When designing a new network architecture based on 10GB Ethernet, we face the challenge of choosing the right equipment to achieve maximum performance and support the future demands of complex network applications.
There are two options for 10Gb Ethernet interconnection: 10GBASE-T and SFP+ solutions (SFP+ and DAC/AOC). 10GBASE-T copper cable modules can span network links of up to 100 meters using cat 6a/cat 7 cables. SFP+ optical devices will support distances of up to 300 meters on multimode fiber and up to 80 kilometers on single-mode fiber.
What are the differences?
SFP+ fiber offers lower latency and cost, and the power consumption of SFP+ solutions is also significantly lower, with the power consumption of 10GBASE-T being approximately three to four times that of the SFP+ solution. Moreover, 1Gb SFP transceivers can be inserted into SFP+ ports, functioning at a speed of 1Gb and linking through optical cables to conventional ports. They can also be plugged into SFP modules that are compatible with 1GBase-T, establishing connections at lower speeds with traditional ports.
However, 10GBASE-T copper cabling provides effective backward compatibility with standard copper network equipment, making optimal use of existing copper infrastructure wiring. Additionally, 10GBASE-T is backward compatible with 1G ports, and many low-bandwidth devices still use 1G ports. Compared to SFP+ solutions for small enterprises, 10GBASE-T is generally more cost-effective and easier to deploy.
Conclusion
In comparison, if scalability and flexibility are crucial for small enterprise applications, then 10GBASE-T cabling is the better choice. However, if power efficiency and lower latency are paramount, then 10G SFP+ cabling is clearly the winner.
Whether it’s a 10G copper cabling solution or a 10G fiber cabling solution, FS can customize it according to your needs. Click to register now and promptly enjoy your exclusive solution design.
In the digital age, small businesses increasingly rely on efficient network infrastructure to support business growth and information transfer. However, as many small business owners have experienced, networking faces its own set of challenges. Next, we will explore suitable optical networking solutions around these issues.
Small Business Networking Challenges
Bandwidth Bottlenecks
It’s a common challenge for small business networks, restricting the speed and efficiency of data transfer. Traditional networks typically provide businesses with only a limited bandwidth, resulting in network slowdowns during peak hours or when handling substantial data loads. This not only affects employee productivity but also has implications for hinders overall business growth.
Performance Limitations
Traditional networks face performance limitations when dealing with business growth and extensive data demands. As an enterprise expands, the rigidity of traditional network architecture becomes evident, rendering it incapable of effectively adapting to new business requirements. This, in turn, can result in network congestion, delays, and instability, thereby affecting the day-to-day operations of a business.
Low Maintenance Efficiency
With a shortage of dedicated IT personnel, small businesses may encounter delays or insufficient monitoring, troubleshooting, and routine maintenance of network equipment. Concurrently, the manual nature of these monitoring and maintenance processes proves time-consuming and error-prone, thereby diminishing the overall efficiency of maintenance tasks.
Waste of Cable Resources
During the process of network transformation, many small business owners opt to abandon traditional cable deployments in favor of adopting fiber optic solutions, thereby rendering the original cables unusable and resulting in cable wastage.
These challenges not only affect employees’ efficiency but also exert a detrimental influence on overall business growth. Addressing these challenges necessitates the implementation of advanced technologies and optical networking solutions, which becomes crucial.
Unraveling the Wonders of the 10G Multi-Rate Optical Module
In this context, the utilization of 10G multi-rate optical modules serves as an effective solution to challenges encountered in small business networks, including bandwidth bottlenecks, performance limitations, low maintenance efficiency, and cable wastage. This adaptive Ethernet module supports rates of 100M, 1G, 2.5G, 5G, and 10G, contributing to the establishment of a more robust and reliable network infrastructure for small enterprises.
Therefore, FS has also introduced 10G multi-rate optical modules, assisting small business owners in better addressing these challenges. The transceiver delivers 10GBase-T throughput for distances of up to 30m over Cat6a/Cat7 copper cables using an RJ-45 connector. It complies with IEEE 802.3-2012, IEEE 802.3ab, and SFP MSA standards. Each SFP transceiver module undergoes individual testing, ensuring compatibility with various switches, routers, servers, network interface cards (NICs), and more. Known for its low power consumption, this easily installable, hot-swappable 10G SFP transceiver is well-suited for enterprise networking in LAN applications and other networking environments utilizing copper connections.
