Wireless Access

Will third-party 1000Base-T SFPs work in a 7220 controller?

I gather that 1000Base-T SFPs are supported in the SFP+ slots on the 7220.  My customer is talking about buying cheaper, non-Aruba plug-ins.  I gather that, as one would expect, they are not 'supported' by Aruba - but will they work?

Well it cannot be guaranteed, yes, most non-Aruba SFP's will work just fine.

Here is a list of the approved interoperable SFPs.

http://www.arubanetworks.com/support-services/interoperability/#SFP-XFP

Has this changed since 72xx series was just released? We tried a couple of third party ones but both listed "not supported" and didn´t link up as I can remember so we bought Aruba ones.

Christoffer only the listed SFPs are guaranteed to work, period.  Any other SFPs *might* work sometimes.

I did miss the -T in the 1000Base-T so perhaps that differs,  and maybe we got lucky but all the1000Base-SX I've tried have always worked.

Then again, if you need to be sure, either test your own or follow the approved list I guess.

Thanks for you reply Christoffer - I'm keen to understand what you mean by 'both listed "not supported" '  ?    Does that mean that you installed them in a 7200 controller and AOS gave you a message saying they were not supported and refused to activate them?   Or did they just not appear on a written list of supported SFPs..?

It's this kind of info I was seeking.  If a manufacturer's device checks that plug-ins are 'authentic' and rejects any that aren't then I think the manufacturer should make that clear.   If the kit will accept anyone's plug-ins and try to activate them all - but with the risk that the link might not come up - then that's a different thing.  I definitely need to be able to tell my customer if the former is the case.

Numpty Dumpty,

Please see the 7200 installation guide here:  https://support.arubanetworks.com/Documentation/tabid/77/DMXModule/512/Command/Core_Download/Default.aspx?EntryId=13770

"Aruba tests and supports Aruba optics within their controller systems. Third party optics are not tested or

Hi Colin,

Many thanks for your reply - it's pretty clear that Aruba will not provide tech support for non-Aruba plug-ins and this has been made clear to my customer.  What I need to understand really is what the host controller does with SFPs, at plug-in time.  If it performs some kind of check for non-Aruba SFPs and refuses to activate them, as a deliberate step, that's a very different thing from 'it might work and it might not'.  Do you know if such checks are performed by Aruba controllers?

Thanks again, in advance...  :)

No checks are performed or enforced.  The customer is allowed to try any SFP.