Eaton N282‑03M‑28‑BK – QSFP28 Passive 100 GbE DAC Cable

Overview

The Eaton N282‑03M‑28‑BK is a passive direct‑attach copper (DAC) network cable engineered for short‑reach, high‑bandwidth connectivity within rack and white‑space network topologies. It is deployed by network engineers and data center architects to interconnect top‑of‑rack (ToR) switches, storage systems, and high‑speed compute nodes equipped with QSFP28 interfaces. Its purpose is to deliver a 100 Gigabit Ethernet physical link with minimal latency and power overhead in constrained cable‑plant segments.

Constructed with dual male QSFP28 connectors and a direct copper twinaxial medium, this 3 m (9.84 ft) cable supports aggregate data rates up to 100 Gb/s (100 GbE) over four 25 Gb/s lanes. It adheres to the MSA SFF‑8665 specification and the 100GBASE‑CR4/IEEE 802.3bj electrical standards for passive DAC operation.

Mechanically, the cable is deployable in data center racks, network aggregation points, and compute clusters where cable length is limited to a few meters and where copper DACs provide a cost‑effective alternative to optical transceivers plus fiber in short‑range links. Its flexible twinax design and ergonomic pull‑tab ejectors simplify installation in dense port arrays.

Integration is native to QSFP28 module ports on switches, routers, NICs, and storage controllers compliant with the SFF‑8665 MSA. No external power or active electronics are required, making it compatible with standard 100 GbE capable equipment across multiple vendors (e.g., Cisco, Arista, Dell, Juniper).

A practical deployment example is linking two adjacent rack‑mounted switches or an aggregation switch to a spine in a leaf‑spine fabric within a single rack or across adjacent racks where runs do not exceed 3 m. Its passive nature is ideal where power budget and cooling are constrained. Conversely, it should not be used for distances beyond 3 m, across hot aisles with excessive bending, or where active equalization is needed — in such cases fiber optic or active DAC options are required.

Key Features

• 3 m (9.84 ft) passive twinax copper connectivity
• Dual QSFP28 male connectors (38‑pos)
• 100 Gb/s aggregate data rate (100 GbE/100GBASE‑CR4)
• MSA SFF‑8665 compliant; IEEE 802.3bj
• Flexible cable with ergonomic pull‑tabs