Tag Archives: SFP module

CWDM SFP Overview

What is CWDM SFP

Coarse wavelength division multiplexing (CWDM) is a kind of wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) technology which combines multiple signals on laser beams along the fibre. Its system utilizes non-stabilized lasers along broadband filters channel spacing of 20 nm, allowing channels up to 18. It is a cost-efficient solution in telecoms or enterprise networks. This technology can integrate with transceiver modules especially small form-factor pluggable (SFP) modules. With CWDM technology, SFP modules can have different wavelengths assigned to them from 1270 nm and 1610 nm, meeting different requirements. Those SFP modules which use CWDM technology are called CWDM SFP modules. CWDM SFP modules are hot-swappable transceiver components that are used to connect fibre cables and switches.

Introduction to Cisco CWDM SFP

Cisco CWDM SFPs are the most popular compact CWDM SFP transceivers used in communications for both telecommunication and data communications. Those transceivers modules can plug into standard receptacles in Cisco routers and switches and convert Gigabit Ethernet electrical signals into a single-mode fibre-optic (SMF) interface. They can even use different wavelengths to transmit and receive signals, making fibre to fibre configuration possible. The following picture shows how CWDM SFP makes a point-to-point link. By using different channels, four channels can be transported over a single fibre strand through CWDM SFP, building a point-to-point connection.CWDM SFP

As above mentioned, CWDM SFP modules have different wavelengths from 1470 nm to 1610 nm. Cisco CWDM SFP modules have eight wavelengths in that region. Different colour markings are used to identify the wavelength to which the Gigabit Ethernet channel is mapped. The following table lists the specific colours for different wavelengths.

CWDM SFP wavelengths and color coding

How to Install CWDM SFP
To install CWDM SFP, you should know the following details.
  • Step1: Remove the CWDM SFP module from its protective packing, and verify the model of CWDM SFP. (CWDM SFP module can be identified by its label which lists the SFP module and the wavelength or by its colour bar on the bale clasp.)
  • Step2: Verify that the bale clasp on the front of the SFP module is closed before inserting the SFP module.
  • Step3: Align the CWDM SFP module in front the slot opening, slide the SFP module into the slot, and verify that whether the connect on the module snaps into place in the rear of the slot.

Note: The dust plugs can protect the CWDM SFP module optical ports and the cable connectors from contamination. You can only remove them from the optical bore of the CWDM or from the fibre optic cable when you are ready to use the module to connect the cable.

For more information about CWDM SFP, you can visit www.fs.com.

SFP Transceiver for Cisco 3560 Series Switches

Optical Transceiver Module

The optical transceiver Module used for optical-to electrical conversion is a key component in optical communication systems. Fibre Optic Transceiver Module is a self-contained component that can both transmit and receive. Usually, it is inserted in devices such as routers or network interface cards which provide one or more transceiver module slot (e.g GBIC, SFP, SFP+, XFP). SFP module is a compact optical module used in optical communications. The SFP is short for small form-factor pluggable and also called Mini-GBIC (the upgrade version of GBIC). The SFP module has many applications in both telecommunication and data communications. This article focus on picking SFP transceivers for Cisco 3560 switches.

Cisco 3560

The Cisco Catalyst 3560 series is a line of enterprice-class switches that include support for PoE, Qos, And advanced security features such as ACLs. These switches, shown in Figure 1, are ideal access layer switches for small enterprise LAN access or branch-office converged network environments.

Cisco Catalyst 3560 Series Switches

Figure 1.Catalyst 3560

The Cisco Catalyst 3560 series supports forwarding rates of 32 Gbps to 128Gbps (Catalyst 3560-E switch series). The Catalyst 3560 series switches are available in different fixed configurations:

  • Fast Ethernet and Gigabit Eternet connectivity
  • Up to 48 10/100/1000 ports, plus four small form-factor pluggable ports
  • Optional 10 Gigabit Ethernet connectivity in the Catalyst 3560-E models
  • Optional integrated PoE (Cisco prestandard and IEEE 802.3af); up to 24 ports with 15.4 watts or 48 ports with 7.3 watts

Since this article is discuss module options for Cisco 3560 series, to learn more about the Catalyst 3560 series of switches, see the data sheet of Cisco Catalyst 3560 series.

Optical Transceiver for Cisco 3560 series switches

The Cisco switch product lines are widely deployed globally, in large part because of the flexibility they provide for add-on options.not only does the Cisco IOS have the richest set of features available relative to any other network operating system, but the IOS is also tailor fit to each Cisco networking device, switches in particular.

To illustrate the options available, which are literally too voluminous to list here, we focus on the Catalyst 3560 switches. The Catalyst 3560 switches have Small Form-Factor Pluggable (SFP) ports that support a number of SFP transceiver modules.