Optimize Your Business Connectivity: Selecting Better Optical Networking Solution
The introduction and implementation of 10G multi-rate optical modules in optical networking solutions can markedly enhance network performance. This application supports larger data transmission capacity and reduces the delay in data transmission. This not only improves network efficiency for enterprises, but also provides scalability for future business growth. The following is the application of this multi-rate module in actual scenarios of small businesses.
File Sharing and Data Storage
The 10G Multi-Rate Optical Module significantly enhances the efficiency of file sharing and data storage by providing a data transfer rate of up to 10Gbps. Employees can swiftly access and transmit large-capacity files, and multiple users can concurrently access the file server. With the growth of business operations, the 10G multi-rate optical module offers scalability to adapt to the escalating demand for data storage, providing an enduring solution for sustainable file sharing in enterprises.
Video Conferencing and Real-Time Collaboration
In video conferencing scenarios, the 10G multi-rate optical module ensures high-definition video transmission, delivering a clear and seamless meeting experience for remote teams. This is crucial for real-time collaboration and communication. The low-latency feature guarantees the timeliness required for video and audio transmission in conferences, enhancing the overall effectiveness and engagement. The reliability of the module ensures stable connections, preventing signal interruptions or quality degradation.
Cloud Service Access and Data Center Connectivity
The 10G multi-rate optical module facilitates swift access to cloud services for small enterprises, enabling rapid uploading and downloading of large volumes of data to the cloud. It supports the demands of cloud computing and storage, providing enterprises with a more efficient experience of cloud services. Moreover, it enhances the data security of cloud services, safeguarding sensitive information for enterprises.
Optical Networking Solutions Tailored for Small Businesses
In order to tackle challenges like low network operational efficiency, cable wastage, and limitations in bandwidth and performance, small businesses require a customized optical networking solution. As a prominent solutions provider in the industry, FS has specifically crafted a 1/10GBASE-T Solution for Campus & Enterprise Network, featuring three key value propositions.
Enhanced Cable Utilization
Optimize the use of existing copper cable resources during network construction, minimizing the deployment of optical cables. This not only ensures the network’s normal development but also significantly reduces investment costs.
High Flexibility and Scalability
The 10G multi-rate optical module supports speeds ranging from 100M to 10G and can operate at different rates based on bandwidth requirements. This provides a high degree of flexibility to accommodate varying needs.
Simplified Maintenance
In contrast to traditional optical modules, these modules lack complex DDM information, simplifying the troubleshooting process. The streamlined operations, coupled with the elimination of the need for optical instruments, enhance overall troubleshooting efficiency.
Conclusion
In summary, small businesses facing network challenges may consider adopting the technology of 10G multi-rate optical modules. By providing greater bandwidth and higher performance, this technology facilitates the establishment of a robust, flexible, and efficient network infrastructure, promoting sustainable business growth. In the digital era, such network upgrades are not only an investment but also a crucial step for small businesses to open up broader development opportunities.
Optical transceivers usually work coordinately on a pair of network switches. As switch is responsible for directing the flow of data, optical transceiver works for transforming light to data or the opposite. Then how do two transceiver modules work with each other? Can I connect two optical transceivers of different brands, fiber types or wavelengths? You can find answers here.
How Do Two Optical Transceiver Talk to Each Other?
It is known to all that the fiber optic transceiver contains a transmitter and a receiver in the same component. These are arranged in parallel so that they can operate independently from each other. When working on two switches in the same network, the transmitter on one optical transceiver takes an electrical input and converts it to an optical output from a laser diode or LED. The light from the transmitter is coupled into the fiber with a connector and is transmitted through the fiber optic cable plant. The light from the end of the fiber is coupled to a receiver on the other transceiver where a detector converts the light into an electrical signal which is then conditioned properly for use by the receiving equipment.
Fig1. How optical transceiver works
Can I Connect Two Optical Transceivers of Different Brands, Fibers or Wavelengths?
