Best DAC Cable Vendor

Finding the best DAC cable vendor

DAC cables. What are they, where can I find the BEST DAC cable vendor and why should you buy them from a reliable vendor?

DAC stands for Direct Attached Copper cable assemblies. This has become a very important product over the last 10 years for high-speed networks. It consists of shielded twinax copper cables with pluggable connectors on either end with varying gauges. Why does it have different size gauges? If you need to run longer distances, a thick copper wire is required to support the bandwidth. There are also different types of DAC cables assemblies:  SFP+ DAC, XFP DAC, QSFP DAC. These can be active or passive depending on the speeds you are trying to achieve. They are used in 10G, 40G and 100G applications. Passive DAC cables are short, seven meters or less and do not have any powered circuits. Active DAC cables are powered for signal amplification and for runs up to 15 meters. Let’s take at a couple more reasons why DAC cables might be the right choice for your solution.

1. They have a very low power consumption compared to Optical transceivers. Over time you can save money, up to 70 percent in savings compared to an older MPO network.
2. DAC cables do not need any patch panels or additional products to connect to devices so less are needed for this type of structured network.
3. A DAC cable network is simpler to deploy because it is the only component to be interconnected. You have plug and play simplicity.
4. When connecting DAC cables, there is no cleaning or inspecting as with optical transceivers, so it easier to install.
5. It is a factory tested product. They are 100 percent tested before shipping from the factory.  This provides consistent and expected transmission performance for the channel.

Is there any downside to this product?

1. There is reduced cable flexibility. These assemblies, whether active or passive, have a larger bend radius and weigh more than what has been traditionally used. This places a significant load increase on the cable management and airflow within the cabinet or rack. You may need to change to a larger support system.
2. DAC cables have less modularity. A standard cabling plant improves modularity using patch panels and other devices so you can easily make changes. The DAC system is point to point and requires additional labor to make changes since the entire run needs to be pulled out and thrown away. It can appear to be a waste, but there is no repairing or testing of these assemblies.
3. DAC cables have limited distance. A standard structured cable plant with transceivers is used to reach lengths well over 100 meters, which DAC cables are not capable of.
4. There are many vendors selling DAC cables.  They all say they supply the BEST DAC cables and display the spec of their product. Vetting the list of manufacturers and/or picking the wrong one can be a huge mistake.

This is a high-speed precision product. You need to be careful where you purchase DAC cables. The best DAC cable vendors are here in the United States. They stand behind their products, offering incredible support and warranties. They can provide custom lengths in a short period of time. They have seamless interoperability with network equipment. For example, Bloomberg removed their MPO fiber network and replaced it with a similar DAC network configuration. They were able to save millions of dollars because of these products. They purchased these assemblies from one of the TOP vendors in the country, Legrand. There was no downtime and no problems connecting to their electronics. It worked flawlessly.

If you are looking to change over to this product, please contact C&C Technology Group, Legrand’s manufacturer’s representative for help and ease of transition into this new world of DAC assemblies, cc-techgroup.com.