400G ACC vs. AEC vs. DAC vs. AOC: A Thorough Comparison
The choice of cables directly affects the performance of an efficient and reliable 400G network. This article will analyze four common 400G cables: 400G Active Copper Cable (ACC), 400G Active Electrical Cable (AEC), 400G Direct-Attached Copper Cable (DAC), and 400G Active Optical Cable (AOC), helping you make the best choice based on your needs.
400G Active Copper Cable (ACC) Introduction
Before understanding the differences between 400G ACC, 400G AEC, 400G DAC, and 400G AOC, we must first understand the definitions of these four types of 400G cables and their advantages and disadvantages.
What is an ACC Cable?
400G Active Copper Cable (ACC) is a high-speed transmission solution based on copper wires. It enhances signal transmission capabilities through an active signal driver and supports a data transmission rate of 400Gbps. Compared with traditional passive copper cables, ACC maintains higher signal integrity over short-distance transmission while having lower cost and power consumption.
Advantages and Disadvantages of ACC Cable
Advantages of ACC Cable
Longer Transmission Distance: Compared to passive 400G DAC, 400G ACC can achieve 2-3 meters of additional reach due to the integrated active chips.
Lower Power Consumption than AOC: While 400G ACC consumes more power than DAC, it is still significantly lower than 400G AOC.
Disadvantages of ACC Cable
Weight and volume: ACC is heavier and thicker, especially in high-bandwidth applications, the diameter and weight of the cable may pose challenges to cabling space and rack management.
Limited transmission distance: Although ACC enhances the signal through active components, its transmission distance is still limited by the physical characteristics of the copper cable.
400G Active Electrical Cable (AEC) Introduction
What is an AEC Cable?
400G Active Electrical Cable (AEC) is an active copper cable adding CDR (clock data recovery) and Retimer chip architecture at both ends of the cable, not only amplifying and equalising the transmission signal but also reshaping the signal, thereby extending the transmission distance.
The longest transmission distance of AEC is up to 7m. It has an FEC function and retiming function to ensure a fully balanced signal with ultra-low bit error rate.
AEC active cables are a key enabling technology for DDC architecture, overcoming the density, weight and performance limitations of copper DACs and the cost and availability of AOCs.
Advantages and Disadvantages of AEC Network Cables
Advantages of AEC Network Cables
Moderate cost: Compared with fiber cables, AEC has lower costs and better performance than passive DAC.
Stronger signal integrity: AEC can reduce signal attenuation, crosstalk and jitter problems, ensure the stability of 400G high-speed data transmission, and improve network reliability.
Disadvantages of AEC Network Cables
Transmission distance is limited: Similar to ACC, the transmission distance of AEC is still limited and is usually suitable for short-distance connections.
Higher power consumption: The signal processing chip built into the AEC requires additional power and consumes more power than DAC, which may increase overall energy consumption in high-density deployments.
400G Direct Attached Cable (DAC) Introduction
What is a DAC Cable?
400G DAC (Direct Attach Cable) is a passive copper cable for short-distance high-speed data transmission, supporting a transmission rate of 400Gbps. It uses copper wire as the transmission medium and integrates fixed connectors (such as QSFP-DD or OSFP) at both ends, eliminating the need for additional optical modules. The transmission distance of 400G DAC is usually limited to 3 meters, making it suitable for in-rack or adjacent rack connections between data centers, high-performance computing and network equipment. It is a cost-effective short-distance high-speed transmission solution.
Advantages and Disadvantages of DAC Cable
Advantages of DAC Cable
Lowest cost: The DAC is a passive cable and requires no additional electronic components, so the cost is very low.
Low power consumption: Since there are no active components, the DAC has extremely low power consumption, making it suitable for energy-sensitive environments.
Plug and play: No additional configuration or signal processing equipment is required, making installation simple and suitable for rapid deployment.
Disadvantages of DAC Cable
Extremely short transmission distance: DAC is usually only suitable for extremely short-distance transmission (such as in-rack connections) and cannot meet long-distance requirements.
Not suitable for complex environments: In environments with strong electromagnetic interference (EMI), copper DAC cables may be interfered with, affecting signal integrity.
400G Active Optical Cable (AOC) Introduction
What is an AOC Cable?
400G Active Optical Cable (AOC) is a fiber-based high-speed transmission solution designed to support 400Gbps data transmission rates. The AOC cable integrates a photoelectric conversion module, maintaining high signal quality and low attenuation during long-distance transmission.
Advantages and Disadvantages of AOC Cable
Advantages of AOC Cable
Firstly, it is much lighter than DAC, ACC, and AEC.
Secondly, AOC is not susceptible to electromagnetic interference, which is suitable for long-distance, high-reliability requirements of the application, such as the connection between core switches, long-distance transmission within the data centre.
Disadvantages of AOC Cable
Higher cost: AOC has a higher manufacturing cost and is suitable for application scenarios with a sufficient budget.
Higher power consumption: Due to the built-in photoelectric conversion module, the power consumption of AOC is higher than that of copper cable.
What is the Difference Between 400G DAC, AOC, ACC, and AEC?
AEC vs. ACC vs. AOC vs. DAC, How to Choose for Your 400G Data Center?
Among 400G high-speed connection solutions, if long-distance transmission is required and high-performance requirements are required, AOC (active optical cable) is the first choice because it is easy to wire and is not susceptible to electromagnetic interference.
If customers have requirements in terms of price, power consumption, etc., and do not require long-distance wiring, then 400G DAC is undoubtedly the most economical choice.
Compared with 400G DAC, 400G ACC (Active Copper Cable) provides longer transmission distance and lower transmission loss. In addition, they are more affordable and consume less power than 400G AOCs.
400G AEC is more suitable for cabinet connections and distributed racks. It takes up less space and can save up to 70% of wiring space compared to 400G DAC. At the same time, it also has advantages over 400G AOC in terms of cost and power consumption.
Conclusion
400G ACC has high signal integrity and low cost and power consumption in short-distance transmission; 400G AEC has excellent signal integrity and transmission distance; 400G DAC has the lowest cost and minimum power consumption and is suitable for extremely short-distance transmission; 400G AOC is suitable for long-distance and high-reliability scenarios, but the cost is higher. Based on different transmission distances, cost, power consumption and performance requirements, users can choose the most suitable 400G cable solution to ensure efficient and reliable data center operation.
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