To set up a 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10GbE) network using a Direct Attach Copper (DAC) cable, you will need the following components:
Network Interface Cards (NICs) with 10GbE capability: Make sure that the NICs on all the devices that will be connected to the network have 10GbE capability.
DAC Cables: DAC cables are passive cables that connect two 10GbE devices directly without the need for a switch or other networking equipment. You will need a DAC cable for each device that you want to connect to the network.
Configuration: Once you have the hardware in place, you will need to configure the network settings on each device. The exact configuration steps will depend on the operating system and the specific NICs that you are using. However, here are some general steps that you can follow:
Connect the two devices using the DAC cable. Configure the network interface card settings on each device, such as IP addresses, subnet masks, and default gateway addresses. Enable jumbo frames if necessary. Jumbo frames are larger than the standard Ethernet frames and can increase network performance. Test the network connection between the two devices to ensure that they are communicating properly.
The following script can be used to setup one side of the system, you will need to make sure to use the correct device name, in this example the device name is enp1s0f1:
ip addr add 10.10.10.3/24 dev enp1s0f1
ifconfig enp1s0f1 broadcast 10.10.10.255
ip link set enp1s0f1 mtu 9000
And similarly this next script will take care of the second machine in the system, as before you will need to make sure to use the correct device name, in this example the device name is enp1s0f1:
ip addr add 10.10.10.4/24 dev enp1s0f1
ifconfig enp1s0f1 broadcast 10.10.10.255
ip link set enp1s0f1 mtu 9000
Note: This script will work on a Linux based OS i.e. ubuntu, if you have a different OS, you will need to follow instructions relevant to system you have.
You should now be able to ping both servers from either side: i.e. running the following command ping 10.10.10.4 from 10.10.10.3 will result in something like
PING 10.10.10.4 (10.10.10.4) 56(84) bytes of data.
64 bytes from 10.10.10.4: icmp_seq=1 ttl=64 time=0.010 ms
64 bytes from 10.10.10.4: icmp_seq=2 ttl=64 time=0.005 ms
64 bytes from 10.10.10.4: icmp_seq=3 ttl=64 time=0.005 ms
64 bytes from 10.10.10.4: icmp_seq=4 ttl=64 time=0.010 ms
64 bytes from 10.10.10.4: icmp_seq=5 ttl=64 time=0.005 ms
Once you have tested the connection between the two devices, you can add additional devices to the network by connecting them to the existing devices using additional DAC cables. If you want to connect more than two devices to the network, you can use a switch with 10GbE ports instead of DAC cables. The configuration steps will be similar, but you will need to configure the switch instead of the individual devices.
On average, if buying second hand NICs from eBay and a DAC cable from Amazon anyone could have a 10gbe connection between devices for under US 100.00.
Just as an example, at the time of writing a HP NS522SFP NIC was US $25 on eBay and a 2m 10Gbps DAC cable was selling for US $45 on Amazon.