Which SFP+ do the NetBackup 5000, 5020, 5200, 5220, 5030, 5230, 5330 and 5240 appliances support for 10GbE adapters? (Long Wave / Long Range / Single Mode) or (Short Wave / Short Range / Multi Mode)

Problem

After the network administration has cabled up the rack with either Single Mode or Multi Mode fiber, the correct SFP+ module to match is needed.

Error Message

Errors similar to the following can be found at boot up in the dmesg log from the DataCollect:

Cause

On early systems only Intel® Ethernet SFP+ SR Optics and Intel® Ethernet SFP+ LR Optics are supported.  Other SFP+ modules are not allowed and cannot be used with these adapters.

Solution

For NetBackup 5000, 5020, 5200, 5220 systems:

Use only the supported Fiber SFP+ modules listed above.

Also, copper cabling on 10Gb Ethernet ports for NetBackup Appliances can be used:

NetBackup Appliances support 10Gb Ethernet connectivity in the majority of models available.   However, some environments do not have a 10Gb infrastructure but instead would like to use 1Gb copper connections to the 10Gb Ethernet Network Interface Card (NIC) on these Appliances.   E nabling 1Gb links over copper requires RJ45 termination on the cabling.   This can be accomplished by removing the Small Form-factor Pluggable + (SFP+) modules from the 10Gb NIC on the Appliance and replacing them with Finisar model FCLF8522P2BTL    SFP+ modules.   These modules (shown at left) have an RJ45 connector that will interface with the copper cable (shown below) and the NIC will auto negotiate to the 1Gb data rate.   S ave the optical SFP+ modules that were removed, as they will be useful when the network is upgraded to 10Gb infrastructure.

Another use of copper cabling is to actually run traffic at 10Gb, but use copper rather than optical cabling.   This is supported by specification for up to 10 meter length cables.   These cables, as shown at left, are typically used as a short run from an Ethernet switch to the appliance.   As in the previous example, the optical SFP+ modules are removed from the NIC.   The cable assembly is built with ‘Twin ax” cable and terminated with SFP+ compliant connectors as seen the picture.   The cable is then used as the run from the switch’s SFP+ port to the 10Gb NIC on the appliance and the traffic runs at 10Gb/s.   These are good solutions for short runs where the switch and appliance are co-located.   The table below notes cables that are specification compliant and should work well for this implementation.

For NetBackup 5030, 5230, 5330 and 5240 Appliances we require SFP+ form factor optics that support 850nm shortwave @ 10/1Gb 400m. Finisar and Avago SFP's are recommended.

Applies To

NetBackup 5000, 5020, 5200, 5220, 5030, 5230, 5330 and 5240 Appliances