When people are under-budgeted or in urgent need of original optical transceivers that are out of stock, they may turn to other or third-party transceivers. But how to make different transceivers work coordinately without link failure? Is it possible to connect two optical transceivers of different brands, fibers or wavelengths?
Optical Transceiver of Different Brands
As is known to all, fiber optic transceivers are manufactured with a lot of standards and protocols. If the SFP types are of the same protocol at each end, for example: both sides with SX, LX or whatever is currently in use, you can build the link between them. Please note that only the identical protocol is far more enough.
If the network switch comes from different vendors and optical transceivers with different protocols, you will get a dead link between network switch and the transceiver, thus the whole network fails. Make sure the transceiver and the switch at both ends are compatible with each other. However, as the transceiver compatibility is introduced to the optic field, many optical transceivers are now produced to be compatible with other brands. FS almost has no transceiver compatibility issues with other brand switches as all the optical transceivers have been tested to ensure its compatibility before shipping.
Optical Transceiver with Different Fiber Types
Common sense says a multimode sfp cannot work well with a single mode sfp, as the single mode fiber features a narrow core, allowing only a single mode of light to propagate while the multimode fiber has a wider core enabling multiple modes of light to propagate.
Well, as the network evolves, it is unavoidable to use single mode devices on the existing multimode fiber cables, which forces the birth of the mode conditioning cable used for single mode to multimode conversion. It is generally a duplex multimode cable that has a small length of single mode fiber at the start of the transmission length. As for optical transceiver with single mode fiber, connect the single mode connector of the cable into the transmit bore of the transceiver, and multimode connectors of the cable into the receive bore of the transceiver with all other connections going as normal.
Fig.2 Optical transceiver works with mode conditioning cable
Optical Transceiver on Different Wavelengths
A given transceiver generally supports a specific wavelength for both transmitting and receiving. It is vital the wavelength of the fiber optic transceivers (850nm, 1310nm, 1550nm) matches on each end, as a 1310nm sfp transceiver will not talk to a 850nm sfp transceiver. Data transmission implies that data is sent from one end to the other. The SFP transceiver on one end converts electrical signals into optical signals. A built-in laser transmits light through the fiber to the other side. Here, an optical diode converts the light back into an electrical signal. To guarantee that the SFP at the other end is capable of doing this, the SFPs at both ends should support the same wavelength.
Fig.3 Different wavelengths of optical transceiver
Conclusion
To make sure your optical transceivers work smoothly with each other, be careful about their protocols, wavelengths and fiber types in case of link failure. FS provides a great range of fiber optic transceivers with no transceiver compatibility problem and transceiver prices are very competitive.
For a wide range of home lab and SMB users, 1/10G Ethernet switch saves budget and plays a big role in network expansion. In this regard we have recommended various gigabit switches with 10GbE uplink, say S3900-24T4S managed 24 port switch with 4 x 10G SFP+ uplinks. Actually, S3900-24T4S also highlights stackable capability. So today let’s dive into S3900-24T4S gigabit 24 port stackable switch.
FS S3900-24T4S 24 Port Stackable Switch Overview
FS S3900-24T4S stackable 24 port switch is one of FS S3900 Series Ethernet switches. It is designed for class-carrier 1GE access and 10G uplink network, and dedicated to covering all kinds of enterprises and operator customers. This gigabit switch comes with 1 x console port, 24 x gigabit ports and 4 x 10G uplinks. Profit from 4 x 10G SFP+ ports, S3900-24T4S 24 port gigabit switches can be stacked together to work as a whole unit for cost-effective 10GE access or aggregation. Besides, it adopts high performance processor to achieve full wired speed forwarding and line-dormant capacity to coordinate with NGGN unified software. Table below lists the detail specifications of S3900-24T4S 24 port switch.
Switch Class
Layer 2+
Stacking Capacity
Up to 6 Units
Switch Capacity
128Gbps
Switch Chip
BCM56150
Forwarding Rate
95Mpps
VLAN
4K
Power Supply
Dual Power
Flash Memory
64MB
Power Consumption
21W
DDRIII Memory
512MB
Highlights of S3800-24T4S 24 Port Stackable Switch
In addition to the above mentioned information, S3900-24T4S 24 port stackable switch also features other characteristics.
