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Soft text-DAC cable and AOC optical cable, how to choose between data transmission

In recent years, with the rapid development of data centers, manufacturers and users have increased their data transmission data. DAC cables and AOC cables have become more and more cost-effective high-speed data communication solutions instead of optical modules. use. The choice between the two will have different effects on the entire network data center architecture. This article will start from the comparison between DAC cable and AOC optical cable, and tell you how to choose in data transmission?




1. Advantages of DAC cable

DAC high-speed cable (Direct Attach Cable) is generally translated as direct cable, direct-attached copper cable or high-speed cable. It is defined as a low-cost short-distance connection scheme that replaces optical modules. Cable assembly, non-replaceable port, module head and copper cable cannot be separated. Its advantages: high-speed cables are accepted by more and more users for their significant advantages such as high cost performance, high performance, high speed, high composite, and low loss. The main advantages are the following four points: (1) High performance: It is suitable for short-distance cabling in the data center, with a wide range of applications, and strong exchange capabilities for integrated solutions. (2) Energy saving and environmental protection: The internal material of the high-speed cable is copper core, and the natural heat dissipation effect of the copper cable is good, energy saving and environmental protection. (3) Low power consumption: high-speed cables have low power consumption. Since passive cables do not require power; the power consumption of active cables is generally around 440mW. (4) Low cost: The price of copper cable is much lower than that of optical fiber, and the use of high-speed cables can greatly reduce the cabling cost of the entire data center.


2. Comparison of DAC and AOC


①Different power consumption: The power consumption of AOC active optical cable is higher than that of DAC.


②Different transmission distance: AOC source optical cable transmits farther than DAC cable. Theoretically, the farthest transmission distance of AOC is 300M, and the farthest transmission distance of DAC is 7M. Even if the copper cable has better coating isolation processing or signal preprocessing, the transmission speed and signal recognition will be affected due to the lengthening of the distance, and transmission Changing the wire material to the fiber material can not only improve the signal quality, but also greatly improve the transmission distance.


③The transmission medium is different: the transmission medium of AOC is optical fiber, and the transmission medium of DAC is copper cable; compared with copper cable, optical fiber signal requires less pressure, so the performance is better. With better reliability and anti-interference, the optical cable can provide more reliable data transmission. It is completely immune to many environmental factors that affect copper cables. The optical fiber is made of glass and is an insulator, so no current can pass through, and it is not subject to electromagnetic interference. Crosstalk can run optical cables directly next to industrial equipment. At the same time, the temperature fluctuations of optical cables are smaller than copper, and they can be submerged in water. They are thinner and stronger. Optical cables are lighter in weight and more durable than copper cables.



④The price is different: the price of optical fiber is higher than that of copper. Generally speaking, the cost of high-speed copper cable is 2 to 5 times cheaper than the same length of optical cable. In addition, the two ends of AOC contain lasers but DAC does not, so the price of AOC is higher than DAC. a lot of. In terms of cost of use, DAC does not consume electricity, and because its thermal design requires less cooling, it can greatly save data center operating expenses. If DAC copper cables are used instead of AOC optical cables, a large amount of electricity demand can be saved.



In general, if it is a storage area network or a data center that does not require much distance, DAC is a good choice. If more stable cloud computing, Internet of Things and other high-quality stable transmission are required, AOC can competent.