Optic.ca NGQ4X25-CU3M-OC — 100G QSFP28 to 4×25G SFP28 breakout DAC cable
The Optic.ca NGQ4X25-CU3M-OC is a 100GBASE passive twinax copper breakout Direct Attach Cable (DAC) designed for high-density data centre and enterprise switching environments. It connects a single 100G QSFP28 port to four independent 25G SFP28 ports over a 3-metre copper cable, enabling cost-effective port breakout without active optics. Engineered and coded in-house by Optic.ca and 100% NETGEAR certified, it is purpose-built for NETGEAR M4350 and M4500 series switches. Pre-tested before shipment and backed by a lifetime warranty, it offers a reliable, plug-and-play alternative to OEM cables at a fraction of the cost.
QSFP28 to 4×SFP28 Port Breakout
This cable physically splits a single 100G QSFP28 switch port into four separate 25GbE SFP28 connections, each running at 25 Gbps. In practice this means one high-speed uplink port on a core or aggregation switch can serve four independent servers or top-of-rack switches simultaneously — quadrupling effective port utilisation. For data centres moving to 25G server NICs, this is the most cost-efficient way to connect new servers to an existing 100G switching infrastructure without adding additional switch hardware.
Passive Copper DAC — Zero Active Components
As a fully passive cable assembly, the NGQ4X25-CU3M-OC contains no active electronics, laser drivers or power regulators. Power consumption is essentially nil on the cable side, and there are no active components to fail over time. For short-reach rack-to-rack or top-of-rack connections within 3 metres, passive DAC cables are the industry-proven, lowest-latency interconnect choice — delivering sub-100 ns latency with no serialisation overhead. The twinax copper construction is also inherently immune to the optical alignment and contamination issues that can affect fibre-based alternatives.
100% NETGEAR Certified — Guaranteed Compatibility
NETGEAR has formally partnered with Optic.ca and certifies this cable for use in its M4350 and M4500 switch series. The certification means the cable's EEPROM coding has been validated against NETGEAR's firmware, so the switch recognises and accepts it without generating unsupported-module errors or requiring CLI overrides. This is a critical practical distinction: many third-party DAC cables trigger compatibility warnings on managed switches, which can require extra configuration steps or even prevent the link from coming up. With a certified cable, deployment is truly plug-and-play.
In-House Coding for Flawless Interoperability
Optic.ca codes every DAC cable in-house rather than relying on generic factory firmware. This means the EEPROM data — including vendor ID, part number, serial number, and compatibility flags — is tailored precisely to match what NETGEAR switches expect. The practical result is that the cable behaves identically to an OEM part at the firmware level, with no compatibility compromises. It also gives Optic.ca the flexibility to provide specialised coding for non-standard configurations if a deployment requires it.
Digital Diagnostic Monitoring (DDM)
The cable supports DDM (also known as DOM — Digital Optical Monitoring), allowing the connected switch to read real-time diagnostic data from the module, including temperature and supply voltage. This enables proactive fault detection and simplifies troubleshooting: network administrators can query link health directly from the switch CLI or NMS without physical inspection. For managed environments where uptime is critical, DDM is a meaningful operational advantage over non-monitored passive cables.
Lifetime Warranty and Pre-Shipment Testing
Every Optic.ca DAC cable is tested before shipment and covered by a lifetime warranty on the transceiver/module side, plus a manufacturing defect warranty on the cable assembly. Components are sourced to Tier 1 MTBF standards — the same reliability bar as OEM parts. For network operators, this means a lower total cost of ownership compared to OEM pricing, without compromising on reliability or support. A defective cable will be replaced, not debated.