·Multiple Port Configuration
S3900-24T4S gigabit 24 port switch provides high port density with 24 x 10/100/1000base-T RJ45 copper ports and 4 x 10G SFP+ uplinks in a compact 1RU form factor (17.3’’ x 11’’ x 1.7’’). The port diversity allows one to directly connect it to a sever, to a 10G switch with uplink port for 10GbE network, or to stack up to six S3900-24T4S gigabit switches together to expand network bandwidth.
·Dual Power Supply
It is noted that FS S3900-24T4S 24 port switch comes with dual power supply. 1+1 redundant power supplies can provide reliability and availability for switch systems. The dual power supply plays a backup role in power failure, thus it is ideal for mission-critical applications.
·Fanless Design
FS S3900-24T4S 24 port stackable switch is designed with fanless cooling which significantly reduces the power consumption with no noise. For those small businesses or people working at home, such a quiet fanless switch can be very useful.
·Fully Managed Advanced Feature
As fully managed gigabit Ethernet switch, S3900-24T4S 24 port switch can be managed by both CLI command and web user interface. Moreover, for excellent hardware and software, the gigabit switch is perfectly matching applications of small networks. For instance, it supports various advanced functions, including QoS, DHCP, VLAN/VxLAN, BCM56150 Chip and etc.
How to Use S3900-24T4S 24 Port Stackable Switch?
As a managed gigabit stackable switch, S3900-24T4S 24 port switch can be either used as standalone switch or a part of stacking system. This flexibility enables availability in various physical networks.
For expanding network capacity and simplifying management, stacking switches is very popular in data centers. A single S3900-24T4S stackable 24 port switch can provide 128Gbps switching capacity to your network. However, it will double the capacity to 256Gbps as 2 switches are stacked as a whole. In fact, S3900-24T4S gigabit Ethernet switch supports up to 6 switches stacked together, extending your network to a total switching capacity at 768Gbps. Also, operators can easily control all the stacked switches with the console port and add or remove a gigabit switch without affecting other switches in the stacking system.
To stack up S3900-24T4S 24 port switches with 10G SFP+ ports, you should connect them via SFP+ modules with fiber patch cable or via DAC or AOC directly. Here is a video presentation for S3900 Series 24 port switch stacking.
Conclusion
FS S3900-24T4S managed stackable 24 port gigabit switch with 4 x 10G SFP+ uplinks is an excellent solution to expand your network from 1G to 10G. Furthermore, with physical stacking technology, 6 S3900-24T4S 24 port stackable switches can be stacked as a whole system, which boosts your network to 768Gbps total capacity and simplifies management. Besides S3900-24T4S gigabit Ethernet switch, FS S3900 Series also include S3900-48T4S 48 port gigabit switch and S3900-24F4S fiber SFP gigabit 24 port switch.
Since the introduction of 10 Gigabit Ethernet, the ever-increasing demand for high bandwidth has been driving the pervasive application of 10Gb Ethernet switch. However, for its high cost it is normally limited to the enterprise and server market and doors are shut down for home individual users. Nevertheless, gamers and speed addicts always hanker for the faster hardware, so the demand for high bandwidth at home provided by 10Gb switch is rising too. Only once attempt to 10GbE, one will never want to turn back to 1 Gigabit Ethernet.
Overview of 10Gb Switch for Home
Generally, there are several versions of 10GbE switch. The first is 1GbE switch with a few 10Gb SFP+ uplinks, such as FS S5800-48F4S 48 port 1GbE SFP switch with 4 10GE SFP+ ports. The second is 10GbE switch with 10Gbase-T ports or 10GE SFP+ ports as main connection, such as FS S5900-24S 24 10GE SFP+ switch. Another is 10GbE switch with a few 40/100G QSFP+ uplinks, such as FS N5850-48S6Q 10GbE ToR/Leaf switch with 6 QSFP+ 40GbE ports. For 10Gb home Ethernet, the former two switches can be taken into consideration for their cheaper price. Especially for the first type, it is very popular for building 10Gb home network. Here are some reasons. First, one can connect the host, virtualized server and workstation with the 10Gb links. Second, 10Gb SFP+ connection usually costs less power and expense than 10Gbase-T switch. The table below lists the most cost-effective 10Gb switches provided by FS.COM.
