Category Archives: Fiber Optic Transceivers

Transceiver Solutions for Ubiquiti UniFi Switches

UniFi switches has been introduced into the market by Ubiquiti (The other kind is Ubiquiti EdgeSwitch). The UniFi switch provides fibre connectivity options for easy expansion of your networks. This article will introduce the main features of UniFi switches, supportable SFP and SFP+, and easy tips for building network with UniFi switch.

Introduction to UniFi Switches

UniFi switch delivers high performance to satisfy your growing network. The Ubiquiti UniFi switches include US-24 and US-48. US-24 can support data rates up to 26 Gbps while US-48 can support the network speed up to 70 Gbps of non-blocking throughput. Main features of these two switches are described as below.

unifi-switches

Features of US-24 switch:

  • 24 Gigabit RJ45 ports
  • 2 SFP ports
  • 52Gbps switching capacity
  • 250W max. power consumption
  • Rack mountable

Features of US-48 switch:

  • 48 Gigabit RJ45 ports
  • 2 SFP+ ports
  • 2 SFP ports
  • 140Gbps switching capacity
  • 56W max. power consumption
  • Rack mountable

Except the above two switches, there are some other kinds containing US-8-150 (with 8 Gigabit RJ45 ports and 2 SFP ports) and US-16-150W (with 16 Gigabit RJ45 ports and 2 SFP ports). Both switches are available with different models. You can find the details about these models from the following table.

unifi-switch-comparison

Compatible SFP and SFP+ for UniFi Switches

If you are wondering which SFP and SFP+ are suitable for UniFi switch, you can get the answer now. You have two choices for getting suitable transceiver modules. Ubiquiti produces single-mode and multimode SFP and SFP+ modules for UniFi switches. UF-MM-1G and UF-MM-1G-S are designed for SFP ports. Three modules such as UF-SM-10G, UF-SM-10G-S, and UF-MM-10G are appropriate for SFP+ ports.

Of course, transceiver modules for UniFi switch are not limited to these original SFP/SFP+. A wide range of third-party transceivers can also work with UniFi switch. The following table will show you some compatible SFPs for Unifi switch from FS.COM.

Fiberstore compatible SFPs for Unifi switch

ID # Description
20363 Cisco GLC-SX-MM-RGD Compatible 1000BASE-SX SFP 850nm 550m DOM Transceiver
11774 Cisco GLC-SX-MM-RGD Compatible 1000BASE-SX SFP 850nm 550m DOM Transceiver
32140 HPE J4858C Compatible 1000BASE-SX SFP 850nm 550m DOM Transceiver

Fiberstore compatible SFP+s for Unifi switch

ID # Description
48895 1m Brocade 10G-SFPP-TWX-0101 Compatible 10G SFP+ Active Direct Attach Cable
36671 1m Brocade 10G-SFPP-TWX-0101 Compatible 10G SFP+ Passive Direct Attach Cable
30849 1m Cisco SFP-H10GB-CU1M Compatible 10G SFP+ Passive Direct Attach Copper Twinax Copper Cable
48884 1m Cisco SFP-H10GB-ACU1M Compatible 10G SFP+ Active Direct Attach Copper Cable
Building Connection With Unifi Switches

To build the UniFi network, you have to prepare installation screwdriver, at least 1U rack, UTP Cat 5 (or above) for indoor applications and STP Cat5 (or above) for outdoor applications. It’s quite easy.

  • First, install the UniFi switch on the rack with four mounting screws. Then plug one end of the power cord into the power port of the UniFi switch and the other end into the power outlet.
  • Second, connect Ethernet cables from your devices to RJ45 ports of UniFi switch.
  • Third, plug an SFP transceiver into the SFP port if you need to use it. After that, connect the SFP module with a fibre patch lead.
Conclusion

UniFi switches are very commonly used for network connection. To build the network, you don’t need to spend much time on searching cables or modules from the internet. FS.COM offers fibre patch leads and Ethernet cables for your connection. We also provide some compatible SFPs and SFP+s definitely compatible for UniFi switch. Every module has been strictly tested to make sure high quality. Just come to our site and you must get 100% compatible SFP or SFP+s for your UniFi switch.

Related FS.COM News: FS.COM Offered 100% Compatible Optics for Ubiquiti Platform

What’s the Difference Between Cisco GLC-SX-MM and Cisco GLC-SX-MMD?

Cisco 1000BASE SFPs keep a huge market share in the optic area. Cisco SFPs offer users optical solutions for long distance and short distance transmission. For short distance, there are 1000BASE SX SFP, such as Cisco GLC-SX-MM and Cisco GLC-SX-MMD. Though these two modules have great similarity, they are actually different. Then what’s the difference? This article will introduce the details of Cisco GLC-SX-MM and Cisco GLC-SX-MMD SFP transceiver modules.

glc-sx-mm

Cisco GLC-SX-MM

Cisco GLC-SX-MM 1000BASE-SX SFP is a duplex transceiver for short distance transmission, operating at the wavelength of 850 nm at the data rate of 1Gbps. It connects with OM2 multimode LC patch cords supporting up to 550 meters. The hot-swappable 1000BASE-SX SFP is compatible with the IEEE 802.3z 1000BASE-SX standard. And it’s RoHS compliant.

