Cost-effective alternatives to traditional options
OEM Compatible
Our brand products provide quality, cost effective alternatives to traditional options.
Function5 brand products provide customers cost-effective alternatives to traditional Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs). All products are coded and designed to meet the same specifications as the manufacturer’s equivalent and are often sourced from the same Tier-1 suppliers. Inventory is well-stocked and readily available in distribution centers which allows for Next Business Day shipments to nearly anywhere in the world. Our Volume manufacturing, cost structure, technical support, manufacturing expertise, training, testing, and proprietary knowledge create a mutually beneficial solution.
Features and Benefits
Vast Product Offerings
More than 4000 different transceivers, direct attach cables, and networking peripheral products supporting more than 80 manufacturers available for immediate sale.
Extensive Inventory
Over 85% of the products we offer are in stock including high inventory levels of the industry top-selling products for immediate shipping on large-scale orders.
TAA Complaint
Our TAA Compliant Optical Transceiver products originate in TAA Compliant countries and are final coded, tested, certified, and shipped from our USA based facility. Our TAA compliant products qualify for procurement by the United States Government and Government Agencies.
Unparalleled Support
Support team consisting of Certified Network Engineers and Fiber Optic Technicians who work closely with our customers to provide comprehensive pre- and post-sales support.
Lifetime Warranty
We stand fully behind the quality of our products, offering an industry leading lifetime replacement warranty with immediate advanced replacement.
KEY BENEFITS OVERVIEW:
- 100% Full Lifetime WarrantyDoes not void smartnet/warranty
- Free Advanced Replacement and100% OEM Compatible
- Engineering Support
- Hot pluggable
- Extremely cost-effective products with
- Short to 100+ km distances equal performance
- 100Base, 1000Base, 10GBase, 40GBase
- Massive inventory with immediate availability
- 100Gbase products in stock!
- Stretch your IT budget further than ever before!
OEM FAQ
OEM Cables
High-Quality Cables at a Fraction of Manufacturer Prices
Your networking equipment is an expensive and critical part of your technology infrastructure. Make sure you’re connecting it with the highest quality network cabling to guarantee maximum performance and minimize the risk of downtime. We’re committed to providing industry-leading OEM compatible cabling and data center technologies to help ensure your infrastructure performs at optimal levels. Function5 provide the performance, design and manageability you need as you migrate to speeds of 10-, 40- and 100-gigabit and beyond. We provide structured cabling designs for the ever-growing demands of today’s data centers.
OEM Optics Transceivers
High-Quality Optics at a Fraction of Manufacturer Prices
Our 100% compatible optical transceivers are specifically coded to mirror the form and function of the OEM original transceiver. We use a stringent double testing method that couples a full data-pass test with 100% application specific test methods. Through these custom processes, Function5 has achieved a defective product rate well lower than the industry standard and that of the major OEMs at less than .004%.
We offer a full 100% lifetime replacement warranty on all our products. In the rare occurrence of a failure, anyone with a Function5 product that is not functioning perfectly can call us direct to get a full replacement. Most manufacturers offer a limited warranty with short terms.
Third Party Optical Transceivers Innovation for Your Bottom Line
In today’s world of lightning fast changes in technology, staying on the cutting edge can be a challenge. A company’s data center, and the infrastructure upon which it sits, has become one of the most strategic assets it owns, and conventional wisdom says that to support top-line business growth, companies must spend money to make money.
This axiom, however, is not true when it comes to optical transceivers. Using third party optics instead of name brand optics from the OEM is a smart and innovative way to embrace changes in the dynamic networking and data center hardware markets, while protecting your bottom line by not paying exorbitant prices. In this blog post I will briefly explain the value and advantages that third-party optics provide.
Sourcing and Price
Optics that you buy directly from an OEM are not necessarily original. OEMs buy their optics from master suppliers who code and label the products for them. An OEM’s price to the customer will factor in the costs of testing and validation, but the majority of what you pay for goes into the OEM’s pocket as pure profit. Third party optics providers source their products from the same (or equivalent) suppliers as used by OEMs. There are numerous third-party optics resellers, and they may not all use the same testing procedures, but most have nearly 100% success in compatibility with the corresponding OEM equipment. The real difference between OEM and third party is that third party optics providers do not mark up the product as much as OEMs – which translates into significantly better pricing for the customer.
Quality and Reliability
You can find third party optics for virtually any product or platform. While Cisco comprises a large number of the compatible optics in the networking space, every product that requires a copper or fiber optic connection to another device will need an optic of one type or another. It is very important to ask your third-party optics supplier about which OEMs and product lines they specialize in, and to inquire about detailed information on their testing procedures.
You’ll want to be sure that any third-party optics you buy are compatible with the operating systems from different OEMs and the latest corresponding software releases. A good way to glean this information from your third-party optics supplier is to ask for a list of the equipment in their test bed. This will also allow you to request testing logs and compatibility reporting as needed.
Warranty and Support
Finally, and maybe most importantly, the best third-party optics providers will stand behind their product after you’ve bought them. Because many third-party optics providers are highly focused and specialize in the optical transceiver market, they will offer a lifetime warranty on their products. It is inevitable that at one point or another, even with name brand OEM optics, a few optics that you buy will fail. Failures occur most frequently when the software in networking and data center hardware is updated, causing incompatibility with existing optics. Ideal third-party optics providers will be able to troubleshoot and replace the optic for you quickly and at minimal to no cost.
Customers who incorporate third party optics into their networking and data center hardware strategy will be better able to stay ahead of the technology curve, and not break the bank while doing so. Buying third party optics may not be as sexy as the products and technologies they support, yet they can enable an organization to maximize the budget it has for IT projects. Finally, while identifying sources with the lowest prices is a common goal, smart customers should look at third party optics suppliers holistically, and factor things like breadth of products supported, compatibility and testing processes, support offerings, and reputation into their buying decisions.