FS 10Gb Switch
Port
S3900-48T4S
48 x 1Gbase-T ports with 4 x 10GbE SFP+ uplinks
S5800-48F4S
48 x 1GbE SFP ports with 4 x 10GE SFP+ uplinks
S5800-8TF12S
8 x 1GbE RJ45 ports, 8 x 1GbE SFP ports with 12 x 10GbE SFP+ uplinks
How One Benefits from 10Gb Switch for Home?
As we know, we can connect 10G NICs directly and interconnect devices with 10Gb SFP+ cables to achieve 10Gb network. Thus many people get confused about one question: why not using cheaper 10G NICs rather than expensive 10Gb switch? For very small 10G network with a few computers, NICs indeed can be a solution. But how about home networks with more users? For instance, you have 4 computers, then you need to buy 8 total 10G NICs and corresponding cables for connection, which can lead to expensive additional cost for expansion. So at this point home users need to think about deploying a 10Gb switch. Moreover, 10Gb switch features low- latency, fewer bottlenecks, simple virtualized environment, spare bandwidth, rack space efficiency, low power consumption and expansion flexibility.
How to Build 10Gb Switch for Home?
To set up a 10Gb home network, several components are required. 10GbE core switch, access switch with 10G uplinks, 10G network interface card (NIC) for storage and server, and 10G cabling. For 10G switch selection for home, maybe you should avoid some brand-name vendors for their high expense. FS specially designed S3900-48T4S 10Gb switch for home users with a low offer. It has 48 1000Base-T ports with 4 10GbE SFP+ links. For 10G cabling selection, there are RJ45 copper cable and SFP+ fiber capable of working with 10Gb/s. Usually, home users have no need to switch from Ethernet copper cabling to fiber cabling. But for 10Gb speed, you’d better use Cat6a or Cat7 Ethernet cables to resist interference. And for NACs and severs with 10G SFP+ links, the most cost-effective solution is to use 10G (Direct Attach Cable) DAC. It is a copper cable with SFP connection on each side available for various lengths. For example, FS SFP-10G-DAC, Cisco compatible SFP+ to SFP+ connection, is a passive direct attach copper twinax cable with length ranging from 0.5m to 7m.
Conclusion
This article focused on the 10Gb switch for home usage. It introduced the main types of 10Gb switch available for home users. And gave some practical recommendations under cost-efficient considerations for building 10GbE home network. For gamers and any other Tech or speed pursuers, deploying 10Gb switches for home network will provide you superior experience of high bandwidth. FS provides 10Gb switch with 12/24/32/48 ports for different requirements. You can visit our official website for more information.
Time has witnessed the history and development of optical transceivers over the years. As we can see, the modern transceiver modules are moving in the direction of hot-pluggable design, smaller size, lower cost, lower consumption and higher speed. To cater for the above needs, 10GBASE-SR SFP+ transceivers have been frequently used in data centers. So what’s the options for 10GBASE-SR SFP+ modules? This tutorial will introduce three popular types for you: E10GSFPSR, 455883 b21 and J9150A.
10GBASE-SR SFP+ Module
10GBASE-SR is a 10 Gigabit Ethernet port standard specified in IEEE 802.3 Clause 49 for multimode fiber. It adopts 850nm lasers, which have the advantages of low cost, low power consumption, small size, and high density. The letters “sr” refer to “short reach”, but the exact reach distance depends on the fiber types matched with transceivers. For instance, when used over OM1 fiber, the 10GBASE-SR has a maximum transmission length of 33 meters. However, nowadays 10GBASE-SR SFP+ is commonly connected with OM3 or OM4 fibers to reach up to respectively 300 or 400 meters. E10GSFPSR, 455883 b21 and J9150A are three popular 10GBASE-SR 300m SFP+ modules.
This table shows the detail information of the three popular 10GBASE-SR SFP+ modules.
