Things You Should Know About SFP Transceiver

High speed development of optical communication requires communication system with lower energy consumption and higher bandwidth. SFP transceiver plays an extremely important role in this system. This article focus on SFP transceiver.
SFP transceiver
Figure 1: Examples of SFP transceiver.

SFP Transceiver Introduction

SFP module, also called as small form-factor pluggable or mini GBIC (gigabit interface converter), is a compact, hot-pluggable optical transceiver module. It’s designed to support Fibre Channel, Gigabit Ethernet and other communication standards. SFP modules are used in network switches, routers or network interface cards, supporting different speeds such as 2G, 4G or even more.

Types of SFP Transceiver

SFP transceiver module comes in various types on the basis of different classification standards. Basically, SFP transceiver is divided into fiber SFP and copper SFP types according to the different cable types, optical fibers and copper cables, such as 1000BASE-LX/LH SFP transceiver module and 10/100/1000BASE-T copper RJ45 transceiver module. The transmission rate of SFP module is available from 100Mbps up to 1000Mbps or more. Working distance of these SFP transceiver modules can be from 500 meters to 100 kilometers. Usually, SFP modules are used to connect network switches and other network devices via a fiber or copper network cable.

Considerations When Choosing a Third-party SFP Module

When it comes to buying SFP modules, most enterprises and individual users would like to use third-party transceiver modules, because they are more money-saving based on the same quality as the OEM optical transceivers. However, on the market, there are lots of SFP modules made by various vendors. And how can we choose one with good quality? The following are some factors that you must take into account.
choose-SFP-module
Figure 2: Before buying an SFP transceiver, we should we consider?
  • Compatibility
Compatibility is always the most important factor. Before place your order, make sure that the data rate, transmission distance and wavelength of the SFP module can be compatible with your networking devices. If you are uncertain which cables or other equipment you are utilizing, just ask the sales for details about the SFP transceiver compatibility.
  • Quality and After-Sale Service
Nobody can ensure the SFP modules received are 100% normal. It’s wise to buy transceivers from a vendor that offers longer service and support terms into the deal. Thus, you can enjoy a better technical support and service for your products.
  • Price
Price means a lot when buying anything. Compared with Cisco SFP or other brand SFP modules, third party SFP optical transceivers are more cost-effective. Usually, there is no difference between the performance of compatible 1G SFP and OEM SFP modules except for the price. Users can compare the prices of several third-party vendors. Then they can choose the right compatible SFP optical transceiver from a reliable vendors according to their need with a cheap price.
Therefore, buying a transceiver from a reputable source, there’s simply no good reason to fear them somehow causing harm. It’s simple, standardized, reliable technology no matter who the manufacturer is. As long as you pick a reliable vendor, third-party transceivers will work just as well as first-party.

FAQ That You May Concern

  • Is there any differences between SFP and SFP+?
Visually, SFP and SFP+ have the same size and appearance. The main difference is the application. SFP is used for 100Base or 1000Base applications, while the SFP+ is applied in Gigabit Ethernet network. And the data rate and transmission distance of them are also different. For example, SFP supports speed up to 4Gbps Fibre Channel transceiver, while the speed of SFP+ transceiver is up to 10.3125Gbps.
  • Can we use SFP hardware in SFP+ slots?
As a general rule of thumb, SFPs will work in SFP+ slot, but SFP+ optics do not work in SFP slots. Note that, when you insert SFP module in SFP+ slot, the speed of the port only can be up to 1G not the 10G. Besides, SFP+ optics cannot be plugged into SFP port, because SFP+ does not support speed under 1G. Though it’s feasible often, for security reasons, it’s suggested to ask your product vendor for some detail information.

Conclusion

SFP transceiver is the linking modules applied in base station, switch, optical network card and so on. FS, the leading supplier of fiber communication industry, will serve customers with good quality and service. Any question about SFP transceiver modules, please let us know and feel free to contact us via sales@fs.com.

评论

发表评论

此博客中的热门博文

What Is VLAN Switch and Why Do We Need It?

图片
VLAN or virtual LAN is a type of LAN that is defined to map workstations based on everything except for geographic location. It develops when the network has increased in size and complexity, and many companies require more access ports or a network design. Basically, it’s a networking technology which allows the network to be segmented logically without geographic restrictions. But how much do you know about VLAN switch? What Is  VLAN Switch? VLAN switch is built on the fiber optic switch  of LAN, which realizes the division and management of logical working group as a software. As defined in IEEE standard 802.1Q, VLAN switch can provide a way to transform one network into multiple broadcast domains. And each broadcast domain is usually matched with IP subnet boundaries, so that each subnet has its own VLAN. Therefore, users can obtain various wired LANs for different purposes that are co-existed physically, which means you don’t need to buy additional hardware or cabling at a la
阅读全文

Differentiate the 3 Technologies: Switch Stacking vs Cascading vs Clustering

图片
When we have more than one switches on hand we often seek to a better way in making use of them and managing them. There are mainly three technologies that we might use when we interconnect or combine several switches together, which are switch stacking, cascading and clustering. For many people that firstly get in touch with these terms, they can’t figure out the differences between them. Some discussions of the switch stacking versus switch clustering and switch stacking versus switch cascading have been put forward, but a comprehensive comparison between them has not been made. So this post is a discussion of switch stacking vs cascading vs clustering. Switch Stacking vs Cascading vs Clustering The comparison of switch stacking, cascading and clustering should be based on knowing the meaning of these technologies. So firstly we will see what switch stacking, cascading and cluster are. What Are Switch Stacking, Cascading and Clustering? Switch stack
阅读全文

Introduction of Patch Panel Types

图片
Patch panel, an unsung hero, is the most important cable management tool of the data center. When you want to connect a vast number of devices to a central server or other network hardware, there must be plenty of various cables, and you have to plan each thing out properly. It’s always smart to use a patch panel to help you manage the cables and keep your server room organized. However, patch panels are available in different ports and applied in various cables, like 24 port or 48 port patch panel, Cat5e or Cat6 patch panel. There are so many patch panel types on the market that make you confused. Usually, patch panels can be used in two systems, fiber  and  copper cabling systems. Therefore, patch panel types will fall into two main categories, fiber optic patch panel  and   Ethernet patch panel . Fiber  O ptic  P atch  P an el Fiber optic patch panel  is applied in distributing the single mode and multimode fibers to realize the connection, allocation  and  scheduling between t
阅读全文