Tag Archives: optical transceiver

Fibre Channel SFP: Why Fibre Channel?

With the advent of SFP transceiver communication, there have been many different standards. In network hardware, the advantage of SFP transceivers is that they allow a single device, such as a switch, to support different cabling and transmission formats. However, when you try to find out which optical transceiver type you need, you will encounter problems. Because there are several different types of fiber SFP that can support a variety of communication standards, such as CWDM/DWDM, SONET, fibre channel, Fast Ethernet, and Gigabit Ethernet. Today we are going to introduce fibre channel SFP.

fibre channel sfp

Fibre Channel SFP

What Is Fibre Channel?

Fibre channel is a protocol mainly used for “storage area network”. Fibre channel speeds are different, ranging from 1, 2, 4, 8, 16Gbps to 128Gbps. Fibre channel is a lossless protocol developed when switches are not as reliable as they are now. When using Ethernet as a protocol, frames are discarded, which brings problems to applications such as data traffic. With the development of technology, switches are now becoming more reliable. However, fibre channels still have a small advantage over Ethernet in terms of consistency and latency.

What Is Fibre Channel SFP?

Fibre channel SFP transceivers is an important device for connecting fibre channel networks in data centers. It provides an interface between fibre channel system and SAN optical fiber. Fibre channel SFP transceiver is a common module in storage area network (SAN), which can provide 1, 2, 4, 8, 10, 16 and 20Gbps data transmission rate. Fibre channel SFP transceiver can be used for single-mode and multimode fiber applications.

Fibre Channel SFP: Why Fibre Channel?

Fibre channel, as a set of advanced data transmission standards, allows large amounts of data to be reliably moved at thousands of megabits between computers, servers, disk arrays, and other devices. Fibre channels are chosen for high-end storage connections because they have three main advantages: high speed, proven reliability, and guaranteed ordered packet transmission.

  • High speed: The original version of the fibre channel runs at the maximum data rate of 1Gbps. Now it can run at the rate of 128Gbps.
  • Proven reliability: fibre channels were initially accepted by almost all the world banks, Fortune 500 companies, and other organizations. These enterprises and organizations needed reliable and timely data transmission no matter how much it costs. Nowadays, the reliability of data transmission is still crucial. fibre channels are the most reliable for any enterprise or organization. Moreover, the choice of the fibre channel is not expensive.
  • Guaranteed in-order delivery: Fibre channel ensures that the raw block data is transmitted sequentially. Sequential delivery greatly improves network efficiency and is required by some applications, such as video streaming and IP streaming. Fibre channel naturally streams video frames sequentially, eliminating the bottleneck of reorganization. Otherwise, the frame speed per second required for video will be reduced seriously.

Conclusion

In summary, the advantages of fibre channel are still abundant, such as fast speed, reliability and sequential delivery, which is why we advocate fibre channel SFP. You can find high-quality FC SFP on FS.COM, such as 2G/4G FC SFP, 8G/10G FC SFP + module. Besides, we can also supply Gigabit SFP, 40G QSFP+ and 100G QSFP28. We offer a full range of branded and reasonably priced 100% compatible transceivers to meet your business need.

Fiber Optic Transceiver Classification

With the technological advancements and improvements made in fiber optic communication, service providers nowadays are more inclined to choose fiber optic to achieve high-level data transmission. Fiber optics generally offer users higher bandwidth, more reliable data transfer and better overall performance, thus to enable a smooth and excellent communicating experience. Fiber optic transceiver, which is considered to be the core of optoelectronic device in the WAN, MAN or LAN infrastructure, plays an indispensable part in fiber optic networks for data communication and Ethernet applications. This article is intended to explain how fiber optic transceiver is classified according to different standards and principles, such as fiber mode, transfer rate and connector type.