Form Type
SFP+
Data Rate
10.3125Gbps
Wavelength
850nm
Max Distance
300m over OM3 MMF
Interface
LC duplex
Laser
VCSEL
Fiber Type
MMF
DOM Support
Yes
TX Power
-7.3~-1dBm
Receiver Sensitivity
Below -11.1dBm
Temperature Range
-40~85°C (-40~185°F)
Protocols
MSA Compliant
E10GSFPSR
E10GSFPSR is a 10GbE SR SFP+ transceiver type designed for Intel Ethernet 500 and 700 Series Network Adapters. It has a hot-pluggable SFP+ print and is built-in digital diagnostic functions. This 10GBASE-SR SFP+ optics has the installation benefits of small physical dimensions, less power consumption, tighter bend radius, lighter weight and longer reach distance compared to copper alternatives. FS.COM offers Intel E10GSFPSR compatible 10GBASE-SR and also LR for adapting different data centers.
Figure 1: This photo shows the Intel E10GSFPSR compatible 10GBASE-SR SFP+ 850nm 300m DOM transceiver module manufactured by FS.COM.
455883 B21
455883 b21 stands for HPE Blade System c-class 10GBASE-SR SFP+ module, which supports the 10 Gigabit SR standard. 455883 b21 10GBASE-SR transceiver module is in SFP+ form-factor specially for HPE blade switches and severs. It has the feature of low power consumption, under 0.8W. “HPE” refers to the brand name of Hewlett Packard Enterprise, which is the original equipment manufacture (OEM). The well-known brand superiority attracts customers to buy their expensive SFP+. However, FS.COM is a third-party vendor who can provide the exact same specifications and functions as the original 455883 b21 while offering a cost-effective price.
Figure 2: This photo shows the HPE Blade System 455883 b21 compatible 10GBASE-SR SFP+ 850nm 300m DOM transceiver module manufactured by FS.COM.
J9150A
J9150A is a SKU code compatible for HPE X132 10G SFP + LC SR transceiver module, which is consistent with the 10 Gigabit SR standard in SFP+ form-factor. It is typically applied to some HPE Aruba switch series rather than HPE blade servers. However, the high compatible option of J9150A allows it to be used on blade switches too. HPE J9150A compatible 10GBASE-SR SFP+ is a compatible transceiver module produced by FS.COM under strict quality system verification. Meanwhile, it is supported on a wide range of HPE equipment and commonly used in data and optical networks.
Figure 3: This is a demonstration of FS.COM J9150A fits into HP 5900 Series Switch (JG510A).
To sum up, E10GSFPSR, 455883 B21 and J9150A are three most popular 10GBASE-SR SFP+ modules sharing much commons in manufacturing specifications and functional performance, such as 850nm wavelength, 10GbE data rate, 300m short reach and low consumption for using VCSEL lasers. However, they are different from original vendor brands and matched equipment.
Table below shows the detail information.
Type
Brand
Supportability
Matched Equipment
E10GSFPSR
Intel
A wide range of Intel equipment
Intel Ethernet 500 and 700 Series Network Adapters
455883 B21
HPE
A wide range of HPE equipment
HPE Blade switches and severs
J9150A
HPE
A wide range of HPE equipment
Some HPE Aruba Switch Series
Conclusion
This article introduced three popular 10GBASE-SR SFP+ modules: E10GSFPSR, 455883 b21 and J9150A. First illustrated their general characteristics as 10GBASE-SR SFP+ modules. Then explained each one respectively. People choose what to use according to exact matched equipment and their personal requirements.
With the rapid development of optical communication industry, fiber optic transceivers have been designed smaller and smaller with high diversification to cater for the need of Gigabit Ethernet. As a result, various types of standard for Mini GBIC (SFP, small form-factor pluggable) and SFP+ come out, such as 1000BASE-SX, 1000BASE-LX, 10GBASE-SR and 10GBASE-LR, etc. For these different Gigabit Ethernet standards, do you know the differences among them? 10GBASE-SR vs 1000BASE-SX: the differences have been illustrated before. In this post, the differences of 10GBASE-LR vs 1000BASE-LX will be explained.
What Is 10GBASE-LR?
As its name implies, 10GBASE-LR is a 10 Gigabit Ethernet standard specified to transmit data over long distance (the letters “LR” refers to “long reach”) through single mode fiber, which is defined in IEEE 802.3 Clause 49. For instance, HPE J9151A 10GBASE-LR SFP+ can reach up to 10 km at a rate of 10.3125 Gbp/s with 1310 nm wavelength, which is widely used in 10GbE, SDH and SONET.
