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Cables / Engineering guide

DAC, ACC, AEC, or AOC?

Choose with both hosts and the installed route in view.

WBN editorial draft 1 November 2026 Sources & scope
Host A Integrated cable Host Z Keep the complete connection in view
Simplified reference. Exact geometry and operating requirements belong to the selected product.
Download guide PDF ↧ Editable Markdown ↧ 2 pages · Rev 2026-11-01 Fill in the related worksheet ↗
In this guide

Read the construction

DAC provides a passive copper path. Active copper adds signal processing whose exact architecture must be checked. AEC generally denotes retimed copper; AOC integrates optical conversion and fiber into one assembly. Terminology alone is not a complete circuit specification.

Compare the required connection

Keep A/Z interfaces, protocol, lane grouping and topology fixed while comparing alternatives. Then check each released model's supported length, power, mechanical and host requirements.

Evaluate the route

Record the required installed length, connector access, bend constraints and breakout dimensions. Avoid assigning universal reach or power advantages to an entire category. The useful comparison is between documented products that can serve the same connection.

In practice / Worked example

A four-meter route changes the candidates.

Consider an 800G straight OSFP connection over a measured four-meter route. NVIDIA’s documented LinkX 100G-PAM4 series provides a product-specific comparison.

Construction in this series Published lengths Signal treatment
DAC Up to 3 m Passive copper
LACC 3, 4 and 5 m Linear amplifier ICs; not a DSP

The four-meter route exceeds this series’ DAC range and fits a listed LACC length. That narrows candidates; it does not qualify a SKU for either endpoint. Check host support, electrical requirements and physical routing. These limits belong to the cited series, not all DACs, ACCs, AECs or WBN products.

Source: NVIDIA · LinkX 100G-PAM4 overview ↗ Online reference checked 1 November 2026 · DAC and LACC sections

Before you specify

  • Exact A/Z interface and protocol
  • Supported length and host requirements
  • Installed routing and dimensions
Compare cabled constructions

Sources & scope

General engineering guidance. External examples describe their own products and do not establish WBN availability or qualification.

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