Cisco GLC-SX-MMD

Cisco GLC-SX-MMD 1000BASE-SX SFP is another type of hot-swappable optical transceiver for short reach data transmission. This 1000Base-SX transceiver supports data rates up to 1.25Gbps. Same to Cisco GLC-SX-MM SFP, it also has duplex LC interference. Connecting with OM2 MMF, it can support the distance up to 550 meters. It’s compliant with SFP Multi-Source Agreement (MSA) standards. Cisco GLC-SX-MMD is composed of five parts: the LD driver, the limiting amplifier, the digital diagnostic monitor, the VCSEL laser and the PIN photo-detector. The Digital Diagnostic Monitoring (DDM) function is its special feature.

DDM of GLC-SX-MMD

From the above content, you can see the main difference between these two transceivers is the DDM. When you buy SFP transceivers in the market, you may come across this selection difficulty whether to choose an SFP with DDM or not. So what’s DDM?

DDM is short for digital diagnostic monitoring. It’s also known as diagnostic optical monitoring (DOM). Diagnostic monitoring interface outlined in the SFF-8472 MSA is an extension of the serial ID interface defined in the GBIC specification, as well as in the SFP MSA. Today, many SFP transceivers have the function of digital diagnostics monitoring according to the industry standard MSA SFF-8472. It provides the important information about the status of the transmitted and received signals. This approach allows for better fault isolation and error detection.

DDM mainly plays the role in two sides: monitoring and warning. It monitors detailed information about a transceiver. And it offers a system of alarm and warning flags which alert the host system when particular operating parameters are not in line with the normal operating parameters set by the factory. So users can find out the fault isolation according to outcomes of DDM, and predict failure possibilities and prevent such fault.

Real-time monitoring—With a 2-wire serial bus (also known as “I2C” or “I2C” protocol), digital diagnostics can monitor the SFP module’s temperature, receiver power, transmitter bias current, and transmitter power by a microcontroller inside the transceiver. Usually, the output of the physical value of each parameter is an analog voltage or current from the Trans impedance amplifier, the laser driver, or the post amplifier. Then the digitalised value can be processed as part of a control loop, trigger an alarm, or just record the data into a register.

Calibration and warning thresholds—In addition to generating digital readings of internal analog values, DDM can also produce various status bits. Calibration and warning thresholds value is made during the device manufacturing process. Comparing current values generated by DDM and factory preset limits, users will know whether or not the transceivers have met the desired operation requirements.

FS.COM Cisco Compatible GLC-SX-MM SFPs

FS.COM brings Cisco compatible 1000BASE-SX SFPs including GLC-SX-MM and GLC-SX-MMD SFPs.
The 1000BASE-SX standard optics are developed to support lower cost multi-mode fibre runs in horizontal and shorter-length backbone applications. The following figure shows two Cisco GLC-SX-MM SFP transceivers are connected by an LC MMF patch cable.

glc-sx-mm-connection

Item Part No. Description
a. 11774 Cisco GLC-SX-MM Compatible 1000BASE-SX SFP 850nm 550m Transceiver
b. 43132 2M LC UPC to LC UPC Duplex 2.0mm PVC(OFNR) OM2 Fibre Optic Patch Cable
b. 11774 Cisco GLC-SX-MM Compatible 1000BASE-SX SFP 850nm 550m Transceiver

Note: you can use GLC-SX-MMD SFPs to replace GLC-SX-MM SFPs for shorter-length backbone application, too.

Conclusion

This article introduces Cisco GLC-SX-MM and Cisco GLC-SX-MMD SFP transceivers. Both kinds can realise short distance connection. The difference is that GLC-SX-MMD has DDM function while the other has no. So it’s up to you to decide whether you need DDM function to monitor parameters of the SFP. Fiberstore supplies optical transceivers with DDM and without DDM to satisfy customers’ different needs. If you need more information, please contact us via sales@fs.com or visit our site www.fs.com/uk.

Related Article: A Quick Overview of Cisco 1000BASE-T GLC-T SFP Copper Module

How to Choose Satisfying Cisco SFP Transceiver Modules?

Today, various types of 1000BASE SFP transceiver modules can be found in the market. But should you choose one for long distance and short distance application? Or buy copper optics? Which brand is the most reliable and cost-effective, Cisco, HP, Avago, etc.? Do the third-party optics operate as well? So how to find satisfying SFP transceiver modules which suit your switch most? Now keep reading this article and you will get the method. Take three most common types of Cisco SFP modules as example.

Three Types of Cisco SFP Modules
GLC-SX-MM SFP

This GLC-SX-MM 1000BASE-SX SFP transceiver module is a duplex SFP transceiver for optical communications. It can support the data rate of 1Gbps reaching the distance up to 550 meters over OM2 multimode cable. The GLC-SX-MM transceiver operates at 850nm wavelength. It’s compatible with the IEEE 802.3z 1000BASE-SX standard, which is usually applied in Gigabit Ethernet. There are also GLC-SX-MMD and GLC-SX-MM-RGD SFP modules. “D” of GLC-SX-MMD means Digital Optical Monitoring (DOM) support which supports transceiver monitoring and troubleshooting operations. “RGD” of GLC-SX-MM-RGD refers to rugged (RGD) transceiver module, which features enhanced ESD (electrostatic discharge) protection, and extended operating temperature range.

cisco_glc-sx-mm

GLC-LX-SM SFP

The Cisco GLC-LH-SM 1000BASE-LX/LH transceiver is an LC duplex SFP transceiver applied for Gigabit Ethernet network. This module is designed for both short distance and long distance data transmission. If connecting with single-mode fibre patch cable, it can reach up to 10 km. If connecting with multimode fibre patch cable, it can go up to 550 meters. The GLC-LH-SM transceiver operates at 1310nm wavelength. This transceiver is compliant with Multi-Source Agreement (MSA) standards. LX means long wavelengths and LH is short for long haul. 1000BASE-LX is the Gigabit Ethernet standard specified to work over a distance of 5 km over single-mode fibre cable. 1000BASE-LH and 1000BASE-LH/LX are often used by the manufacturers. Thus, we often see 1000BASE-LX/LH instead of 1000BASE-LX.cisco-glc-lx-sm

