X695 SFP cage problems, will not release SFPs

[FredrikB]

Has anyone else noticed that on X695 (and probably VSP7400 as it’s the same hardware), SFPs can be impossible to remove? The same SFP can work with no problem in other switches but in X695, they are often stuck. Hopefully this is a problem with only some batch and not too wide-spread.

We see the problem with SFPs from multiple vendors, including original Extreme branded SFPs that are indeed original parts, not fake.

/Fredrik

[Nicolas_Melay]

Hi,

I did have the same problem with a VSP7400, some 1+ year ago.
Blamed it on the 3rd party modules as well, but clearly the weird SFP cages were at fault.
I used the same screwdriver trick as Stefan did, but almost destroyed one of the cages before I got it right. 😞
(Quite frankly, that's the slightest of the problems we've had with VSPs, I *really* wish we did not listen to marketing and went with X695's instead...)

I'll get 2 more of them in the next few weeks, I'll see whether the same issue remains.

[FredrikB-NN]

Sorry to hear that, Nicolas. Why do you think the X695 would have been a better choice? Just curious 🙂

Stefan: no replacements of X695. We couldn't get brand new Extreme optics that had the mechanical solution that was affected so we couldn't prove our case to 500% so Extreme wouldn't dig any deeper. We still had good help from lots of people at Extreme, but I guess PLM wanted to avoid having to replace all X695s out there.

Regarding the SFP cages, Extreme blamed "worn mechanisms" in the SFPs, which is ridiculous in my opinion. No other vendor never, ever, has had this issue as far as I know. Other Extreme (and other) switches still accept those very same modules without problem, so...

The specific mechanical solution that cannot be handled by the X695 is being phased out from all SFP vendors so I don't expect too much problems with this in the future.

[Nicolas_Melay]

IMNSHO, Fabric Connect only makes sense in a LARGE all-VOSS network.
Start working with non-VOSS network equipment and you run into problems. Many of them.
Also, VOSS is clearly the worst network OS I ever worked with.
Its CLI is totally crippled, buggy, barely usable, and the default config is a security disaster.

While EXOS is one of the easiest and most pleasant network OS to use.
(Well, you still need to remember to disable flow control on all ports, and run ezspantree.py to default all VLANs to CIST.)

[Stefan_K_]

@Fredrik Bjork
Is there any update to your case? Has Extreme replaced the X695?

Best regards

Stefan​