Tag Archives: 25G

Transceiver Solutions for Cisco Catalyst 9300 Series Switch

This year, Cisco unveiled the Catalyst 9000 family, shaping the new era of intent-based networking. The Network. Intuitive. The Cisco Catalyst 9000 Series switches are the next generation of enterprise-class switches built for security, Internet of Things (IoT), mobility, and cloud. The Cisco Catalyst 9000 Series switches come in three main varieties: The Catalyst 9300, the Catalyst 9400 and the Catalyst 9500. Here, the post will give an emphasis on Cisco Catalyst 9400 series switches and transceiver solution for them.

Overview of Cisco Catalyst 9300

The Catalyst 9300 Series is the next generation of the industry’s most widely deployed stackable switching platform. Built for security, IoT, and the cloud, these network switches form the foundation for Cisco’s Software-Defined Access, the leading enterprise architecture. In addition, the Cisco Catalyst 9300-based models support a variety of uplink modules for both copper and fibre uplink support. These models add even more flexibility to the interface choices that you can make in a single Cisco Catalyst 9300 Switch or in a stack of Cisco Catalyst 9300 Switches.

cisco catalyst 9300

Supported Transceiver Modules for Cisco Catalyst 9300

The Cisco Catalyst 9300 Series Switches support optional network modules for uplink ports. All modules are supported across all 9300 platforms:

  • 4 x 1 Gigabit Ethernet network module
  • 4 x 1, 2.5, 5, or 10 Gigabit Ethernet network module
  • 8 x 10 Gigabit Ethernet network module
  • 2 x 40 Gigabit Ethernet network module

100G Solution

Model Number Transceiver Description Interface Max Cable Distance
CFP-100G-SR10 100GBASE-SR10 CFP form factor transceiver module for multi mode fibre, short wavelength over 10 lanes, in the 850-nm wavelength window MTP/MPO-24 Up to 100m on OM3/<150m on OM4
CFP-100G-LR4 100GBASE-LR4 CFP form factor transceiver module for SMF, 4 LAN-WDM lanes in the 1310-nm wavelength window LC duplex 10km
CFP-100G-ER4 100GBASE-ER4 CFP form factor transceiver module for SMF, 4 LAN-WDM lanes in the 1310-nm wavelength window LC duplex 40km
QSFP-100G-SR4-S 100GBASE-SR4 QSFP form factor transceiver module for multi mode fibre, short wavelength over 4 lanes, in the 850-nm wavelength window LC duplex 100m
QSFP-100G-CWDM4-S 100GBASE CWDM4 QSFP form factor Transceiver for single mode fibre, 4 CWDM-WDM lanes in the 12761-1331-nm wavelength window LC duplex 2km
QSFP-100G-PSM4-S 100GBASE PSM4 QSFP form factor transceiver module for single mode fibre, short wavelength over 4 lanes, in the 1195-1325-nm wavelength window MTP/MPO-12 500m
QSFP-100G-LR4-S 100GBASE-LR4 QSFP form factor transceiver module for SMF, 4 LAN-WDM lanes in the 1310-nm wavelength window LC duplex 10km

40G Solution

Model Number Transceiver Description Interface Max Cable Distance
QSFP-40G-SR4 40GBASE-SR4 QSFP+ transceiver module for MMF, 4-lanes, 850-nm wavelength MTP/MPO 150m on OM4
QSFP-40G-CSR4 40GBASE-CSR4 QSFP+ transceiver module for MMF, 4-lanes, 850-nm wavelength MTP/MPO 400m on OM4
QSFP-40G-SR4-S 40GBASE-SR4 QSFP+ transceiver module for MMF, 4-lanes, 850-nm wavelength MTP/MPO 150m on OM4
QSFP-40G-SR-BD 40G QSFP Bi-Directional transceiver module for duplex MMF LC duplex 150m on OM4/100m on OM3/30m on OM2
QSFP-40G-ER4 40GBASE-LR4 QSFP40G transceiver module for Single Mode Fibre, 4 CWDM lanes in 1310nm window Muxed inside module LC duplex 40km
QSFP-40GE-LR4 100GBASE-LR4 QSFP form factor transceiver module for SMF, 4 LAN-WDM lanes in the 1310-nm wavelength window LC duplex 10km
WSP-Q40GLR4L 40GBASE-LR4 QSFP40G transceiver module for Single Mode Fibre, 4 CWDM lanes in 1310nm window Muxed inside module LC duplex 2km

