NetScaler MPX™

Transceiver, DACs, AOCs’ matrix

Platform port topology

Platform Form Factor NIC Configuration SFP56 Ports (10G/25G/50G) QSFP56 Ports (40G/100G/200G)
NetScaler MPX/SDX 9200 1U 2x ConnectX-7 quad-port 50G 8 0
NetScaler MPX/SDX 17000 2U 2x ConnectX-7 quad-port 50G AND 2x ConnectX-7 dual-port 200G 8 4

Implication: The 9200 has no QSFP-class ports. Any 40G, 100G, or 200G transceiver, DAC, or AOC is supported only on the MPX/SDX 17000 via the two 200G NICs. The 8x SFP56 ports on both platforms accept 10G SFP+, 25G SFP28, and 50G SFP56 modules, DACs, and AOCs.

Supported Transceivers, DACs & AOCs’ matrix

Note:

When customers order a transceiver using a Citrix SKU, the received package or box may show only the Citrix MPN.

Citrix SKU Citrix MPN Description Speed Form Factor Encoding Reach / Media Forward Error Correction Auto-Neg MPX/SDX 9200 MPX/SDX 17000
6003085 9530401 NetScaler 50GbE SFP56 SR LC, OM3 70m; NS 9200/17000 50G SFP56 PAM4 OM3 70m / OM4 100m RS-FEC Yes Supported Supported
6003088 9530402 NetScaler 25GbE SFP28 SR LC, OM3 70m; NS 9200/17000 25G SFP28 NRZ OM3 70m / OM4 100m FC-FEC Yes Supported Supported
6003090 9530403 NetScaler 10GbE SFP+ SR LC, OM3 300m; NS 9200/17000 10G SFP+ NRZ OM3 300m / OM4 400m None Yes Supported Supported
6003142 9530405 NetScaler 50GbE SFP56 LR LC, OS2 10km; NS 9200/17000 50G SFP56 PAM4 SMF (OS2) 10 km RS-FEC Yes Supported Supported
6003127 9530406 NetScaler 25GbE SFP28 LR LC, OS2 10km; NS 9200/17000 25G SFP28 NRZ SMF (OS2) 10 km FC-FEC Yes Supported Supported
6003128 9530407 NetScaler 10GbE SFP+ LR LC, OS2 10km; NS 9200/17000 10G SFP+ NRZ SMF (OS2) 10 km None Yes Supported Supported
6003093 9530501 NetScaler 50GBASE-CU SFP56-to-SFP56 DAC, 3m (Mellanox/Juniper); NS 9200/17000 50G SFP56 PAM4 Passive copper RS-FEC Yes Supported Supported
6003086 9530507 NetScaler 50GBASE-CU SFP56-to-SFP56 DAC, 2.5m; NS 9200/17000 50G SFP56 PAM4 Passive copper RS-FEC Yes Supported Supported
6003131 9530409 NetScaler 200GbE QSFP56 SR4 MPO-12, OM3 70m; NS 17000 200G QSFP56 PAM4 (4x50G) OM3 70m / OM4 100m RS-FEC Yes Not present Supported
6003132 9530410 NetScaler 100/40GbE Dual-Rate QSFP28 SR4 MPO-12, OM3 70m; NS 17000 100/40G QSFP28 NRZ (4x25G at 100G; 4x10G at 40G) OM3 70m / OM4 100m RS-FEC at 100G; None at 40G 100G: Yes; 40G: Forced speed both ends Not present Supported
6003133 9530411 NetScaler 40GbE QSFP+ BiDi SR LC, OM3 100m; NS 17000 40G QSFP+ NRZ (4x10G) OM3 100m / OM4 150m None Forced speed to 40G; Citrix MPN required on both ends Not present Supported
6003135 9530413 NetScaler 100GbE QSFP28 LR4 LC, OS2 10km; NS 17000 100G QSFP28 NRZ (4x25G CWDM) SMF (OS2) 10 km None Yes Not present Supported
6003143 9530416 NetScaler QSFP28-to-SFP28 cage adapter; NS 17000 Adapter for 25G or 10G QSFP28-to-SFP28 Passthrough (1 lane) N/A - accepts SFP28 (25G) or SFP+ (10G) optic Inherits from inserted optic Inherits from inserted optic Not present Supported
6003144 9530513 NetScaler 40GbE QSFP+ Passive DAC, 5m; NS 17000 40G QSFP+ DAC NRZ (4x10G) Passive copper None Yes Not present Supported
6003145 9530514 NetScaler 200G QSFP56-to-QSFP56 Passive Twinax 2.5m; NS 17000 200G QSFP56 DAC PAM4 (4x50G) Passive copper RS-FEC Yes Not present Supported
6003146 9530517 * NetScaler 100GbE QSFP28 AOC, 20m; NS 17000 100G QSFP28 AOC NRZ (4x25G) Active optical (integrated) RS-FEC Yes Not present Supported
6003147 9530522 NetScaler 200GbE QSFP56 AOC, 20m (Mellanox); NS 17000 200G QSFP56 AOC PAM4 (4x50G) Active optical (integrated) RS-FEC Yes Not present Supported

