Monthly Archives: May 2017

Cabling Solutions for 100G QSFP28 Transceiver

Since the demand for high speed data transmission keeps growing, 100G Ethernet has been widely deployed in data center. Designed for high port density with small compact size and low power consumption, 100G QSFP28 transceivers domain the 100G transceiver module market. In the previous post “Focus on 100G QSFP28 Transceiver”, I have introduced four 100G QSFP28 transceiver types—100GBASE-SR4 QSFP28 transceiver, 100GBASE-PSM4 QSFP28 transceiver, 100GBASE-CWDM4 QSFP28 transceiver and 100GBASE-LR4 QSFP28 transceiver. So in this article, I will share cabling solutions for 100G QSFP28 transceiver with you.

We know that the above four 100G QSFP28 transceiver types can be divided into two categories according to the interface: 100GBASE-SR4 QSFP28 and 100GBASE-PSM4 QSFP28 are with MTP/MPO interface, while 100GBASE-CWDM4 QSFP28 and 100GBASE-LR4 QSFP28 are with duplex LC interface (shown as the figure below). Therefore, the cabling solutions are different respectively.

100G QSFP28 transceiver

Cabling Solution for 100G QSFP28 with MTP/MPO Interface

This kind of 100G QSFP28 transceiver is usually used with MPO cable. For example, 100GBASE-SR4 QSFP28 can support 100G optical links over eight fibers and it can be connected with a 12-fiber MTP/MPO patch cable (four fibers for transmit, four fiber for receiver, leaving four fiber unused). Similar to 100GBASE-SR4 QSFP28, 100GBASE-PSM4 QSFP28 is also used with 12-fiber MTP/MPO patch cable. However, 100GBASE-SR4 QSFP28 utilizes multimode cable for 100 meters data transmission distance while 100GBASE-PSM4 QSFP28 utilizes single-mode cable for 500 meters optical links. Take 100GBASE-SR4 QSFP28 for example, the following figure shows that two 100GBASE-SR4 QSFP28 transceivers are connected with a multimode 12-fiber MTP trunk cable.

Cabling Solutions for 100GBASE-SR4 QSFP28 Transceiver

The following figure shows that with the use of multimode MTP-LC 8f fanout patch cord, one 100GBASE-SR4 QSFP28 transceiver can be connected with four 25GBASE-SR SFP28 transceivers.

100GBASE-SR4 with four 25GBASE-SR SFP28

Cabling Solution for 100G QSFP28 with Duplex LC Interface

Structured with duplex LC interface, 100GBASE-CWDM4 QSFP28 and 100GBASE-LR4 QSFP28 are usually used with single-mode patch cables with LC duplex connectors. When upgrading the network, we often meet the problem that we have to replace all the fiber patch cables. However, you do not have to worry about this issue if your transceivers are 100GBASE-CWDM4 QSFP28 and 100GBASE-LR4 QSFP28. Common single-mode duplex LC patch cable can meet the cabling requirement of these two transceivers. The following figure shows that two 100GBASE-CWDM4 QSFP28 transceivers are connected with a single-mode duplex LC patch cable.

Cabling Solutions for 100GBASE-CWDM4 QSFP28 Transceiver

Conclusion

For 100G QSFP28 with MTP/MPO interface, you can choose MTP/MPO cable, but remember that 100GBASE-SR4 QSFP28 utilizes multimode cable while 100GBASE-PSM4 QSFP28 utilizes single-mode cable; for 100G QSFP28 with duplex LC interface, you can use duplex LC patch cable for long distance transmission. I hope after reading this article, you can get something helpful. The transceivers and fiber optic cables mentioned above can be found at FS.COM. For more details, you can visit our site.

Related article:
Why Not Use QSFP28 Transceiver for Your 100G Network?

Focus on 100G QSFP28 Transceiver

To satisfy the increasing demand for high speed data transmission, network technology has been developed rapidly, from Fast Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet to 10G, 40G, and even 100G Ethernet. And we know that 40G network technology has been widely applied for a long time. But now, the time of 100G is coming. Though for many data centers, 40G is enough for them now, the pace of development is unpredictable. In addition, some data centers have been already migrated to 100G and a range of 100G fiber optic transceivers are available on the market, among which 100G QSFP28 transceivers are considered to be the preference choice. This article will focus on 100G QSFP28 transceiver and help you choose a suitable 100G transceiver for your network deployment. First, let’s come to the basic knowledge of four 100G QSFP28 transceiver types.

100G-SR4 QSFP28 Transceiver

100G-SR4 transceiver offers four independent full-duplex transmit and receiver channels, each capable of running up to 25Gpbs data rate per channel. Like 40GBASE-SR4 QSFP+ transceiver, 100G-SR4 transceiver is structured with 12 fiber MPO connector interface and it can support 100G data transmission with link length up to 70 meters over OM3 and 100 meters over OM4.

100GBASE-PSM4 QSFP28 Transceiver

100GBASE-PSM4 is defined by MSA and it uses four independent parallel lanes for each signal direction, with each lane carrying 25G data transmission. Terminated with 12 fiber MPO connector interface, it can support 100G data transmission with link length up to 500 meters over single-mode fiber.

100GBASE-CWDM4 QSFP28 Transceiver

100GBASE-CWDM4 transceiver complies with the requirement of CWDM4 MSA. Based on CWDM technology, the 100GBASE-CWDM4 transceiver uses four lanes of 25Gbps. On the transmit side, the four 25G optical signals are multiplexed while on the receive side, the four 25G optical signals are de-multiplexed. Terminated with duplex LC interface, it can support 100G data transmission with link length up to 2 kilometers over single-mode fiber.

100G-LR4 QSFP28 Transceiver

100G-LR4 transceiver uses the WDM technologies for four 25G lanes transmission and the four 25G optical signals are being transmitted over four different wavelengths. Like 40G-LR4 QSFP+ transceiver, the 100G-LR4 transceiver has duplex LC interface and it can support 100G dual-way data transmission with link length up to 10 kilometers over single-mode fiber.

Which One to Choose?

From the above content, we can easily find that among four types of 100G QSFP28 transceivers, there are not only differences but also similarities. For example, 100G-SR4  and 100GBASE-PSM4 are with MTP/MPO interface, while 100G-CWDM4 and 100G-LR4 are with LC interface; 100G-SR4 is suitable for for short distance over multimode fiber, while 100GBASE-PSM4 QSFP28, 100G-CWDM4 and 100G-LR4 are suitable for long distance over single-mode fiber. Which one to choose depends on your specific requirements for network deployment. To better distinguish these four 100G transceiver types, here is a table for you.

four 100G QSFP28 transceiver types

Conclusion

100G QSFP28 transceiver is designed for high port density with small compact size and low power consumption. As 100G Ethernet is an inevitable trend, 100G QSFP28 transceiver is the key for 100G migration. Therefore, it is necessary to have a basic knowledge about 100G QSFP28 transceiver. Apart from this, before you carry out your network deployment, choosing a suitable transceiver is essential. All four 100G QSFP28 transceiver types mentioned in this article can be found in FS.COM. If you want to know more details, please visit our site.

Related article: Cabling Solutions for 100G QSFP28 Transceiver