E810 series cards and compatibility with 3rd party transceivers

[vsi]

Hi,

I found some documentation from Intel stating that  Intel X710 cards only accept Intel branded transceivers, AOCs, DACs etc. However, I failed to find similar documentation for E810-CQDA2 and I would like to know if someone is aware of similar compatibility documentation for  E810-CQDA2, or if Intel has changed their policy on this regard for the 100G cards?

Any information on the matter is highly appreciated.

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Vesa

[Caguicla_Intel]

Hello vesa,

Thank you for posting in Intel Ethernet Communities. 

Please see below information for our response to your query.

Kindly visit this link to Find Compatibility Information for Intel Products

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000025102/memory-and-storage.html

Here is the direct link for Intel® Product Compatibility Tool

https://compatibleproducts.intel.com/ProductDetails?activeModule=Intel%C2%AE%20Ethernet#

Based on our Compatibility Tool link above, Intel® Ethernet Optic QSFP28 SR (Extended Temp) with product code E100GQSFP28SRX is the validated Optic module for Intel® Ethernet Network Adapter E810-CQDA2.

Sharing this link for product specifications of Intel® Ethernet QSFP28 Optic

https://ark.intel.com/content/www/us/en/ark/products/185278/intel-ethernet-qsfp28-optic.html

You may also want to visit this link for Product Brief of Intel® Ethernet Network Adapter E810-CQDA1, CQDA2

https://www.intel.com/content/dam/www/public/us/en/documents/product-briefs/e810-cqda1-100gbe-brief.pdf

We hope that the above information helped you on this request. Feel free to let us know if you have additional questions and clarifications.

Looking forward to your reply.

We will follow up after 3 business days in case we don't hear from you. 

Best regards,

Crisselle C.

Intel® Customer Support

[vsi]

Hello,

Thank you for your prompt reply.

https://www.intel.com/content/dam/www/public/us/en/documents/product-briefs/e810-cqda1-100gbe-brief.pdf it is not explicitly stated if transceivers from 3rd parties (Juniper, Mellanox etc) are ok to use or not. Whereas for example X710 has the following rather clear statement: "You can't use other brands of SFP+ (10 Gbps) modules with these adapters." available here:

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000007045/network-and-i-o/ethernet-products.html

What I would like to know is if the transceivers from 3rd parties are explicitly prevented from working on E810 (as clearly is the case with the X710) cards or if I can use (I get a link and can pass traffic at normal rate etc.) those non-validated optics without support from Intel in case of physical layer issues? As is the somewhat common practice among networking vendors.

Thanks,

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Vesa

[Caguicla_Intel]

Hello vesa,

You're welcome.

Please allow us to further check your concern with our engineers. Rest assured that we will get back to you as soon as we heard an update from them but no later than 2-3 business days.

Hoping for your kind patience.

Best regards,

Crisselle C.

Intel® Customer Support

[Caguicla_Intel · Accepted solution]

Hello vesa,

Apologies for the delay on this matter. Kindly see information below for the feedback from our engineering team.

The E810 series of cards are "Open Optic" which means that we don't restrict them to only Intel branded cables and optics. You may use 3rd party modules but it will be on your own validation. However, if you encounter issues during usage, we may have difficulties assisting you as it is a 3rd party product and unvalidated. The best source of support would be the manufacturer of the modules.

Feel free to let us know if you have questions and clarifications.

We hope to hear from you soon. 

Should there be no response, I’ll make sure to reach out after 3 business days.

Best regards,

Crisselle C.

Intel® Customer Support

[Caguicla_Intel]

Hello vesa,

Good day!

Since you already accepted our latest reply as solution, please be informed that we will now close this case. Thank you for your time and cooperation throughout the process. Should you have any other inquiry in the future, feel free to post a new question as this thread will no longer be monitored.

Thank you for choosing Intel!

Best regards,

Crisselle C.

Intel® Customer Support