GLC-T SFP

The GLC-T 1000BASE-T SFP is a hot-swappable input/output device that plugs into a Gigabit Ethernet port or slot, linking the port with the network. It supports the max data rate of 1000Mbps reaching 100 meters links over copper cables such as Cat5, Cat5e or Cat6a. This transceiver is fully compliant with the MSA and 1000BASE-T standards as specified in IEEE 802.3-2002 and IEEE 802.3ab.

glc-t

Original Cisco or Third-party?

“Third-party” means a supplier (or service provider) who is not directly controlled by either the seller (first party) or the customer/buyer (second party) in a business transaction. For fibre optics industry, all fibre optic transceivers are defined by Multi-Source Agreement (MSA). MSAs strictly define the operating characteristics of fibre optic networking equipment. Therefore, as long as a manufacturer complies to MSA guidelines, their transceiver modules will function and operate identically to other manufacturer’s MSA-compliant transceivers. For example, the above fibre optics like GLC-SX-MM, GLC-LH-SM and GLC-T made by FS.COM are completely compatible with Cisco networking equipment.

Whether to buy original or compatible SFPs may depend on the the cost. Original SFPs are much more expensive than the third-party modules. Using the third-party optics can absolutely help you save the cost. Considering the third-party SFPs from the third vendor, you may worry about the quality and compatibility. As to Cisco compatible GLC-SX-MM, GLC-T, GLC-LH-SM SFP modules, lots of vendors can produce these optics. So it’s necessary to ask information about OEMs and compatibility test from your third-party optics supplier.

Conclusion

From the above introduction, you must have a well understanding about three common Cisco 1000BASE SFPs. When choosing SFP modules, you should consider whether it matches the switch port and the cable you have prepared. If you have multimode cable, then you can choose GLC-SX-MM 1000BASE SFP. If you use single-mode fibre cable, you should select GLC-LH-SM 1000BASE SFP. While if your cable is copper category, you have to use GLC-T 1000BASE-T SFP. On condition that your budget doesn’t allow you to buy original brand module, you can buy the third-party optics from FS.COM with Cisco, Avago, HP and other compatible brands. All the optics have gone through test for 100% compatibility. Any question, please contact us via sales@fs.com.

How Much Do You Know About SONET/SDH SFP+?

Before, Plesiochronous Digital Hierarchy (PDH) system was used to transport phone calls and data over the same fibre. Since phone calls and data traffic increase a lot, SONET SDH are introduced to replace PDH system to transport the data without synchronization problems. As you can see, you always find SONET and SDH SFP+ in the market. Now, this article will give a brief analysis on SONET SDH SFP+.

SONET and SDH SFP+

SONET And SDH Interfaces Overview

SONET (Synchronous Optical Networking) and SDH (Synchronous Digital Hierarchy) are multiplexing protocols that transfer multiple digital bit streams over optical fibre with lasers or light-emitting diodes (LEDs). SONET and SDH are widely used methods today for very high speed transmission of voice and data signals across the numerous world-wide fibre-optic networks. SONET is the standard used in the United States and Canada, and SDH in the rest of the world. The two are largely equivalent. Although the SONET standards were developed before SDH, it is considered a variation of SDH because of SDH’s greater worldwide market penetration.

We often find SONET SDH SFP module like Cisco OC-3/STM-1 LR-1 SFP 1310nm 40km IND DOM. What does OC-3/STM-1 mean? OC-3c (Synchronous Transport Signal 3, concatenated) is the basic unit of SONET. Depending on the system, OC-3 is also known as STS-3 (when the signal is carried electrically). STM-1 (Synchronous Transport Module, level 1) is the basic unit of framing in SDH, which operates 155.52 Mbit/s. OC-3c and STM-1 have the same high-level functionality, frame size, and bit-rate.

SONET SDH Data Rates
SONET SDH Data Rates

SONET And SDH for 10 Gigabit Ethernet

10 Gigabit Ethernet (10GbE) means the Ethernet network runs at 10 Gigabit per second. The 10 Gigabit Ethernet defines two PHY (Physical Layer) types: a local area variant (LAN PHY) with a line rate of 10.3125 Gbit/s, and a wide area variant (WAN PHY) with the same line rate as OC-192/STM-64 (9,953,280 Kbit/s).

10GbE provided the potential for an Ethernet solution aligned with the data rate of OC-192 backbone. It’s the first time in Ethernet history that no additional speed matching equipment would be required to link with the WAN. A seamless end-to-end Ethernet network can be built with less money. But the question is how to balance the compatibility with the installed base of OC-192 equipment while still meeting the economic feasibility criteria of the P802.3ae Task Force in defining the 10GE WAN PHY. To solve this problem, an OC-192 frame format is provided to support only the SONET overhead features required for fault isolation. This simplification avoids unnecessary functions and cost.

In order to make sure that WAN PHY optics would benefit from the high volumes and low cost of Ethernet, the serial 1310 nm and 1550 nm transceiver modules were kept the same as the LAN PHY. Since the 1310 nm and 1550 nm transceiver modules are designed for up to 10km and 40 km links respectively, they will inter-operate with OC-192 transceiver module for 1310 nm and 1550 nm over intermediate reach, respectively.

