StarTech.com Cisco SFP-H10GB-CU2-5M Compatible 2.5m 10G SFP+ to SFP+ Direct Attach Cable Twinax - 10GbE SFP+ Copper DAC 10 Gbps Low Power Passive Mini GBIC/Transceiver Module DAC Firepower ASR9000 ASR1000

Product Overview

AI-generated summary

At £29.05 ex-VAT for a 2.5m 10GbE SFP+ copper DAC, this is the kind of “get it working now” cable I like—assuming you’ve confirmed it’s compatible with your exact switch/router model. Passive DACs are great value in real deployments because they’re simple, low power, and remove a lot of headaches versus buying separate optics/fibre. If you’re doing short-reach links inside a rack (top-of-rack to core, server to ToR, or patching between nearby switches), this will likely feel like a bargain.

That said, I wouldn’t treat it as a universal swap for genuine Cisco optics without due diligence. Compatible/brokered SFP+ DACs can behave differently across platforms—sometimes they negotiate fine, sometimes you’ll see “module not supported” or link flapping, especially with stricter firmware/software. So: buy it if you already know your kit tolerates third-party DACs (or you can test quickly). Don’t buy it if you need guaranteed plug-and-play without validation, or if the link needs to run consistently over any marginal environment—optics/DAC compatibility is the real risk, not the price.