Product Description
IBM ECC8 10M Optical Cable Pair for PCIe3 Expansion Drawer
The IBM ECC8 10m Optical Cable Pair for PCIe3 Expansion Drawer is a high-performance, enterprise-grade active optical cable (AOC) pair designed for IBM Power Systems servers. This 10-meter duplex optical cable set provides PCIe Gen3 x8 connectivity (up to 64 Gbps aggregate bandwidth) between the host server and PCIe3 I/O expansion drawers (such as #ELMX, #ELMY, #ELMZ, or older PCIe3 drawers), delivering low-latency, high-throughput expansion for additional PCIe slots, NVMe storage, or network/storage adapters in AIX, IBM i, Linux, and VIOS environments.
Product Description
The IBM ECC8 (feature code ECC8) is a pair of 10-meter active optical cables (AOC) with Mini-SAS HD (SFF-8644) connectors on both ends, specifically engineered for attaching PCIe3 expansion drawers to Power Systems servers. Each cable supports PCIe Gen3 x8 (8 lanes at 8 GT/s per lane) over optical fiber, providing up to 64 Gbps bidirectional bandwidth with extremely low latency and no signal degradation over the full 10-meter distance. The cables include built-in retimers and optical transceivers for reliable long-reach connectivity in data center environments. The ECC8 pair is required for connecting the server’s PCIe3 adapter (such as #EJ0A, #EJ0C, or #EC2U host-side) to the drawer’s PCIe3 interface card. It is fully IBM-qualified for Power8, Power9, and Power10 systems using supported PCIe3 expansion drawers, enabling massive I/O scale-out (additional PCIe slots, NVMe SSDs, NICs, HBAs) without copper cable length limitations or electrical signal loss. Ideal for high-density virtualization, large databases, AI/ML training, and mission-critical workloads requiring remote drawer placement.
Features
- 10-meter active optical cable pair (AOC) for long-reach PCIe Gen3 expansion
- Mini-SAS HD (SFF-8644) connectors on both host and drawer sides
- PCIe Gen3 x8 support (64 Gbps aggregate bandwidth, 8 lanes @ 8 GT/s)
- Extremely low latency and no signal degradation over 10 m
- Built-in retimers and optical transceivers for reliable fiber transmission
- Hot-plug capable in supported configurations
- EMI/RFI immune (optical fiber)
- Full IBM qualification for PCIe3 expansion drawers
- Duplex pair (two cables required for x8 lane width)
Technical Specifications
- Feature Code: ECC8
- CCIN: Not applicable (cable, no CCIN assigned)
- Part Number: Varies by revision (typically 00MA023 or related)
- Length: 10 meters (32.8 feet) each cable
- Connector Type: Mini-SAS HD (SFF-8644) on both ends
- Data Rate: PCIe Gen3 x8 (64 Gbps aggregate, 8 GT/s per lane)
- Cable Type: Active Optical Cable (AOC) – multimode fiber
- Reach: 10 meters (no signal loss; longer than copper DAC limit)
- Compatibility: PCIe Gen3 x8 host adapters and PCIe3 expansion drawers
- Power Consumption: ~2–4 W per cable (active optics)
- Compatibility: Power8, Power9, Power10 models with PCIe3 expansion support
Compatibility
The IBM ECC8 10m Optical Cable Pair for PCIe3 Expansion Drawer is compatible with:
- Power Systems Models:
- Power8: S814 (8286-41A), S822/S824 (8284-22A), E870/E880 (9119-MME/MHE), and others
- Power9: S914 (9009-41A/41G), S922 (9009-22A/22G), S924 (9009-42A), E950/E980, and related models
- Power10: S1012/S1014/S1022/S1022s/S1024 (scale-out), E1080 (enterprise), and other Power10 models with PCIe Gen3 expansion support
- Supported Adapters (Host Side):
- PCIe3 x8 adapters: #EJ0A, #EJ0C, #EJ0D, #EJ0E, #EC2U, #57D7, #57D8, etc.
- Supported Expansion Drawers (Drawer Side):
- PCIe3 I/O Expansion Drawers: #ELMX, #ELMY, #ELMZ, #ELC1, #ELC2, and older PCIe3 drawers
- Operating Systems: AIX 7.1+ / 7.2+ / 7.3+, IBM i 7.1+ / 7.2+ / 7.3+ / 7.4+ / 7.5+, Linux (RHEL/SUSE/Ubuntu), VIOS
- Limitations: Requires compatible PCIe3 x8 host adapter and drawer; optical only (no copper alternative at 10 m); both cables in the pair must be used for x8 lane width; not backward compatible with PCIe Gen2 drawers at full speed
Verify exact adapter/drawer compatibility, firmware levels, and OS patch levels via IBM Sales Manual or resources for your specific Power Systems model.
Warranty
This product comes with a 60-day warranty covering parts and functionality.