FS.COM SONET And SDH SFP+

FS offers OC-192/STM-64 SFP+ for short reach (SR-1, VSR) , intermediate reach (IR-2) and long reach (LR-2) applications (as shown in the following table). Our SFP+ module is compatible with the SONET/SDH and ATM standards. For more details, please visit www.fs.com or contact us via sales@fs.com.

Related Article: How Much Do You Know About SONET/SDH SFP Module?

Quick Guides on 3G Digital Video SFPs

As high definition (HD) content occupies the norm in video and broadcasting industry, higher standards digital video SFPs are needed for HD or even higher standard video transmission. So there are 3G digital video SFPs suitable for SD/HD/3G-SDI. To know more about 3G digital video SFPs, please continue to read this article.

SDI Standards

SDI, short for Serial Digital Interface, is a digital video interface standard made by SMPTE (The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers) organization. The serial interface transmits the data through single channel. Additional SDI standards include HD-SDI, 3G-SDI, 6G-SDI, and 12G-SDI. HD-SDI was standardised by SMPTE 372M in 1998. It can support 1.485Gbps interface. 3G-SDI consists of a single 2.970Gbps serial link that allows replacing dual link HD-SDI.

3G Digital Video SFPs

3G Video SFP is also named Digital Video SFP. Digital video SFP modules are specially applied for SDI (Serial Digital Interface) data rates from 50 Mbps to 3 Gbps with links of 80 km over single-mode fibre. This kind of SFPs are designed to transmit optical serial digital signals as defined in SMPTE 297-2006, specifically for robust performance in the presence of SDI pathological patterns for SMPTE 259M, SMPTE 344M, SMPTE 292M and SMPTE 424M serial rates.

Digital video SFPs are hot pluggable, easy to use, and offer the highest density optical solution for carrying digital video through optical fibre. The digital video SFP pinout is designed as one slot can be populated with a dual transmitter, dual receiver, single transmitter, single receiver, or a transceiver. Digital video SFP is a cost-effective way to solve the problems during digital video optical transmission, allow the transport of SDI and HD-SDI video signals over any optical transport system that employs MSA standard optical transceivers.

3G digital video SFPs include 3G SDI SFP, BiDi SFP and CWDM SFP. According to different standards, it can be divided into different types. Based on the transmission mode, it can be divided into single Tx, single Rx, dual Tx, dual Rx and TR transceivers; by standards into MSA and non-MSA; by operating wavelength into 1310nm, 1490nm, 1550nm and CWDM wave length. 3G digital video SFPs also have 3G video SFP and 3G video pathological patterns due to different applications. Let’s take a look at the details about 3G video pathological patterns SFP.

What are 3G-SDI pathological patterns? Pathological patterns, also called SDI proving ground, are a whole test signal. And it must be done during blackout. This signal is tough to handle by serial digital system, and significant to check the system performance. Pathological patterns often contain the richest low-frequency energy which statistically happens one per frame. Pathological patterns test is also an important indicator of video SFP modules. FS.COM 3Gbps video pathological patterns SFPs are used to transmit optical serial digital signals at the serial rates of SMPTE 259M, SMPTE 344M, SMPTE 292M and SMPTE 424M defined in SMPTE 297-2006. 3Gbps video pathological patterns SFPs with LC interface can transmit optical signals from 50Mbps to 3Gbps reaching the maximum distance of 40km. Both single-mode and multimode video pathological patterns SFPs are available. All modules are hot-pluggable and compatible with SFP MSA. Besides, they can be applied in 3G-SDI/HD-SDI/SD-SDI electrical-optical converter, 3G-SDI/HD-SDI/SD-SDI optical-electrical converter, HD camera or monitor system and high-density digital video routers & switches.

3G-Digital-Video-SFPs-application

Conclusion

From this article, you must know some information about 3G digital video SFP. Fiberstore offers a full series of low cost but high quality 3G digital video SFPs for your applications covering the link distance of 300 m, 10 km, 20 km, 40 km and 80 km. As the advent of 4K (ultra high definition) market, the demand is growing fast for transporting the 4K in an efficient way. So just expect 6G-SDI or even 12G-SDI products researched and developed by FS.COM.

Fiber Optic Components for Building 10G Data Centers

10 Gigabit Ethernet is a telecommunication technology that can support the network speed up to 10 billion bits per second. It’s also known as 10GbE. As 10GbE greatly increases bandwidth, many companies start to upgrade the data centers to meet their growing needs. How to build a 10G data center? What kind of equipment will be used except the switch? This article will recommend you some basic 10G solutions.

10G SFP+ (small form-factor pluggable plus) modules are hot swappable transceivers that plug into SFP+ slots on switches and support 10G data center. With small form factor, SFP+ transceivers can ensure low power disruption and high port density. Since it’s hot pluggable, the transceiver modules can be added or removed without interrupting the whole network. And SFP+ modules deliver data transmission speed of up to 10Gbit/s, which is 10 times faster than Gigabit Ethernet.

10g-sfp-module

Currently, a wide variety of SFP+ modules can be purchased in the market. For the long distance transmission, modules include SFP-10GBASE-LR, SFP-10GBASE-ER, SFP-10GBASE-ZR, CWDM SFP+ and DWDM SFP+. For the short distance transmission, there are modules like SFP 10GBASE-SR, SFP-10GBASE-LRM. Brands are also versatile such as Cisco, Juniper, Arista, Brocade, etc. To get modules with lower costs, you can pick third-party transceivers which are compatible with these original brands.

