VC Flex 10 - SFP Twinaxe Cables Cisco/HP

[MarchHare12]

Hi,

I'm trying to find a definitive answer about the support/maintenance/compatibility of the VC Flex 10 Module and SFP+ Twinaxe Cables.

Your compatibility document lists a HP part number - HP 3m C-series Passive Copper SFP+ Cable AP784A with a note - NOTE: Equivalent to Cisco 3-m 10G SFP+Copper Twinax Cable (PN SFP-H10GBCU3M).

Does this mean that both HP and Cisco cables are compatible and supported or just the HP ones?

We have a VC Flex 10 module connected by Twinaxe to a Cisco 2k/5k Network. Clearly the server is HP, the network is Cisco, however we have a 'grey' area for support/compatibility in the cable such that if we suspect a fault at the switch end we will log a call with Cisco, they however may suggest the fault is with the cable and will insist that a Cisco cable is installed to continue troubleshooting. We will have the same issue if the fault is logged with HP, you will insist that a HP cable is installed to continue troubleshooting....?

I'm comfortable that a cable 'maintenance' issue will only be covered by the manufacturer of the cable but I need to find some clarification around the compatibility/supportability issues?

Can anyone provide any assistance with this? Has anyone had any experience of support/issues in this area?

Many thanks,

MH.

[Hongjun Ma]

HP used to claim "equivalent" between HP part number and Cisco part number for some DAC cables like you mentioned below but it seems that there is some internal rev number changes for Cisco DAC cables so HP can't claim "equivalent" word any more for Cisco DAC cables. I was told that we tried to get what's the change in the new Cisco revision but couldn't get more details. So now if you use Cisco DAC cables, the connection should be fine but it's not in "official" support list. My understanding the support will still troubleshoot but when they feel it's something related to cables, they may ask you to swap HP cables for further troubleshooting. This is the info I know. You can also contact your HP account team/partner to get more info from VC team directly for your case.

On Cisco web, they still certify two part numbers from HP, you may double verify with Cisco to see if that's still the case.

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/collateral/switches/ps9441/ps10110/data_sheet_c78-568589_ps9670_Products_Data_Sheet.html