Networking: RJ45, DAC, or Fiber – Which Is Best in Your Rack? [YouTube Release]

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Rewiring your rack? Choosing the right networking cabling matters more than you think! In this video, we break down the real-world differences between DAC, AOC, Fiber, and RJ45 to help you optimize power efficiency, heat output, and cost for your setup. Whether you’re building a homelab or managing a business network, this guide will help you make the best decision.

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00:00 Which Cabling to use for your Server Rack
01:28 SFP+ VS RJ45 10G Network Cards
02:37 Standard Fiber or Fiber AOC Cables
04:20 Why Choose DAC?
05:36 Understanding SFP and QSFP Options
06:58 Network Card Fiber and DAC Compatibility
07:44 Switch Fiber and DAC Compatibility
08:20 RJ45 10G converters
09:27 DAC Cable Management

Answer, it depends, but all of them are useful to have.

That said, removing fiber cable for DAC where possible, but I do have some qsfp+ breakout cables that are fiber, purely because they were cheaper than copper breakouts.