Patch cables contain both fiber and copper types. Fiber patch cords, as one of the data transmission media, enjoy great popularity because they have large transmission capacity, strong anti-electromagnetic interference, high security and fast speed. LC fiber patch cord is one of the most common cables for 10G data center, covering single-mode and multimode categories respectively for data transmission over long distance and short distance. To increase panel density, flexible HD LC push-pull tab fiber patch cable is designed. With its unique design, this patch cable allows the connector to be disengaged easily from densely loaded panels without the need for special tools and give users easy accessibility in narrow areas for data center deployment applications. Another special LC patch cord is uniboot patch cord. It utilizes a special “round duplex” cable that allows duplex transmission within a single cable. It’s good for saving cable management space comparing to standard patch cords.

lc-patch-cable

10G SFP+ Direct Attach Cable Assemblies

10G SFP+ direct attach cable (DAC ) is a cost-effective solution for 10G data center. It’s a low-power alternative to optical SFP+ system. The 10G SFP+ cables provide low-cost and reliable 10G speed with either copper cables over distances up to 10 m or active optical cables reaching distances up to 100 m. Because there is no need for spending on fiber optic transceivers and cables. This kind of cables contain 10G SFP+ copper cables, both passive and active and active optical cable (AOC). Active copper cable and AOC are designed for long distance connection, while passive copper cable is for short distance, such as the interconnection of top-of-rack switches with application servers and storage devices in a rack.

10g-sfp-cables

Fiber Enclosure

Fiber enclosure is an equipment you must have in data centers. This component is used to provide a flexible and modular system for managing fiber terminations, connections, and patching in high density data center application to maximize rack space utilization and minimize floor space. Fiber enclosure can be divided into different configurations like rack mount (available in 1U, 2U, 3U, 4U), wall mount, indoor or outdoor. The rack mount enclosure come into three flavors. One is the slide-out type and the other two are removable type and swing out type. Fiberstore introduces high density fiber enclosures with 48 ports, 96 ports and even 288 ports loaded LC FAPs (fiber adapter panels) in 1RU or 4RU rack mount for 10G solutions. Or if you already have the unloaded fiber enclosures, you just need to buy fiber adapter panels.

288-pors-4u-patch-panel-enclosure

Conclusion

To build a 10G data center, you have to prepare the components, for instance, 10G SFP+ modules, LC patch cables, 10G SFP+ cables, fiber enclosures, etc. You may also need other instruments for testing and cable organization. And all those equipment can be got from FS.COM with higher quality but fewer costs. For more information, you can contact us via sales@fs.com.

Advice on Patch Cable Selection for Optical Transceiver

Fibre optic network connection can’t be achieved without optical transceiver and patch cable. Optical transceiver varies from transmission media, interface, transmission distance, data rate, and brand, for example, SFP for 1000Mbps, SFP+ for 10G, QSFP+ for 40G, CFP and QSFP28 for 100G. It’s not difficult to identify these optical transceivers. But when you connect the optical transceiver to the patch cable, many details need to be noticed. This article will give you advice on how to choose the suitable patch cable for your optical transceiver.

Transmission Media—Copper & Fibre

According to transmission media of fibre optic and copper, transceivers can be divided into two kinds, copper based transceivers and fibre optic based transceivers. MSA has defined several copper based transceiver like: 100BASE-T, 1000BASE-T and 10GBASE-T. Copper transceivers are available in GBIC, SFP and SFP+ form factors, which usually has an RJ45 interface. So Cat5/6/7 cables are typically used to connect with the transceivers. Maybe Cat8 will be researched and developed to support higher data rate up to 40G sooner or later.

optical-transceiver-rj45-interface

As to fibre optic transceivers, things are more complex. For that fibre optic transceivers require different fibre patch cords which have more types. Fibre patch cables cover single-mode and multimode. Single-mode patch cable can be classified into OS1 and OS2. While multimode cables can be divided into OM1, OM2, OM3, OM4 cable. Different cables are used in different applications. Single-mode cable can support long distance transmission and multimode cable for short distance link. If the transmission distance is shorter than 500 metres, multimode patch cable is suggested. For long distance transmission, single-mode transmission is suggested. You patch-cableshould also consider that the transmission data rate can also affect the transmission distance. Let’s look at the following point.

Supported Distance and Data Rate

MSA has defined a variety of transceivers that can support different transmission distances and data rates. When you buy a fibre optic transceiver, you will find the data rate, wavelength, distance, etc. on its labeling. The following table show the basic information of most often used transceivers and supported cable type.

Description Wavelengh Data Rate Cable Type Distance
SX 850nm 1G MM 500 m
LX 1310nm 1G SM 8 km
EX 1310nm 1G SM 40 km
ZX 1550nm 1G SM 70 km
SR 850nm 10G MM 300 m
LR 1310nm 10G SM 10 km
ER 1550nm 10G SM 40 km
ZR 1550nm 10G SM 80 km
SR4 850nm 40G MM 100 m
SR10 850nm 100G MM 100 m
LR4 1310nm 40G SM 10 km

As mentioned before, single-mode patch cable is better for long distance transmission and multimode patch cable for short distance transmission. Actually single-mode patch cords can be used for different data rates in both long and short distances. But single-mode fibre optic cable will cost more. To achieve reliable performance in short distances with cost effective solutions, you should know the performance of multimode fibre optic cables. The following chart provides the detailed transmission distances and data rates information for different multimode fibre optic cables over wavelength of 850 nm for your reference.

