StarTech.com MSA Compliant QSFP+ Direct-Attach Twinax Cable - 2 m (6.6 ft)~MSA Uncoded Compatible 2m 40G QSFP+ to QSFP+ Direct Attach Breakout Cable Twinax - 40 GbE QSFP+ Copper DAC 40 Gbps Low Power Passive Transceiver Module DAC

Product Overview

AI-generated summary

For **£28.18 ex-VAT for a 2m passive twinax DAC**, this is exactly the sort of “boring but effective” link you want in a UK data room where you know the ports are within range. At this length, copper DAC is usually the best value because you avoid power-hungry optics and you don’t have to faff around with transceiver compatibility drama—just plug in and move on. If you’re building out **40GbE between switches/servers that are close by** (leaf-to-spine, top-of-rack, short intra-rack runs), this is a sensible buy.

That said, I’d only buy it if you’re comfortable with the trade-offs: **DACs are unforgiving**—they’re short-range by design, and if you’re even slightly off on distance or port compatibility expectations, you’ll waste time troubleshooting. Also, “**MSA compliant / uncoded compatible**” generally means it may work fine in many environments, but some gear is picky about transceiver identification; you should sanity-check your switch/server model and firmware behavior. If you have any uncertainty, optics (or a clearly matched, vendor-tested DAC) can save you headaches. For a straightforward, known-good 2m 40GbE copper link: **buy it**. For anything uncertain or longer than you think: **don’t**.