A platform engineer is installing a Dell EMC PowerScale cluster with 12 F200 nodes. What is the correct ratio used for the breakout cable?

Dell EMC PowerScale F200 nodes utilize high-speed back-end networking, typically 100GbE or 40GbE, using QSFP ports on the switches. To connect multiple nodes, breakout cables are used to split a single high-speed switch port into multiple lower-speed ports. The standard ratio for this is 1:4, where one QSFP28 (100GbE) port on a switch is broken out into four 25GbE SFP28 connections, or one QSFP+ (40GbE) port is broken out into four 10GbE SFP+ connections, with each connection going to a different node.

A. A 1:2 ratio is not a standard breakout configuration for QSFP ports used with PowerScale F200 nodes for back-end connectivity.
C. A 1:8 ratio is not a standard physical breakout for a single QSFP port; it would require additional multiplexing hardware.
D. A 1:10 ratio is not a supported physical breakout cable configuration for the switch ports connecting to F200 nodes.

- Dell Technologies, "PowerScale: Network Design Considerations," July 2022. Page 17, Table 6, "Back-end switch options," shows back-end switches like the Dell S5232F-ON using QSFP28 ports that support 4 x 25GbE breakout configurations for connecting to nodes.

- Dell EMC, "PowerScale F200 and F600 Spec Sheet," 2021. The "Back-End Connectivity" section specifies 2 x 100GbE QSFP28 ports, which are compatible with 1:4 breakout cables for connecting to switches.