Fibre Type 1G 10G 40/100G
OM1 300 m 36 m N/A
OM2 500 m 86 m N/A
OM3 1 km 300 m 100 m
OM4 1 km 550 m 150 m
Transceiver Interfaces

The selection of patch cable for transceiver should also consider the interfaces through which patch cords is connected to the transceiver. In addition, transceiver usually used one port for transmitting and one port for receiving. Generally, fibre optic transceivers usually employs duplex SC or LC interfaces. However, for BiDi transceivers only one port is used for both transmitting and receiving. Thus, simplex patch cord is used with BiDi transceiver.

Some 40G/100GBASE QSFP+ transceivers used MTP/MPO interfaces, which should be connected to the network with multi-fibre patch cords attached with MTP/MPO connectors. If these ports are used for 40G to 10G or 100G to 10G connection, then fanout patch cable should be used. For example, a MTP to 8 LC fanout cable can splitter 40G data rate to four 10G data rate.

Summary

Next time when you select patch cords for your fibre optic transceivers, you can consider these factors like transmission media, transmission data rate and distance, transceiver interfaces. FS.COM offers a wide range of fibre optic transceivers and patch cords. Custom service is also available. Any problem, please contact us via sales@fs.com.

10GBASE-T vs SFP+ vs SFP+ Cable, Which to Choose for 10GbE Network?

The dramatic growth in data center requires the higher-performance servers, storage and interconnects. From initial 100M, 1G, 10G, to 40G and 100G, high speed Ethernet has never stopped developing. The standard for 10 Gigabit Ethernet (IEEE802.3ae) was ratified in 2002. In 10 Gigabit Ethernet, there are mainly three media: 10G SFP+ transceiver, SFP+ DAC cable and 10GBASE-T SFP transceiver. This post will discuss 10GBASE-T vs SFP+ vs SFP+ cable.

Media Options for 10GbE Network: 10GBASE-T vs SFP+ vs SFP+ Cable

10G SFP+

SFP+ (small form-factor pluggable plus) supports both fibre optic cables and DAC (direct attach cable). It delivers a wide variety of 10GbE Ethernet connectivity options for data center, enterprise wiring closet, and service provider transport applications. But it has the limitations that will prevent the media from moving to every server.

SFP+ Cable

SFP+ cable is designed for 10GbE access layer interconnection in data center. It includes direct attach copper cables and active optical cables. DAC is a lower cost alternative to fibre, but it can support limited transmission distance and it’s not backward-compatible with existing GbE switches. DAC requires the purchase of an adapter card and requires a new top of rack (ToR) switch topology. DAC is more expensive than structured copper channels, and cannot be field terminated.

10GBASE-T SFP

10GBase-T SFP enables 10GbE connections with unshielded or shielded twisted pair cables over distances up to 100 metres. 10GBase-T technology appears as SPF is not compatible with twisted pair cabling system typically used in data centers. With 10GBase-T SFP, the migration from 1GbE to 10GbE can be easily achieved.

10GBASE-T vs SFP+ vs SFP+ Cable

This part will dicuss 10GBASE-T vs SFP+ vs SFP+ Cable from the aspects of latency and power consumption:

Latency

Low latency becomes so important since the adoption of private cloud applications increases. It’s beneficial for ensuring fast response time and reducing CPU (center processing units) idle cycles so that improve data center efficiency.

As to 10GBASE-T SFP, the physical connection (PHY) standard uses block encoding to transport data across the cable without errors. The block encoding requires a block of data to be read into the transmitter PHY, a mathematical function run on the data before the encoded data are sent over the link. It happens the same on the receiver side. This standard specifies 2.6 microseconds for the transmit-receive pair, and the block size requires latency to be less than 2 microseconds. While 10G SFP applies simplified electronics without encoding, and common latency is around 300 nanoseconds per link.

You may think that two microseconds are not high. But what if a TOR infrastructure where traffic is passing 4 hops to reach the destination? 10.4-microsecond delay will be caused when using 10GBASE-T SFP. The following table tells details about the latency of SFP+ cable, 10G SFP and 10GABSE-T SFP for different number of links.

Number of Links SFP+ Cable Latency 10G SFP Latency 10GBASE-T SFP Latency
1 0.3 0.1 2.6
2 0.6 0.2 5.2
3 0.9 0.3 7.8
4 1.2 0.4 10.4
5 1.5 0.5 13.0
6 1.8 0.6 15.6

From the above table, it shows that the latency of 10GBASE-T SFP is the highest. As network links grow, the latency turns to be higher. It’s known that the lower latency, the faster the network speed. High latency in the data center infrastructure results in delays in CPU and application works, therefore limiting data center efficiency and increasing operational costs.

Power Consumption

Power consumption is also one of the important factors to be considered in data centers. Engineers are sensitive to power consumption and find a way to seek the lowest possible power consumption technologies. It’s said that every watt of power consumed, typically two additional watts are needed for cooling.

10GBase-T components today require anywhere from 2 to 5 watts per port at each end of the cable depending on the distance of the cable. But 10G SFP requires about 0.7 watt regardless of distance. The figure below compares the power consumption of three media options of 10GbE Ethernet.

10GBASE-T vs SFP+ vs SFP+ Cable

From this figure, suppose there are 10000 ports in the data center, 10G SFP can greatly save the power. On contrary, 10GBASE-T components consumes the most power. Thus, to save power in the data center, 10G SFP and SFP+ cable should better be selected when deploying thousands of cables in a data center.

