AOC active optical cable and DAC high speed cable are both used for data center short distance server interconnection and server switch interconnection. What are the difference between them? Today ETU-LINK will take you to understand it.

AOC active optical cable VS DAC high speed cable

1. Different power consumption. The maximum power consumption of AOC active cable is lower than that of DAC high-speed cable.

2. Different transmission distance. The transmission distance of AOC active cable is longer than DAC high-speed cable. The transmission distance of AOC active optical cable (OM3) is generally up to 100m, while that of DAC high-speed cable is generally about 7m.

3. Different transmission media. AOC active optical cable adopts optical fiber material (insulation), which belongs to optical fiber communication and is not interfered by electromagnetic wave. The DAC high-speed cable is made of copper wire, which belongs to electrical communication and will be subject to electromagnetic interference.

4. Different transmission signals. The transmission signal of AOC active optical cable is optical signal, while that of DAC high-speed cable is low-voltage pulse signal.

5. Different prices. On the one hand, the price of optical fiber material is higher than that of copper cable. On the other hand, the modules at both ends of active optical cable contain lasers, while DAC high-speed cable does not. Therefore, the price of AOC active optical cable is much higher than that of DAC high-speed cable.

6. Different volume and weight. In the same length, the weight of AOC active optical cable is about one fourth of that of DAC high-speed cable, and its volume is about half of that of DAC high-speed cable, which is convenient for wiring and transportation.

7. Different transmission performance. The bit error rate of AOC active cable is lower than that of DAC high-speed cable.

8. Different devices. DAC high-speed cable has no optical device, while AOC active cable contains laser.

Types of AOC active optical cable of ETU-LINK

Types of DAC direct attach cable of ETU-LINK

When selecting cables, we need to consider transmission distance and wiring cost. Generally speaking, DAC high-speed cable can be used for interconnection distance within 5m, and AOC active optical cable can be used for interconnection distance within 5m-100m.