How Picky are MikroTik Switches About SFP+ Transcievers?

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mattlach

Active Member
Aug 1, 2014
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Hey all,

I am looking at expanding my network at home.

I have a big honking loud Aruba 48 port switch with 4 SFP+ ports in my basement which I have been using with Finisar FTLX8574D3BCL transceivers. When I bought this switch, I bought the Finisar transceivers in a lot of 6 on eBay at a fantastic price, so I have a couple of spares.

I am considering adding a couple of MikroTik CSS326-24G-2S+RM switches, one on each floor of the house, and connecting them to the main switch in the basement using 10G multimode fiber.

MikroTik sells their own transceivers, but I figured since I have these two spare Finisars, maybe I already have what I need?

How picky are MikroTik switches when it comes to SFP+ transceivers. Should they accept my Finisars just fine, or should I just bite the bullet and order a couple of their transceivers at the same time to be on the safe side?

Appreciate any thoughts/opinions.
 

PigLover

Moderator
Jan 26, 2011
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They are pretty open. I've not found an SFP+ that didn't work in them. Used Cisco, Juniper, Ubiquiti and Fiber Store generics with no issues. The various SFP+ 10GbaseT adapters seem to work well in them too.
 

mattlach

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Aug 1, 2014
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They are pretty open. I've not found an SFP+ that didn't work in them. Used Cisco, Juniper, Ubiquiti and Fiber Store generics with no issues. The various SFP+ 10GbaseT adapters seem to work well in them too.
Fantastic. Thank you for the great and quick input!
 
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Patrick

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Dec 21, 2010
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We had one DAC that did not work in a CRS326. I think that was because the DAC was bad because it would not work in any switch.

Overall, not picky.
 
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Jab.R

New Member
Apr 16, 2016
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Not all plain RJ45 SFP modules work with Microtik.

Consider using singlemode to connect your floors, that way if you ever decide to upgrade to 40 or 100g then the cables will be the same plus singlemode cables are cheap.
 
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mattlach

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Aug 1, 2014
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Not all plain RJ45 SFP modules work with Microtik.

Consider using singlemode to connect your floors, that way if you ever decide to upgrade to 40 or 100g then the cables will be the same plus singlemode cables are cheap.
I appreciate the suggestion, thank you.

At this point all of my transcievers are 10GBASE-SR/SW, so its looking like i will go multi mode just to make use of the trascievers I own.

I'm confused though. From the wikipedia page on the subject, it looks like there are plenty of 40G and 100G interface types which operate over OM3 and OM4 fiber. The range is shorter though, with OM3 in some implementations maxing out at 70m, but I can't imagine needing more than 70m in a single family home.

Either way, if I need ti run new cables I'm not to concerned, as I can easily follow the forced air install, so it's not a matter of tearing apart walls.
 

mattlach

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Aug 1, 2014
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What is a "Forced Air Install" ?
Around here (greater Boston area) most of the housing stock is pretty old. If you are home shopping its rare to find anything built after the 60s-70's.

Central Air conditioning is rare (most people cool using window units in the summer, and pull them out in the winter), with most homes using circulator pumps and hot water radiators to heat the home.

What I was intending to convey is that this house had ducting for forced air heat and cooling installed after the house was built, meaning most closets, basement and the attic have cutouts and cracks and crevices around the ductwork where it is relatively straight forward to snake a little LC connector and fiber through.

To be honest, whoever installed it did a pretty rough job, with insulated duct tubes just kind of hanging in closets. It's on the ugly side. It's on my honey do list to build them in with some wood.
 

mattlach

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Aug 1, 2014
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Side note,

Can anyone recommend a 10G SFP+ direct copper cable that would work well between a MikroTik switch and an Intel X520 adapter?
 

vanfawx

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Jan 4, 2015
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Anything should work. Intel is only picky with optical transceivers, DA's I've had no issues with any I've used. I'd recommend getting a cable from fs.com.
 
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matthew5025

Member
Mar 21, 2016
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Judging by the response, I'm sure you already know that mikrotik's aren't picky, but I'll just add that I'm currently using the FTLX8572D3BCL-G1 in the RB4011 and the CRS309 with no issues at all.

Even details like temperature, voltage and tx/rx power are shown