Conclusion

From this article, 10G SFP+ and SFP+ cable solutions are better than 10GBASE-T SFP for 10G data center. But 10GbE is not the ultimate goal. Besides factors mentioned in this article, you should also select a cabling solution which can support not only current needs but also future data center deployments when you design 10GbE network. You can find various SFP+ modules and 40G QSFP+ from FS.COM.

Related article: How to Convert SFP+ to 10GBASE-T/RJ45?

Things You Need to Know Before Deploying 10 Gigabit Ethernet Network

Since the establishment of 10 Gigabit Ethernet, it has been employed by large amount of enterprises in their corporate backbones, data centres, and server farms to support high-bandwidth applications. But how to achieve a reliable, stable and cost-effective 10Gbps network? There are ten things you should know before doing the deployment.

More Efficient for the Server Edge

Many organizations try to optimize their data centres by seeking server virtualization which supports several applications and operating systems on a single server by defining multiple virtual machines on the server. Because of this, the organizations can reduce server inventory, better utilize servers, and mange resources more efficiently. Server virtualization relies heavily on networking and storage. Virtual machines require lot of storage. The network connectivity between servers and storage must be fast enough to avoid bottlenecks. And 10GbE can provide the fast connectivity for virtualized environments.

More Cost-effective for SAN

There are three types of storage in a network: direct-attached storage, network attached storage, and SAN. Among them, SAN is the most flexible and scalable solution for data centre and high-density applications. But it costs much and needs special trainees for installing and maintaining the Fibre Channel interconnect fabric.

The internet small computer system interface (iSCSI) makes 10 Gigabit Ethernet an attractive interconnect fabric for SAN applications. iSCSI allows 10 Gigabit Ethernet infrastructure to be used as a SAN fabric which is more favorable compared with Fibre Channel. Because it can reduce equipment and management costs, enhance server management, improve disaster recovery and deliver excellent performance.

Reducing Bottlenecks for the Aggregation Layer

Today, traffic at the edge of the network has increased dramatically. Gigabit Ethernet to the desktop has become more popular since it becomes less expensive. More people adopt Gigabit Ethernet to the desktop, which increases the oversubscription ratios of the rest of the network. And that brings the bottleneck between large amounts of Gigabit traffic at the edge of the network and the aggregation layer or core.

10 Gigabit Ethernet allows the aggregation layer to scale to meet the increasing demands of users and applications. It can well solve the bottleneck for its three advantages. First, 10 Gigabit Ethernet link uses fewer fibre stands compared with Gigabit Ethernet aggregation. Second, 10 Gigabit Ethernet can support multi Gigabit streams. Third, 10 Gigabit Ethernet provides greater scalability, bringing a future-proof network.

Fibre Cabling Choices

To realize 10 Gigabit Ethernet network deployment, three important factors should be considered, including the type of fibre cable (MMF of MF), the type of 10 Gigabit Ethernet physical interface and optics module (XENPAK, X2, XFP and SFP+).

Cable Types Interface Max Distance
MMF (OM1/OM2/OM3) 10GBASE-SR 300 m
10GBASE-LRM 220 m
10GBASE-ER 40 km
SMF (9/125um fibre) 10GBASE-LR 10 km
10GBASE-ZR 80 km

Form factor options are interoperable when 10 Gigabit Ethernet physical interface type is the same on both ends of the fibre link. For example, 10GBASE-SR XFP on the left can be linked with one 10GBASE-SR SFP+ on the right. But 10GBASE-SR SFP+ can’t connect to one 10GBASE-LRM SFP+ at the other end of the link.

Copper Cabling Solutions

As copper cabling standards becomes mature, the copper cabling solutions for 10GbE is becoming common. Copper cabling is suitable for short distance connection. The are three different copper cabling solutions for 10 Gigabit Ethernet: 10GBASE-CX4, SFP+ DAC (direct attach cable) and 10GBASE-T.

10GBASE-CX4 is the first 10 Gigabit Ethernet standard. It’s economical and allowed for very low latency. But it’s a too large form factor for high density port counts in aggregation switches.

10G SFP+ DAC is a new copper solution for 10 Gigabit Ethernet. It has become the main choice for servers and storage devices in a rack because of its low latency, small connector and reasonable cost. It’s the best choice for short 10 Gigabit Ethernet network connection.

10GBASE-T runs 10G Ethernet over Cat6a and Cat7 up to 100 m. But this standard is not very popular since it needs technology improvements to reduce its cost, power consumption, and latency.

For Top of Rack Applications

A top-of-rack (ToR) switch is a switch with a low number of ports that sits at the very top or in the middle of a 19’’ telco rack in data centres. A ToR switch provides a simple, low-cost way to easily add more capacity to a network. It connects several servers and other network components such as storage together in a single rack.

ToR switch uses SFP+ to provide 10G network in an efficient 1U form factor. DAC makes rack cabling and termination easier. Each server and network storage device can be directly connected to the ToR switch, eliminating the need for intermediate patch panels. DAC is flexible for vertical cabling management within the rack architecture. And the cabling outside the rack, the ToR switch uplink connection to the aggregation layer, simplifies moving racks.

The following figure shows a 10 Gigabit Ethernet ToR switching solution for servers and network storage. Because the servers are virtualized, so the active-active server team can be distributed across two stacked witches. This can ensure physical redundancy for the servers while connected to the same logical switch. What’s more, failover protection can be offered if one physical link goes down.