25G Solution

Model Number Transceiver Description Connector Type Cable Type
SFP-H25G-CU1M 25G Copper Cable 1-meter SFP28 to SFP28 Passive Copper Cable
SFP-H25G-CU2M 25G Copper Cable 2-meter SFP28 to SFP28 Passive Copper Cable
SFP-H25G-CU3M 25G Copper Cable 3-meter SFP28 to SFP28 Passive Copper Cable
SFP-H25G-CU5M 25G Copper Cable 2-mete SFP28 to SFP28 Passive Copper Cable
SFP-25G-SR-S 25GBASE-SR SFP+ transceiver module for MMF, 850-nm wavelength LC duplex MMF

10G Solution

Model Number Transceiver Description Interface Max Cable Distance
SFP-10G-SR 10GBASE-SR SFP+ transceiver module for MMF, 850-nm wavelength LC duplex 300m over OM3
SFP-10G-SR-S 10GBASE-SR SFP+ transceiver module for MMF, 850-nm wavelength LC duplex 300m over OM3
SFP-10G-SR-X 10GBASE-LRM SFP+ transceiver module for MMF and SMF, 1310-nm wavelength LC duplex 300m over OM3
SFP-10G-LRM 10GBASE-LRM SFP+ transceiver module for MMF and SMF, 1310-nm wavelength LC duplex 220m
SFP-10G-LR 10GBASE-LR SFP+ transceiver module for SMF, 1310-nm wavelength LC duplex 10km
SFP-10G-LR-S 10GBASE-LR SFP+ transceiver module for SMF, 1310-nm wavelength LC duplex 10km
SFP-10G-LR-X 10GBASE-LR SFP+ transceiver module for SMF, 1310-nm wavelength LC duplex 10km
SFP-10G-ER-S 10GBASE-ER SFP+ transceiver module for SMF, 1550-nm LC duplex 40km
SFP-10G-ZR 10GBASE-ZR SFP+ transceiver module for SMF, 1550-nm LC duplex 80km
SFP-10G-BX40D-I 10G SFP+ Bidirectional for 40km, downstream LC duplex 40km
SFP-10G-BX40U-I 10G SFP+ Bidirectional for 40km, upstream LC duplex 40km
DWDM-SFP10G-49.32 10GBASE-DWDM 1549.32 nm SFP+ (100-GHz ITU grid) LC duplex 40km
DWDM-SFP10G-60.61 10GBASE-DWDM 1560.61 nm SFP+ (100-GHz ITU grid) LC duplex 40km
CWDM-SFP10G-1470 CWDM 1470 nm SFP+ 10 Gigabit Ethernet Transceiver Module LC duplex 20km
CWDM-SFP10G-1490 CWDM 1490 nm SFP+ 10 Gigabit Ethernet Transceiver Module LC duplex 20km
XENPAK-10GB-ER 10GBASE-ER XENPAK transceiver module for SMF, 1550-nm wavelength SC duplex 40km
XENPAK-10GB-LR 10GBASE-LR XENPAK transceiver module for SMF, 1310-nm wavelength SC duplex 10km
X2-10GB-LR 10GBASE-LR X2 transceiver module for SMF, 1310-nm wavelength SC duplex 10km
X2-10GB-SR 10GBASE-SR X2 transceiver module for MMF, 850-nm wavelength SC duplex 300m over OM3 MMF
XFP-10GLR-OC192SR Cisco multirate XFP transceiver module for 10GBASE-LR Ethernet and OC-192/STM-64 short-reach (SR-1) Packet-over-SONET/SDH (POS) applications,SMF LC duplex 10km
XFP-10GER-OC192IR Cisco multirate XFP transceiver module for 10GBASE-ER Ethernet and OC-192/STM-64 intermediate-reach (IR-2) Packet-over-SONET/SDH (POS) applications, SMF LC duplex 40km

Conclusion

Digital disruption is changing how we think about our networks. Whether customers or employees, the “experience” has become a strategic imperative. The Cisco Catalyst 9300 Series fixed access switches are designed to help you change your network from a platform of connectivity to a platform of services. If you are in need of compatible optical transceivers for Catalyst 9300, give FS.COM a shot. FS.COM provides a wide range of supported optical transceivers for Cisco Catalyst 9300 series switch. Each one of them has been tested with assured 100% compatibility to them.