Figure 1: This photo shows the HPE j9151a 10GBASE-LR SFP+.
What Is 1000BASE-LX?
1000BASE-LX is a Gigabit Ethernet standard in IEEE 802.3 Clause 38. 1000BASE-LX SFP rates up to 1.25Gbp/s with a long wavelength laser of 1,270 to 1,355 nm. Different from LR transceiver, LX SFP is available both in single mode and multimode systems, which gives it some advantages in multiple mode application. Although LX SFP is specified to transfer data over a long distance of up to 5 km through single-mode fiber, it also supports multimode fiber system with a maximum reach distance of 550 m. It is noted that for distance over 330 m in multimode fiber, a special launch adjustment patch cable is required to reduce the differential mode delay effect. 1000BASE-LX is frequently used in 1GbE and fiber channel. For Cisco SFP 1000BASE-LX, there are different types and Cisco GLC-LH-SM 1000Base-LX SFP is commonly accepted by end users.
Figure 2: This photo shows the Cisco SFP 1000BASE-LX.
10GBASE-LR vs 1000BASE-LX: What’s the Difference?
As mentioned above, 10GBASE-LR and 1000BASE-LX both are types of Gigabit Ethernet standards for fiber transceivers. But what are the distinctions? The following table lists the differences of 10GBASE-LR vs 1000BASE-LX.
10GBASE-LR SFP
1000BASE-LX SFP
Data Rate
10.3125Gbps
1.25Gbps
Form Type
SFP+
SFP
Interface
LC duplex
LC duplex
Fiber Type
Single mode
Single mode and multimode
Wavelength
1310 nm
1270-1355 nm
Transmission Distance
10 km
5-10 km over single mode fiber;
550 m over multimode fiber
Although 10GBASE-LR and 1000BASE-LX both support long distance transmission, they are distinct from data rate. The former is applied to 10GbE while the latter is used in 1GbE. Both of them play their own essential roles in different fields and can not be confused with each other.
Summary
Comparing and contrasting 10GBASE-LR vs 1000BASE-LX, we find they share some similarities in maximum wavelength and transfer distance, however, they are different Ethernet standards distinct from each other for their data transmission rate, transmission distance and fiber type. Generally speaking, both have their own leading place in the current market, people can say one standard gives an edge over others only under specific circumstance. One decide on which to choose by combining his own need and the characteristics of different standards and types.
The escalating deployments of servers with multi-core processors and demanding applications are driving the need for 10 Gbps connections. Intel X520 10 GbE Adapter is the most flexible and scalable Ethernet adapters for today’s demanding data center environments. At the same time, 10G SFP+ optics play the most important role for its 10G connectivity. But seriously, do you know which 10G SFP+ optics are compatible with the Intel Ethernet converged network adapter X520 series? This blog will give you solutions.
About Intel X520 Adapter
Intel X520 adapter is powered by reliable and proven 10G Ethernet technology, which offers high performance for high-IO intensive applications and showcase the next generation in 10 GbE networking features for the enterprise network and data center. It is designed for multi-core processors, which supports for technologies such as multiple queues, receive-side scaling, multiple MSI-X vectors and Low Latency Interrupts. It addresses the demanding needs of the next-generation data center by running mission-critical applications in virtualized and unified storage environments. In a multicore platform, the Intel X520 adapter supports Intel I/O Virtualization Technology (IOVT), which helps accelerate data across the platform, therefore improving application response times. For virtualized environments, it offers advanced features with VMDq (Virtual Machine Device Queues) that lower processor utilization and increase I/O performance.
Figure 1. Intel X520 Dual Port 10GbE SFP+ Adapter
The Intel X520 adapter provides SFP+ based connectivity options (fiber or DAC cabling). Intel X520 adapters are provided with 7 models: X520-QDA1, X520-DA2, X520-SR1, X520-SR2, X520-DA1OCP, X520-DA2OCP and X520-LR1. X520-SR1 is shipped with 1 SR SFP+ Optic, X520-SR2 has dual-port and is shipped with 2 SR SFP+ Optics, X520-LR1 has single-port and is shipped with 1 LR SFP+ Optic, and X520-DA2 has dual-port and does not ship with any optics or cables, which is the most suitable one for 10G SFP+ Optics and the most popular one on the market. The following table lists the detailed information of Intel X520 adapter series in Table 1.
