twin Cities
I myself like the separate SFP's and cables vs the AOC and I can see where I mashed that up and seems like I was saying I was running AOC to the outbuilding. My bad. I will likely be here more than a decade. I won't be running patch because I'm not going to deal with the grounding issues when I have 2 perfectly good 40Gb optics and several pairs of optic cable running in that conduit. Not sure I'd need more than that to an out building really. Yes, AOC does have it's problems, I'll only really use it (if at all) within the house and only because I already have them. I won't be running AOC to the outbuilding, was just answering why it was useful and where.
 
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Samir

Post Liker and Deal Hunter Extraordinaire!
Jul 21, 2017
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I got distracted and forgot to address your specific concern before mashing post. :p

I don't really understand the appeal of AOCs, but then I work in telco and could scope/clean fibre with my head in a bucket of mud. While I have been dispatched far too many times to find DC techs that one click a fibre then jack away, while not knowing they can one click a bulkhead or how to use a scope, that I alllllmost get AOCs... maybe if you can differ vendor codes for each end. But then I slap the snot out of myself and remember the sparing nightmare those things could cause. One or two in a home lab sure, if they were cheaper to offset some of the negatives but they probably aren't any cheaper to manufacture than the components and aren't as high volume... Used though is cool, sorry if this sounded like I was crapping on Jason's sale.

Arthur
Great additional insight! Thank you!