*Note:

Qualified as 100G only. Although the AOC may appear to partially train at lower per-lane rates in some lab environments or automation reports, it does not advertise lower-speed compliance in its EEPROM. Lower-speed operation requires manual force on both ends and is not supported. For 10G / 25G / 40G / 50G links, use the dedicated Citrix MPN qualified for that speed.

Pre-Deployment checklist

  1. Confirm platform and port count. MPX/SDX 9200 is SFP56-only (8 ports). MPX/SDX 17000 has 8x SFP56 + 4x QSFP56 ports.
  2. Match the form factor to MPN. SFP+ / SFP28 / SFP56 go in SFP56 ports; QSFP+ / QSFP28 / QSFP56 go in QSFP56 ports on the MPX/SDX 17000.
  3. Verify reach and fiber type:
    • SR / SR4 -> OM3 or OM4 multimode
    • LR / LR4 -> OS2 single-mode
    • MPO-12 SR4 -> Type B polarity
  4. Configure the FEC on the peer switch to match the speed and modulation (see the FEC table in the FAQ KB).
  5. For Cisco Nexus 9000 deployments, enable “service unsupported-transceiver” on the Cisco switch side to allow non-Cisco-branded optics.
  6. For 40G QSFP+ links and 40G via 9530410 dual-rate, force 40G on both host and switch; auto-negotiation does not converge.
  7. For 40G BiDi via 9530411, install the same Citrix MPN on both ends.
  8. For LR4 links (9530413), verify OS2 fiber cleanliness and polarity. If a link does not come up, switch-side RX power at the floor (-40 dBm) on all lanes indicates a fiber-path issue, not a transceiver issue.
  9. Verify MPO polarity and LC duplex polarity before powering up the link. Most “link-down with clean optics” tickets resolve to a polarity issue.
  10. For 9530416 adapter deployments, install a qualified Citrix SFP28 or SFP+ optic into the adapter and configure host and peer switch for the lower link speed (25G or 10G).

Glossary

Term Definition
AOC Active Optical Cable => fixed-length cable with integrated optical electronics at each end
BiDi Bi-Directional => uses two wavelengths over a single fiber pair, enabling 40G over duplex LC (instead of 8-fiber MPO)
DAC Direct Attach Copper => fixed-length passive copper cable with integrated SFP/QSFP connectors
FC-FEC Firecode FEC (IEEE 802.3 Clause 74 / BASE-R) => used at 25G NRZ
LR / LR4 Long Reach - single-mode-fiber optic, typically up to 10 km
MPO-12 Multi-fiber Push-On 12-fiber connector used by 40G/100G/200G SR4 modules
NRZ Non-Return-to-Zero binary signaling (2-level) used at 10G/25G/100G NRZ links
OS2 Single-mode fiber for LR4 and other long-reach optics
OM3 / OM4 Multi-mode fiber grades - OM3 (300 m at 10G, 70 m at SR4); OM4 (extended reach)
PAM4 4-Level Pulse-Amplitude Modulation => used at 50G/200G/400G to double bit density per symbol
QSFP+ 4-lane 40G form factor - superseded by QSFP28
QSFP28 4-lane form factor for 100G NRZ; backwards-compatible with 40G in dual-rate modules
QSFP56 4-lane form factor for 200G PAM4
RS-FEC Reed-Solomon FEC (IEEE 802.3 Clause 91 / 108) => used at 50G PAM4, 100G SR4 NRZ, 200G PAM4
SFP+ 1-lane 10G form factor
SFP28 1-lane 25G form factor
SFP56 1-lane 50G PAM4 form factor
SR / SR4 Short Reach - multimode-fiber optic (single-fiber-pair for SR; 8-fiber MPO for SR4)
Transceiver, DACs, AOCs’ matrix