BiDi optics in MX applicance

[JimR]

Does anyone have experience using BiDi optics on an MX84? I see "compatible" modules on Amazon but no OEM options. 

[jdsilva]

Yup. We've used BiDi's from both Lumentum and LambdaGain. They work well.

[MerakiDave]

Thanks for confirming @jdsilva just wanted to confirm that's on SFP ports 11/12 of an MX84 for example?  I thought there may not be hardware support for BiDi, but perhaps that's on the WAN interfaces of MX250/450 perhaps.

[jdsilva]

@MerakiDave I can't say for sure if we have any BiDi's in an MX84... But I have one in my lab I can test with if you're curious?

[MerakiDave]

Thanks @jdsilva I was looking to confirm your BiDi's were working on LAN vs WAN side of MX250/450, I don't have that lab gear and wasn't sure if BiDi might work on the LAN side only, or work on both LAN/WAN ports. I heard mixed results but that was over a year ago, and given your note/caveat above, perhaps there's better support now. I could check with MX PM team but sounds like you're already doing it.

[jdsilva]

I'm testing this out quickly just to make sure. Standby. 

[jdsilva · Accepted solution]

Alright, my memory is a bit off. We use the Lumentum and LambdaGain BiDi's in the MS switches and they work fine. But, it appears on a quick test that the LambdaGains DO NOT work in the MX line. 

I tested between an MX84 and MS410. The following info is from the MS410 side since we can't see port info on an MX 😞

This worked in an MX84:

But the LambdGain does not:

[JimR]

Thanks for all of the info guys! I am extremely impressed with the quick response and knowledgeable answers.

[jdsilva]

One caveat though, that applies to MX SFP's in general, is that we've found that the out of the box firmware on the MX250/450 often doesn't have proper support for certain SFPs on the WAN ports, or the SFP+ ports. My recommendation is to connect those models specificially to the cloud using a 1000Base-T SFP first, upgrade the firmware, and then you're good to go.

[MerakiDave]

@jdsilva I don't have any MX250/450 or BiDi to test with, just wanted to confirm if you successfully used those 3rd party BiDi optics on both LAN and WAN (with the caveat you noted) or perhaps just the LAN side?