Friday, August 20, 2021

Thoughts on name brand vs off-brand SFP modules

I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around the cost difference between [off brand website] SFPs and (for example) Cisco's gear. If one was 10%, or even 50% higher, I could do some mental gymnastics and get it, but [off brand website] is like $20 for a 10GB SFP, and Cisco wants like $600 (SRP, so call it half that, on average.)

Which is your preferred option and why? Are the cheapies just fine as long as they work? I know SOME hardware won't let you use off-brand modules, but assuming that's not a problem, would you rock them? Why or why not? I know there's a "get what you pay for" sentiment here as well, but if they pass traffic, what's the difference? Failure rate comes to mind as one reason people might shy away, but I inherited a bunch of no-name SFPs in production and I haven't had to touch them any more or less than Cisco branded modules.

So then, cheap off-brand SFPs or hardcore OEM only?

Apologies if this violates any rules, I looked at the sidebar and I believe this post falls under enterprise design and/or best practices.



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