Here is a list of the SFP modules supported on one or more types of 3560 switches:

Fast Ethernet SFP modules:

  • 100BASE-FX SFP (multimode fibre-optic [MMF]) for 2 km
  • 100BASE-LX10 SFP (single-mode fibre-optic [SMF]) for 2km
  • 100BASE-BX10 SFP (SMF) for 10km
  • 100BASE-EX SFP (SMF) for 40km
  • 100BASE-ZX SFP (SMF) for 80km

Gigabit Ethernet SFP modules:

  • 1000BASE-SX SFP 50/62.5 um (MMF) up to 550/220m
  • 1000BASE-LX/LH SFP (SMF/MMF) up to 10/0.550 km
  • 1000BASE-ZX SFP (SMF) up to 70 km
  • 1000BASE-BX10-D SFP and 1000BASE-BX10-U SFP (SMF) up to 10 km
  • 1000BASE-T SFP (copper wire transceiver) 10m

10 Gigabit Ethernet SFP modules:

  • 10GBASE-SR SFP (MMF) up 400m (SFP-10G-SR)
  • 10GBASE-SX SFP (MMF) up to 400m (supporting extended temperature range)
  • 10GBASE-LRM SFP (MMF) up to 220m
  • FET-10G SFP (MMF) up to 100m (for Nexus fabric uplinks)
  • 10GBASE-LR SFP (SMF) up to 10km (SFP-10G-LR)
  • 10GBASE-ER SFP (SMF) up to 40km
  • 10GBASE-ZR SFP (SMF) up to 80 km

10G-SR SFP for Cisco 3560

Fiberstore SFP-10G-SR

40 Gigabit Ethernet and 100 Gigabit Ethenet modules are supported on high-end Cisco devices, such as the Catalyst 6500, the CRS router, the ASR 9000 Series router, and the Nexus 7000 Series switch.

Read More Article About SFP Transceivers:

Cisco Gigabit Ethernet Gbic SFP Modules From Fiberstore

The industry-standard Cisco Small Form-Factor Pluggable (SFP) Gigabit Interface Converter is a hot-swappable input/output device that plugs into a Gigabit Ethernet port or slot, linking the port using the network (Figures 1, 2). SFPs could be used and interchanged on a wide variety of Cisco products and could be intermixed in combinations of 1000BASE-SX,1000BASE-T , 1000BASE-EX, 1000BASE-LX/LH, 1000BASE-ZX, or 1000BASE-BX10-D/U on a port-by-port basis.

Figure 1. Cisco optical Gigabit Ethernet SFP

Cisco optical Gigabit Ethernet SFP

Figure 2. Cisco 1000BASE-T optical SFP

1000BASE-T SFP for Copper Networks

1000BASE-SX SFP for Multimode Fibre Only

The 1000BASE-SX SFP, compatible with the IEEE 802.3z 1000BASE-SX standard, operates on legacy 50 μm multimode fibre links up to 550 m and on 62.5 μm Fibre Distributed Data Interface (FDDI)-grade multimode fibres up to 220 m. It can support up to 1km over laser-optimized 50 μm multimode fibre cable.

1000BASE-T SFP for Copper Networks

The 1000BASE-T SFP is run on standard Category 5 unshielded twisted pair copper cabling of up to 100m (328ft) link length. Cisco 1000BASE-T SFP module support 10/100/1000 autonegotiation and Auto MDI/MDIX.

1000BASE-EX SFP for Long-Reach Single-Mode Fibres

The 1000BASE-EX SFP works on standard single-mode fibre-optic link spans of up to 40 km in length. A 5-dB inline optical attenuator should be inserted between the fibre-optic cable and the receiving port on the SFP at each end of the link for back-to-back connectivity.

1000BASE-LX/LH SFP for Both Multimode and Single-Mode Fibres

The 1000BASE-LX/LH SFP, compatible with the IEEE 802.3z 1000BASE-LX standard, operates on standard single-mode fibre-optic link spans of up to 10 km and up to 550 m on any multimode fibres. When used over legacy multimode fibre type, the transmitter should be coupled through a mode conditioning patch cable.

1000BASE-ZX SFP for Long-Reach Single-Mode Fibres

The 1000BASE-ZX SFP works on standard single-mode fibre-optic link spans of up to approximately 70 km in length. The SFP provides an optical link budget of 21 dB, but the precise link span length depends on multiple factors such as fibre quality, quantity of splices, and connectors.

When shorter distances of single-mode fibre (SMF) are used, it could be important to insert an inline optical attenuator in the connect to avoid overloading the receiver. A 10-dB inline optical attenuator must be inserted between fibre-optic cable plant and the receiving port on the SFP at per end of the link whenever the fibre-optic cable span loss is lower than 8 dB.

1000BASE-BX10-D and 1000BASE-BX10-U SFP for Single-Fibre Bidirectional Applications

The 1000BASE-BX-D and 1000BASE-BX-U SFPs, compatible with the IEEE 802.3ah 1000BASE-BX10-D and 1000BASE-BX10-U standards, operate on a single strand of standard SMF.

A 1000BASE-BX10-D equipment is always linked to a 1000BASE-BX10-U device with a single strand of normal SMF using an operating transmission range up to 10 km.

The communication over a single strand of fibre is achieved by separating the transmission wavelength of the two devices as depicted in Figure 3: 1000BASE-BX10-D transmits a 1490-nm channel and receives a 1310-nm signal, whereas 1000BASE-BX10-U transmits at a 1310-nm wavelength and receives a 1490-nm signal. Note in Figure 3 the presence of a wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) splitter incorporated into the SFP to separate the 1310-nm and 1490-nm light paths.

Cisco offers many types and models of SFP optical transceivers which are designed for a number of fibre optic networking applications. Using a complete information about these module types and selecting the right SFP module for installation can be hard in case you don’t know the SFP products well . Fiberstore is a online store which sales Cisco SFP Optical Transceiver and Cisco SFP Cables. Together with Fiberstore, which is a Global Delivery from their like no any others. Fiberstore will not only delivery the correct shipment, but also for more things for an efficient and flexible way of business cooperation with their partners.