NETGEAR M4300-96X with APM402XL: no NETGEAR QSFP+ optics exist, so what goes in the 40G ports
Speccing the uplinks for an M4300-96X before the order goes in, and the 40G side has turned into a dead end that I would like to sanity check with people who have actually built one.
- NETGEAR M4300-96X chassis
- APM402XL port card for the 40G QSFP+ ports
- planned: two 40GBASE-X runs to the neighbouring rack plus a couple of 40G to 4x10G breakouts into the existing 10G aggregation
- the 10G part of the estate already runs on NETGEAR-branded SFP+ parts, which is where my expectations came from
When I went to add the 40G optics to the same order, the accessory list simply stops at 10G:
SFP+ 10G optics and DAC: NETGEAR part numbers available
QSFP+ 40G optics: nothing listed
QSFP+ 40G DAC / AOC: nothing listed
40G to 4x10G breakout: nothing listedWhat I have done so far:
- searched the accessories catalogue for the chassis and for the port card separately, in case the 40G parts hang off the card
- asked the reseller, who came back with third-party 40GBASE-SR4 quotes and no comment at all on support
Is third-party genuinely the expected answer on this platform, and if I put a non-NETGEAR QSFP+ into that card, what exactly am I giving up?
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Comments 2
Third-party is the expected answer here, and NETGEAR's own knowledge base says so: there is no NETGEAR QSFP+ module or cable for this platform, and the position is that you fit third-party 40GBASE-X parts as long as they conform to IEEE. The QSFP+ ports on the APM402XL simply take ordinary 40G optics, direct attach cables and breakout cables, bought separately from whoever you like. So you are not doing anything exotic here, and there is no vendor code check waiting to reject the module.
What you give up is conformance cover. There is no NETGEAR part number to point at when a link starts misbehaving, so whether the module really meets MSA and IEEE is between you and your supplier. Two things that help. There is a separate NETGEAR article devoted to which 40G modules and cables have been checked against the APM402XL - start from that list rather than from a reseller quote, and pull it before you order anything. And buy a small number first, prove one breakout run end to end, then order the rest.
Do not turn that into a NETGEAR-wide rule though. On the M4250 line, including the units rebadged as Q-SYS NS Series Gen 2, the compatibility list is short and entirely own-brand: AGM731F and AXM761 for multimode, AGM732F, AXM762 and AXM764 for single mode, AXM763 for LRM, and the AXC series for direct attach, from AXC761 at 1 m up to AXC7620 at 20 m. Anything outside that is supposed to be cleared with support first, which matters when an install has to be signed off - a module that links happily on the bench can still be refused later as a supported configuration.
Other vendors write the same thing down from the opposite direction. Extreme spells out for the SLX, VDX and MLX gear that anything not on its approved list is yours to carry: no warranty, no liability, no service obligation. The parts that are on the list come with the safety and compliance certifications attached, NRTL, CDRH, CE and EN60825-1 among them. And I have seen a Cisco-OEM 40G QSFP+ cable in a Ruckus ICX 7750 tagged Not supported outright, though that was one report rather than something I tested myself. Same question, three different answers depending on the badge on the front.