849436-001 HPE 25Gb SFP28 to SFP28 15 Meter Active Optical Cable

Key Features of HPE 849436-001 25Gb SFP28 to SFP28 15m Active Optical Cable

The HPE 849436-001 is a high-speed data transmission solution engineered for seamless connectivity in enterprise and data center environments. Designed with precision and quality, this 25Gb Active Optical Cable offers superior performance across multiple applications where bandwidth efficiency and reliable connections are crucial.

Main Specifications

• Manufacturer: Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE)
• Part Number / SKU: 849436-001
• Product Category: Active Optical Cables
• Connector Type: SFP28 to SFP28
• Cable Length: 15 Meters
• Data Transfer Rate: 25 Gigabits per Second

Advantages of Using HPE 849436-001 Active Optical Cable

This Active Optical Cable is optimized for modern networking requirements. With a long reach and superior signal integrity, it enhances performance across various systems.

Performance Benefits

• Supports 25Gb high-speed transmission for demanding workloads.
• Minimizes latency to ensure uninterrupted network operations.
• Offers greater flexibility compared to passive cables.
• Ensures stable signal quality across extended distances.

Reliability in Data Centers

Data centers demand consistent uptime and robust hardware. The HPE 849436-001 ensures dependable connectivity while meeting enterprise-grade performance standards.

Highlights for IT Professionals

• Reduced risk of signal interference in high-density server environments.
• Ideal for cloud computing, virtualization, and storage networks.
• High efficiency for backbone and aggregation layers.

Design and Compatibility

The cable is engineered to align with HPE networking equipment and is compatible with numerous devices requiring SFP28 ports. Its 15-meter length makes it suitable for versatile deployments without sacrificing performance.

Physical Attributes

• Slim, lightweight construction for easy routing.
• Durable outer jacket for extended lifespan.
• Hot-pluggable connectors that simplify installation.

Interoperability

It provides smooth integration with a variety of switches, routers, and storage arrays that utilize 25Gb SFP28 interfaces, ensuring broad support across enterprise-grade ecosystems.

Use Cases of HPE 849436-001 Optical Cable

Enterprises and organizations can deploy this Active Optical Cable in multiple scenarios where reliable high-speed connections are a priority.

Common Applications

• Data center networking and high-performance computing (HPC).
• Storage area networks (SANs) and enterprise applications.
• Server-to-switch and switch-to-switch interconnects.
• Virtualization environments demanding higher throughput.

Deployment Flexibility

Its extended length of 15 meters allows deployment in medium-sized setups while maintaining low power consumption and outstanding reliability.

Business Value

• Cost-efficient alternative to transceivers and fiber patch cords.
• Reduces operational overhead due to simplified cabling.
• Enhances scalability of enterprise networking solutions.

HPE 849436-001 25Gb SFP28 to SFP28 15 Meter Active Optical Cable

Hewlett Packard Enterprise's HPE 849436-001 25Gb SFP28 to SFP28 15 Meter Active Optical Cable is engineered for modern data center environments that demand reliable 25 Gigabit connectivity between SFP28 ports. This Active Optical Cable (AOC) pairs the familiarity and hot-pluggable convenience of SFP28 transceiver form factors with the performance benefits of optical fiber, packaged in a factory-terminated, 15 meter cable assembly. The HPE 849436-001 AOC is commonly deployed to connect top-of-rack switches to adjacent aggregation switches, to link switches to servers in ultra-dense server racks, and to interconnect equipment in switch fabrics where short to medium distance high-speed links are required but copper is no longer a suitable option. Because it is an active optical assembly, the HPE 849436-001 contains embedded transceiver electronics and laser sources that convert electrical SFP28 signals to optical signals and back again, ensuring consistent 25Gb data throughput across the full 15 meter span.

Technical characteristics and performance profile

The HPE 849436-001 supports a nominal data rate of 25.78 Gbps per lane consistent with 25G Ethernet signaling on SFP28 form factor interfaces. It is specified for a 15 meter maximum reach which makes it ideal for within-rack and adjacent-rack connections that exceed copper reach but do not require the management overhead of longer single-mode spans. The cable assembly is factory-terminated with SFP28 connectors on both ends and contains active components that perform serialization, deserialization, clock recovery, and optical modulation. The device supports duplex data transmission using two optical channels within the cable, enabling full-duplex 25Gb links. Latency on AOCs is minimal and predictable, which is important for low-latency applications such as high-frequency trading, database replication, and distributed storage clusters. Because the optics and electronics are integrated and tuned at the factory, users get consistent signal integrity without field polishing or manual fiber termination.