10G-ToR

Conclusion

10 Gigabit Ethernet network is not the fastest but quite enough for common use in our daily life. So you should better read this article before you do the deployment. Besides, FS.COM provides both fibre and copper cabling solutions for 10G network. For more details, please visit www.fs.com.

10GBASE-LRM – The New 10G Multimode Optical Solution

10 Gigabit Ethernet has been applied for a long time in data centers and enterprise LANs. For 10G Ethernet connection, there are both single mode and multimode solutions. This post will introduce 10GBASE-LRM – a new 10G multimode optical solution.

First let’s see the original multimode solutions and supportable distances for 10G Ethernet.

10G-multimode solution-supportable-distance

10GBASE-S operates at 850nm wavelength. It can support up to 300m distance over laser-optimised OM3. This makes it a popular standard for data centers and cooperate backbones. For the conventional OM1 and OM2 which are not optimised for laser transmission, the furthest supportable distance is 33 m and 82 m. So these two solutions are only used in equipment rooms or small data centers.

10GBASE-LX4 was specified to support 300 m over three cable types. So it relies on coarse wavelength division multiplexing (CWDM) which is more complex and expensive technology. 10GBASE-LX4 operates at 1300nm wavelength and that requires additional cost on mode-conditioning patch cords (MCPCs).

The high cost and relatively slow adoption of 10GBASE-LX4 drive the development of a new standard—10GBASE-LRM. 10GBASE-LRM is developed to offer a longer reach for conventional fibre cables at a lower cost and smaller size than 10GBASE-LX4. The following will talk about 10GBASE-LRM from three sides.

10GBASE-LRM Transmission Distance

On condition the supporting distance, 10GBASE-LRM can only support 220 m. It’s suitable for LAN networks within buildings. But a cabling survey provides that for 10G network, the distance is not able to address 30% of in-building channels.

10GBASE-LRM Electronic Dispersion Compensation

The key to the long reach of 10GBASE-LRM on conventional multimode fibre is electronic dispersion compensation (EDC). EDC is deployed as an integrated circuit that acts like a complex filter on the received signal from the optical fibre. The purpose is to extend the maximum supportable distance. 10GBASE-LRM applies EDC technology and is therefore independent of the optical wavelength. 10GBASE-LRM operates at 1300 nm.

EDC chips is added to a linear detector in the receiver. As an additional component, it increases cost, consumes power and wastes heat. It can only work as intended in conjunction with a linear detector and amplifier. Because the EDC device must operate on a faithful analog rendition of the optical waveform in the fibre. For 10GBASE-LRM, to reproduce the optical waveform with precision, extra requirements and cost on the receiver design are needed.

10GBASE-LRM Multiple Transmit Launch Conditions

In order to improve the chances of operating at a higher bandwidth, 10GBASE-LRM relies on multiple transmit launch conditions.

One launch is achieved by using mode-conditioning patch cord. The other launch is produced using a regular multimode patch cord. Through the two launches, different modes can be achieved and a favorable operating condition can be easily found.

There are four possible patch cord combinations at both ends of the channel. The preferred launch uses MCPCs on both ends. This process requires a test for link stability for each configuration. The user should shake and bend the patch cord at the transmit end while observing channel health indicators at the receive end. The shaking and bending of the cords causes changes to the received waveform which the receiver must tolerate in normal operation. If there were transmission errors, then users should change another launch. The errors indicate that the channel is operating near or beyond the limit of the receiver’s capability and the link may fail in operation.

launch-conditions-for-10gbase-lrm

However, the 10GBASE-LRM standard’s committee refuse to implement this channel test. So the burden of the shaking and bending lies on the users. It’s not good for the popularity of 10GBASE-LRM.

Comparison of Several 10G Transceivers Cost

The following will compare the cost of 10G transceivers from several sides, including laser, receiver, package and cords.

Laser: 10GBASE-LRM uses 1310nm fabry perot lasers, which cost fewer than 10GBASE-L’s and 10GBASE-LX4 DFB lasers, but more than 10GBASE-S’s 850nm VCSELs. 10GBASE-LRM requires tighter transmitter waveform control to limit the transmit waveform dispersion penalty that EDC can’t compensate. Thus, it reduces transmitter yields and increases cost.

Receiver: 10GBASE-LRM adds EDC chip cost to receiver and needs a linear detector and amplifier instead of other cheap digital equipment.

Package: 10GBASE-LRM requires a smaller package than 10GBASE-LX4. However, not like 10GBASE-S, 10GBASE-LRM requires higher-cost single-mode transmitter alignment for compatibility with mode conditioning patch cords.

Cords: 10GBASE-LRM needs mode conditioning patch cords for reliable link operation. And the cost is much higher than regular SMF or MMF fibre patch leads.

Through the comparison among these 10G optical transceivers, you may find which one costs fewer. 10GBASE-LRM transceiver is cheaper than 10GBASE-LX4, more expensive than 10GBASE-L and 10GBASE-S transceivers.

Conclusion

10GBASE-LRM is a multimode solution for 10 Gigabit Ethernet. Based on the above content, 10GBASE-LRM has some advantages over 10GBASE-LX4. It offers lower cost and smaller package. But the distance and reliability are not very ideal. Compared with 10GBASE-S, 10GBASE-LRM is not so good as to the cost, simplicity, reliability and distance capability. FS.COM provides various types of cost-effective 10GBASE transceivers, such as 10GBASE-LR, 10GBASE-SR, 10GBASE-ER, etc. Other compatible brands like Cisco, Juniper, Arista, Brocade are also available. Among so many choices, you must choose the most suitable solution for your network connection.