The General Concerns of Using Cisco Compatible SFP

It seems to be an old topic that whether using compatible fiber optic transceiver is reliable. We have already discussed this topic few weeks ago. Without a doubt, the answer is affirmative.

However, I have found that there are still many questions about this topic in many forums, Q & A sites etc, and most of them are about 1000base t sfp transceiver or other compatible SFP modules. As we know, Cisco is the worldwide leader in networking that transforms how people connect, communicate and collaborate, and owns the most of the switching and routing markets, ie. there are plenty of users of Cisco. In order to ensure the safety and smooth communication of the system, a good switch or router is very necessary, but the costs for other components, such as Cisco SFP modules, usually can add up over time. Due to the open standard of the fiber optic transceiver, the compatible modules have been emerged as the times require. Compared to the original brand, the low cost is really the attractions of of the compatible one. However, it is precisely because the incredible low price, many users usually worry about the quality. This is why we often find the discussion about the compatibility.

Today, I am going to continue the topic about the reliability of Cisco compatible transceiver module through a post in Yahoo Answer. The source of the post.

After reading the post, we found that it is a general situation when we decide to buy some SFP modules for your Cisco devices. In the post, the poster want to buy some SFP modules of the model “glc-sx-mmd“. In general, if we have enough budget, we will buy the Cisco original without the slightest hesitation. Maybe just wanna choose some proper suppliers, or wanna save more, he surfs on the Internet and finds a supplier that offers Cisco SFP only on sale $ 8.00. “it is incredible, is it real?” We can hear him from his tone full of surprise. Through visiting the link he gave, we can know the $ 8.00 Cisco compatible SFP is one of the products of Fiberstore.

Do you have a similar experience like the poster? I think, many users have. But to this qustion, there were divergent views that we can easily see from the answer in this post.

The answer of Yahoo user “I Like Stories” has been selected by the poster as the best answer that give us a full answer of his opinion as well as the reason why original modules is so expensive.

Although he has not clearly indicated whether the compatible modules should be chosen, his opinion is objective.

In most cases, we are biased in favour of the original one due to the stability and good after-sale service of Cisco, or other famous brand. As we said above, if the budget is enough, the original one is the best choice. However, the continued cost of the SFP is too much for many enterprise or lab. In front of the limitation of the cost, a good quality and competitive price module becomes very necessary. That’s why the compatible SFP modules are popular in the market.

From the other comments or the similar topics in many forums, we are not difficult to discover that most of the users have the experience of using Cisco compatible SFP (eg. 1000base sx SFP, cisco glc zx smd, sfp ge t 100 mbps module, etc.). And few of them have bad impression, except some complaints when applied in high security environment, the compatible one not work well as the original one, or even the wrong selection of an unqualified vendor or using the products of bad quality.

Actually, about the definition of the third party SFP transceiver, there is an explanation of the compatibility. If a device requires coded SFP modules (i.e. Cisco / HP) then you need either the OEM module or a compatible version. If the device does not require coded SFP (i.e. Netgear) then you can use any SFP, even a Cisco. In fact, many times, the main concerns of using compatible SFP is the quality and after sale service. If your supplier tells you their compatible SFP is 100% compatible with Cisco’s or any other brands, then you can rest assured to buy as now many suppliers have the service of lifetime warranty, but the premise is you shoud choose a good supplier. Using compatible SFP modules (eg. Cisco, Dell and Allied telesis SFP etc.) is that you won’t sacrifice any quality or reliability with all of the savings you receive. In fact, you get everything you’ve come to expect from Cisco SFPs at a low cost.

OK, at last, we return to the post of Yahoo answer. Is the $ 8.00 Cisco compatible SFP reliable? If it is offered by other suppliers, I can’t ensure it to you. But it is from Fiberstore, I think I can guarantee its authenticity and quality not to mention the other, just from the reviews. In addition, many famous enterprises in the world also use Fiberstore’s products. The blog of CloudFlare had mentioned Fiberstore’s SFP+ modules in their news about the latest generation servers — “We spent significant time testing a combination of SFP+ vendors before finding Fiberstore, a SFP+ manufacturer from which we could directly source SFP+s at a reasonable price that worked in the network gear we wanted to use.”

So, what’s your opinions? In my opinion, if you have enough budget, I suggest you to buy the original one. It doesn’t mean that the compatible one is as not good as the original one but you could save more time in thinking of this question.  If you care the cost, compatible one is the best choice, but you should choose a good supplier as the premise. If you are still confused by the similar question, I hope this article will give you some helps.

Article Source: Fiber Optic Transceiver Products