DAC & AOC Cables Available with Cross Vendor Connectivity

The All-In-One Solution for Short-Distance, High-Speed Links

Low Power Alternative

Direct Attach Copper (DAC) and Active Optical Cables (AOC) deliver both capex and opex efficiencies when linking over a fixed distance (typically short), in-rack, inter-rack or intra-DC. Widely used in HPC and datacenter applications they’re now gaining popularity in storage, networking and enterprise infrastructure.

The combination of surprisingly low up-front costs, with rapid and simple installations and lower power consumption, more than compensates for the reduced flexibility of a fixed cable length in many applications.

Pro Optix’s high-quality range of DACs and AOCs includes options from 10G up to 400G and cover distances from 0.3m up to 200m.

View the full Pro Optix range of AOC/DAC cables here >

DAC and AOC Cable Specialists

DAC – Direct Attach Copper cables with copper end to end, and a transceiver permanently attached to both ends – a direct electrical connection

AOC – Active Optical Cables feature an optical cable with a transceiver permanently attached to both ends, handling the light conversions.

Please reach out to the Pro Optix team for any project support queries you may have, contact information here >

Direct Attach Copper
Passive & Active DAC

DAC Cables

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Lowest cost point to point solution
Plug and play
Very limited range – 0.5 to 15M (technical limitations)
Virtually zero power consumption (passive cables <0.3W)
Speeds up to 400G
SFP+/SFP28/QSFP+/QSFP28/Breakout
Supporting active and passive switch ports
Virtually all switch vendors supported and interoperability between different switches available
AWG 24 to 30 (higher ratings for greater bendability)
Low latency

Active Optical Cables
AOC

AOC Cables

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Reaches up to 300m
Plug and play
Light weight compared to DACs
Thinner and short bend radius
EMI has no impact
SFP+/SFP28/QSFP+/QSFP28/QSFP-DD/Break out
Much reduced capex VS 2 Transceivers and a fiber patch cable
~50% of power consumption VS 2 transceivers
Removes need to clean fiber ends and simple use in field
If you damaged the entire AOC Cable must be replaced

Example Applications

As the use of DACs and AOCs has expanded, data center operators have gained experience of how most effectively to use these cost-effective options. DACs are often used for linking servers and storage to ToR switches and more rarely for linking racks. AOCs are more useful for connecting to EoR switches and are more rarely used in-rack despite their reduced bulk. Although the technology exists for 300m the fixed length and risk of damage tends to limit their use much beyond a few tens of meters.

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Flexible DAC & AOC
Cross vendor connectivity/
bespoke lengths

DAC AOC Cables

Pro Optix compatible DAC & AOC cables are available for many compatible brands, including: Cisco, HP, Huawei, Brocade, Juniper, Alcatel-Lucent, Arista, Extreme and many more.

Pro Optix can supply solutions connecting different vendor hardware, for example Cisco to Juniper.

Pro Optix has a large standard range of cable lengths in stock, but if you have a specific requirement please liaise with the Pro Optix team so we can meet your needs, we are regularly working with bespoke solutions.

View the full Pro Optix range of AOC/DAC cables here >

Cisco	HP
Huawei	Brocade
Juniper	Alcatel
Arista	Extreme
Dell	IBM
Fortinet	Intel
Fujitsu	Avaya
H3c	Allied
D-Link	Transmode

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Contact Pro Optix for more information on DAC and AOC Cables

To find out more about our range of DAC and AOC cables or speak to one of our specialists at Pro Optix about your requirements, please do not hesitate to reach out and we will be in touch promptly.

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With one switch at one end and a different make of switch at the other, Pro Optix helped by coming up with a solution using AOC cable.

Lars C, ABB

Optical peace of mind from Pro Optix

At Pro Optix, we do the due-diligence for you, ensuring all fiber optical network products are thoroughly tested and manufactured under ISO control, and meet the needs of your optical network. All our fiber optic transceivers comply with the Multi-Source Agreement (MSA), are supported by our skilled team, and available for next day delivery with logistics expertise.