Are all SFPs the same?

[Greenmantle]

About to buy a new network switch.
It has the standard RJ45 ports and a similar number of SFP ports.
I will need to use both sets top patch in everything via copper (RJ45).
Obviously the manufacturer (Netgear) SFP is lots of money and yes they will say only buy ours.
Has anyone bought the non manufacturer SFPs and survived?
Thanks.

[bitchstewie]

We use compatible SFPs in our gear and they're fine.

I don't know how "fussy" Netgear are but I'd hope/assume not very.

Make sure you get the right sort at both ends i.e. single mode or multi mode and SX or LX etc.

[Mr Pointy]

We've used compatibles from FS.com in Juniper switches & others. Sometimes they do a dedicated type which may have tweaked firmware(?) but they generally seem to work & are competitively priced - well compared to Juniper direct anyway.

[Harpoon]

I've been using some QSFPTEK branded fibre modules from Amazon on my home network for almost five years now without problem. At work, usually recommend the manufacturer (reassuringly expensive) SFPs so if somebody rings support, there's no sucking off teeth when third party SFPs are mentioned...

Are you buying copper SFPs though? Does a bigger switch not work out cheaper?

[nyt]

It seems a waste using an SFP to plug in copper.

Wouldn't you be better buying a switch with more RJ45 ports?

Apols if I've missed something!

[bitchstewie]

Ohh a SFP with RJ45.

Other than make sure the Netgear isn't fussy about the make that should "just work".

[TikTak]

In short no, they aren't all quite the same but yes, people survive and work with it.

My company has survived running it's whole 2 Colocations on blank/non branded SFPs (not that I'd condone it) that I've had to manually code/program to what we need. It occasionally springs up a weird issue but tbh, if we can get away with that in a large production environment, I'd assume whatever you're using it for will probably be OK.

[Greenmantle]

Thanks for all your responses.
Home network is a Cat6A patch panel with about 24 ports.
I then have two 1Gb/s unmanaged 24 port switches with everything patched into it (router, network attached storage etc)
I'm about to by a 2.5Gb router and connect separately a new FTTP.
The router is 2.5GB WAN & LAN side and I can get a second hand 10GB switch fairly cheaply.
The only requirement is that its SFP+.
I'll then migrate only the important stuff on this new set-up and keep the ones that are not really used at 1GB.

[Captain_Morgan]

If you are using 10Gb sfp+ with Ethernet connectors these are significantly power hungry and generate a significant amount of heat. You may want to consider using dac+ connectors or fibre insted.

[Greenmantle]

Captain_Morgan said:

If you are using 10Gb sfp+ with Ethernet connectors these are significantly power hungry and generate a significant amount of heat. You may want to consider using dac+ connectors or fibre insted.

cheers
every day is a school day.

[camel_landy]

I've generally found 'compatible' SFP, SFP+ & QSFP modules to be pretty reliable but for stability & support, I tend to limit their use for client connectivity. ie: limiting any 'blast radius' incase of failure.

Spines, trunks, chassis interconnects, etc. I'll tend to use genuine items.

HTH

M

[BlueMR2]

Greenmantle said:

Thanks for all your responses.
Home network is a Cat6A patch panel with about 24 ports.
I then have two 1Gb/s unmanaged 24 port switches with everything patched into it (router, network attached storage etc)
I'm about to by a 2.5Gb router and connect separately a new FTTP.
The router is 2.5GB WAN & LAN side and I can get a second hand 10GB switch fairly cheaply.
The only requirement is that its SFP+.
I'll then migrate only the important stuff on this new set-up and keep the ones that are not really used at 1GB.

One thing to look out for on cheap 10g switches is the power use.