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