Third-party or LR SFP+ on Intel X520-SR2 (E10G42BFSR) for a link to a Huawei Quidway 9300
4
For a deployment on Dell PowerEdge R630 and C4140 servers the poster had Intel X520-SR2 adapters (E10G42BFSR) fitted with the bundled Intel FTLX8571D3BCV-I3 10GBASE-SR SFP+ modules (850 nm, 300 m multimode). The uplink switch is a Huawei Quidway 9300 whose SFP+ ports carry 10GBASE-LR (1310 nm) optics, so the SR modules cannot be used for that link. They asked whether a broader compatibility list exists beyond Intel article 000005528, whether a firmware update could let the X520 accept third-party SFP+ modules (later asking specifically about Arista-branded ones), and noted the hosts would run CentOS.
- Hardware: Intel X520-SR2 (E10G42BFSR), Huawei Quidway 9300, Dell PowerEdge R630, Dell PowerEdge C4140
- Transceivers: Intel FTLX8571D3BCV-I3 (10GBASE-SR), Intel E10GSFPLR (10GBASE-LR), Huawei 10GBASE-LR SFP+
- Form factor: SFP+
Symptoms / messages:
10GBASE-SR (850 nm) optics on the NIC cannot pair with the switch's 10GBASE-LR (1310 nm) ports
third-party SFP+ modules not accepted by the X520 series
no firmware-based unlock for non-Intel modules offered
Comments 3
Intel support said the linked article is the only compatibility list for the X520 series, that third-party modules are not recommended because they may or may not work, and quoted the article's statement that other brands of SFP+ optics do not work with the X520 and the listed Intel SFP+ SR or LR optics must be used.
Support suggested either exchanging a newly purchased X520-SR2 for an X520-DA2 plus two Intel E10GSFPLR modules, or simply buying E10GSFPLR (confirmed as the LR product code) and fitting them in the X520-SR2, since any mix of supported SFP+ optics, SFP modules and DACs can be installed in the dual-port adapter; links to the supported OS lists for the X520 were also provided.
When the poster asked about Arista or other third-party optics, support repeated that nothing outside the list is recommended and asked for the adapter's PBA markings to determine whether it is a retail or OEM card.