Fiber Optic Transceiver Overview

First of all, let’s take a quick glimpse of what fiber optic transceiver is and how fiber optic transceiver works.

fiber optic transceiver

Fiber optic transceivers combine a fiber optic transmitter and a fiber optic receiver in a single module. They are arranged in parallel so that they can operate independently of each other. Both the receiver and the transmitter have their own circuitry and can handle transmissions in both directions. In fiber optic data links, the transmitter converts an electrical signal into an optical signal, which is coupled with a connector and transmitted through a fiber optic cable. The light from the end of the cable is coupled to a receiver, where a detector converts the light signal back into electrical signal. Either a light emitting diode (LED) or a laser diode is used as the light source.

Common Classification Methods

The classification of fiber optic transceiver falls into various categories based on their performance characteristics and end-use. Classified by characteristics, they often include: fiber mode, transfer rate and connector type.

Fiber Mode

Fiber mode is the most fundamental classification of fiber optic transceivers, here the “mode” refers to the type of fiber intended to be used with a transceiver. The two primary types of fiber mode types are single-mode fiber and multimode fiber.

Multimode fibers allow multiple modes of light to couple into the fiber. Since multimode applications are always short reach, very inexpensive transmitters and receivers are typically used in multimode transceivers. As shown in the table below, there are several popular types of multimode fibers in use today. OM1 and OM2 fibers are appropriate for low speed transmission, such as 100 Mbps to 1 Gbps, which often utilize LED transmitters. OM3 and OM4 are referred to as laser-optimized multimode fibers, as lasers are used as optical sources at 10Gbps and faster.

Fiber Classification Core Diameter (microns) Bandwidth* Length Product (MHz*km)
OM1 6.25 160-200
OM2 50 400-500
OM3 50 2000
OM4 50 4700

Single-mode fibers, however, only allow a single mode of light to couple into the core. The most common type of single-mode fiber is termed “OS1” by the ITU and is also known as “standard single-mode fiber”. So most optical transceivers are simply specified for operation over OS1.

Transfer Rate

Fiber optic transceiver modules also can be categorized by their data transfer rates. There are five popular rate categories used in fiber optic transceiver classification: 100GBase, 40GBase, 10GBase, 1000Base and 100Base. These rates refer to the speed at which a fiber optic transceiver is able to transmit data over Ethernet.

  • 100GBase—100 Gigabits per second (100GE, 100GbE, 100Gbps)
  • 40GBase—40 Gigabits per second (40GE, 40GbE, 40Gbps)
  • 10GBase—10 Gigabits per second (10GE, 10GbE, 10Gbps)
  • 1000Base—1 Gigabit per second (1GE, 1GbE, 1Gbps, 1000Mbps)
  • 100Base—100 Megabits per second (Fast Ethernet, FE, 100Mbps)
Connector type

Optical fiber connectors couple and align transceivers so that light can pass through the core. Based on their connector types,transceiver modules can be classified into different groups. There are four main types of fiber optic connectors used in conjunction with optical transceivers: SC, LC, MPO, and ST.

Connector Description Form Factors Using
SC Subscriber Connector (snap-in connector) GBIC, X2, XENPAK, some QSFP (40G) and CFP (100G)
LC Lucent Connector (small form-factor version of the SC connector) SFP, SFP+, XFP
MPO Multi-fiber Push-On (commonly 12 or 24 fibers per) Some QSFP (40G) and CFP (100G)
ST Straight Tip Connector (bayonet mount connector) Not used on optical transceivers but popular at optical patch panels

Connector types generally follow a color code system. If a boot is used over the connector, then a blue boot symbolizes compatibility with single-mode fiber and a beige boot symbolizes compatibility with multimode fiber.

Conclusion

When you desire for fiber optic transceivers to achieve fiber optic link in your networking applications, the classifications listed above may provide you a guideline to select the most appropriate optical transceiver. Which will contribute to improving your network performance and reliability. Fiberstore offers a great amount of fiber optical transceivers which are fully compatible with major brands in the current market. For more information and details, you can visit www.fs.com.