Related Article: Cisco Catalyst 3750 Series Switches SFP Port Connections

The Newly Released 25GbE Ethernet Standard

As the increasing bandwidth requirements of private and public cloud data centers and communication service providers, 25Gbps Ethernet over a single lane will have a significant impact on server interconnect interfaces. It may become the new upgrade path to 100G (10G-25G-100G instead of 10G-40G-100G). This article will give brief introduction about 25GbE Ethernet.

What’s 25GbE Ethernet

25GbE Ethernet standard is proposed for connectivity in the data centers. Because of the increasing demand for higher speed network performance and maintaining Ethernet economics, IEEE agreed to support the development of 25GbE standard in June 2014. 25G Ethernet is defined for 100GbE implemented as four 25Gbps lanes running on four fibre or copper pairs. 100G Quad small for-factor pluggable transceiver (QSFP28) have four lasers, each transmitting 25Gbps. The twisted pair pair standard was derived from 40GbE standards development. The following table shows the main upcoming interfaces for 25Gbps.

25G-strandard-interface

Number of Lanes 40G QSFP+ interface is constructed from four parallel links. Extending QSFP+ onto fibre requires four parallel 10Gb streams to transport this to the receiving QSFP+ parallel optics. The data transmission is achieved by four lanes which significantly reduce switch port density per switching chip and increases the cost of cabling and optics. While the 25GbE standard requires only a single lane, while delivering 2.5 times more throughput compared to current 10GbE solutions and significantly saving the cost compared to 40GbE solutions.

Form Factors The 25GbE physical interface specifications support the form factors including QSFP28 and SFP28. QSFP28 has four lanes and each lanes supports 25 Gbps speed. SFP28 has only one lane and it also supports 25 Gbps speed. Current switch doesn’t support 25G SFP28 port. So the solution for 25G is to use a breakout cable that allows four 25GbE ports to connect to a 100GbE QFSFP28 switch port.

Benefits of 25GbE Ethernet

First, more data and switch port density. Compared with 10G solution, 25GbE standard can provide 2.5 times more data. And it can also offer 4 times switch port density compared to 40G solution. Second, save the cost. Since it can provide greater port density, fewer ToR switches and cables are needed. In that way, it reduces the construction cost compared with 40GbE. Third, it features lower power and smaller footprint requirements. Due to these special benefits, 25GbE is believed to be popular in no time. According to a recent five-year forecast, it’s said that annual shipments of 25GbE ports will be 2.5 times greater than 40GbE ports by 2018.

25G-forecast

25G Solutions

FS.COM has released 25G DAC (direct attach copper) cables which include 100G QSFP28 to 4xSFP28 and 25G SFP28 to SFP28 with the length from 1 m to 5 m. QSFP28 refers to the 100G DAC cable using the QSFP+ form factor, and SFP28 refers to the 25G DAC cable using the SFP+ form factor. The form factor remains the same but the new standard will require improved cables and connectors capable of handling additional bandwidth. Existing QSFP+ and SFP+ cable assemblies are not compatible with QSFP28 and SFP28 ports. 25G DAC is designed as the low-cost copper connection for ToR switches.

25G-dac cable

It’s certain that FS will soon release 25GBASE-T interface equipment. 25GBASE-T can support 30 metres long reach with low cost. It’s a cost-effective solution for ToR server connections using point-to-point patch cords, and enable End of Row (EoR) or Middle of Row (MoR) by using the 30 metre structured cabling. The connection can be achieved with the common use of RJ45 plug and connector. Compared with 25G DAC, it seems to be a more suitable way.

Conclusion

25GbE can provide up to 2.5 times faster performance than existing 10GbE connections while maximizing the Ethernet controller bandwidth/ pin and switch fabric capability. It can also provide greater port density with lower cost compared to 40GbE solutions. It’s analyzed that 25G will limit the deployment of 40G QSFP+ ports. By now, FS.COM has released 100G QSFP28 to 4xSFP28 and 25G SFP28 to 25G SFP28 DAC cables for 25G network. In the near future, there will more equipment for 25G including 25GBASE-T transceiver. Let’s look forward to it.