Compatibility considerations with HPE and third-party equipment

The HPE 849436-001 is designed primarily for compatibility with HPE networking equipment that supports SFP28 AOC modules, including HPE Aruba and HPE Ethernet switch families that provide SFP28 cages. Compatibility matrices provided by HPE should always be consulted before large deployments, but the AOC follows industry-standard SFP28 mechanical and electrical specifications, which helps maintain interoperability across many servers, switches, and network interface cards that support pluggable SFP28 AOCs. In practice, administrators commonly use these cables to connect HPE ProLiant servers equipped with 25Gb SFP28 NICs to HPE networking switches. Where third-party switches or NICs are used, customers often verify firmware and driver versions to ensure correct link negotiation, power delivery, and diagnostics. The embedded transceivers present diagnostics data through the standard SFF-8472 diagnostic monitoring interface, which most modern switches and host adapters can read when the hardware and software stack support SFP28 AOC diagnostics.

Physical design, handling, and installation best practices

Physically, the HPE 849436-001 15 meter AOC is a slender optical cord with SFP28 connector housings on each end. The cable jacket is designed for flexibility and to route through data center trays and cable management channels without excessive strain on the connector assemblies. When installing, technicians should avoid sharply bending the cable or routing it across sharp edges, and should respect the minimum bend radius specified in HPE's installation guidelines to maintain optical performance and avoid microbends. Because the AOC includes active electronics, it is recommended that installers handle the connector modules carefully and avoid touching metal contacts. Plugging and unplugging should be done using the connector latch and with the equipment powered down if possible during initial deployment, though SFP28 form factors support hot-plugging in live environments. For neatness and to minimize strain, cable ties or Velcro should be used in cable management runs, and the cable should not be bundled tightly with high-current electrical cabling to reduce any potential for heat accumulation around the connectors.

Deployment scenarios and use cases

The HPE 849436-001 25Gb SFP28 to SFP28 15 Meter Active Optical Cable is versatile across multiple deployment scenarios. In hyperconverged infrastructure and dense compute racks, it connects server NICs to the top-of-rack switch where 15 meters of reach provide flexibility to connect across neighboring racks when necessary. In core aggregation or spine-leaf architectures, these AOCs are used for leaf-to-spine uplinks where predictable latency and link integrity are required. Storage area networks and NVMe over Fabrics deployments benefit from consistent low-latency, high-throughput links, and the AOC's factory-terminated design helps reduce the chance of dirty or mis-terminated fiber, which can otherwise cause packet-loss or increased error rates. In lab and staging environments, the plug-and-play nature of the HPE 849436-001 speeds up test cycles, enabling engineers to move equipment and reconfigure topologies rapidly without the need for re-terminating fibers or stocking multiple transceiver types and patch panels.

Power, diagnostics, and management features

Because the HPE 849436-001 contains active components, it consumes a small amount of host-supplied power when inserted into an SFP28 slot. This power supports the internal laser, the clocking circuits, and the digital diagnostic functions. The module exposes standard optical and electronic diagnostics such as transmit power, receive power, temperature, supply voltage, and laser bias current. When integrated with switches and servers that support SFF-8472 monitoring, administrators can access these telemetry metrics through their existing management consoles, allowing them to spot drifts in optical power or environmental changes that may impact link quality. The AOC's active circuitry also supports auto-negotiation of link parameters following the 25Gb Ethernet standard, ensuring that link speed and duplex are correctly set without manual configuration in most environments. For busy operations, centralized monitoring and alerting can be configured to flag diagnostic values that cross thresholds, facilitating proactive maintenance and replacement planning before a link degrades to failure.

Reliability, testing, and lifecycle considerations

Active Optical Cables like the HPE 849436-001 are subjected to factory testing that includes optical power verification, bit error rate testing, and signal integrity checks to ensure compliance with 25Gb Ethernet specifications. This factory validation reduces installation risk and provides a known-good cable at deployment. Over the lifecycle of a data center, the AOC's advantages in reliability stem from the reduced number of mechanical interfaces and the absence of field fiber terminations, both common sources of faults. However, as an electo-optical device it should be treated as a replaceable item whose lifetime can be affected by operating temperature, physical stress, and cumulative plug/unplug cycles. IT teams should plan spares and replacement strategies for AOCs similar to how they manage spare transceivers and optic inventory, and should keep firmware and host drivers up to date to ensure sustained compatibility and support for enhanced diagnostics where available.