Intel X520 Adapter Product Code
Connector and Cable
Cable Type
Ports
X520-QDA1
QSFP+ direct attach copper (4x10GbE mode)
QSFP+ direct attached twinaxial cabling up to 10m
Single port
X520-SR1
Fiber optic
MMF up to 300 m
Single port
X520-SR2
Fiber optic
MMF up to 300 m
Dual port
X520-DA2
SFP+ direct attach copper
SFP+ direct attached twinaxial cabling up to 10 m
Dual port
X520- LR1
Fiber optic
SMF up to 10 km
Single port
X520-DA1OCP
SFP+ direct attach copper
SFP+ direct attached twinaxial cabling up to 10 m
Single port
X520-DA2OCP
Copper
SFP+ direct attached twinaxial cabling up to 10 m
Dual port
Table 1: Intel X520 Series Adapters
10G SFP+ Optics for Intel X520 Adapter
A 10 Gigabit Ethernet network is essential for businesses that demand high bandwidth for virtualization and fast backup and restore for an ever-growing amount of data. To ensure maximum flexibility, Intel X520 adapters support the ability to mix any combination of the SFP+ optical modules, direct attach copper cables, or 1000BASE-T SFP modules. Besides, 10G SFP+ Optics are available in both short-range (SR) 850 nm and long range (LR) 1310 nm options. This enables customers to create the configuration that meets the needs of their data center environment.
10G SFP+ Optical Modules for Intel X520
Intel Ethernet SFP+ SR optics and Intel Ethernet SFP+ LR optics are the only 10 Gbps optical modules supported. Other brands of SFP+ modules are not allowed and can’t be used with the X520 adapters. The following table lists the supported 10Gb Ethernet SFP+ optical transceivers for Intel X520 adapters in Table 2. (Note: Other brands of SFP+ optical modules will not work with the Intel Ethernet Server Adapter X520 Series.)
10G SFP+ Optical Modules
Name
Intel Product Code (MFG PART#)
FS P/N
Type
Intel 10G SFP+ SR Optical module
E10GSFPSR
SFP-10GSR-85
Dual Rate 10GBASE-SR/1000BASE-SX
Intel 10G SFP+ LR Optical module
E10GSFPLR
SFP-10GLR-31
Dual Rate 10GBASE-LR/1000BASE-LX
Table 2: 10G SFP+ Optical Transceivers for Intel X520 Adapters
1000BASE-T SFP Modules for Intel X520
Some 1000BASE-LX and 1000BASE-SX modules can work with Intel Ethernet Converged Network Adapter X520 series. These modules referred to only highlight specifications and compatibility with Intel Ethernet server adapter X520 series. The table lists the tested modules in Table 3. Other similar modules may work but have not been tested (many similar modules can be purchased in FS.COM). Remind you to use your own discretion and diligence to purchase modules with suggested specifications from any third party.
1000BASE-T SFP Modules
Name
Intel Product Code (MFG PART#)
FS P/N
Type
Avago Gigabit Ethernet Module
ABCU-5710RZ
SFP-GB-GE-T
1000BASE-SX
Intel Gigabit Ethernet Module
TXN22120
SFP1G-LX-31
1000BASE-LX
Table 3: 1000BASE-T SFP Modules for Intel X520 Adapters
10G SFP+ Direct Attach Copper Cables (10G SFP+Cu) for Intel X520
A DAC cable is a 2-pair shielded copper cabling terminated with SFP+ electrical modules. Intel X520 Adapters require that any SFP+ passive or active limiting direct attach copper cable should comply with the SFF-8431 v4.1 and SFF-8472 v10.4 specifications. SFF-8472 Identifier must have value 03h (You can verify the value with the cable manufacturer). The maximum cable length for passive cables is 7 meters. Support for active cables requires Intel Network Connections software version 15.3 or later. The following table lists the fully compatible 10Gb DAC cables for Intel Ethernet server adapter X520 series in Table 4.
10G SFP+ DAC Cables
Name
Product Code (MFG PART#)
FS P/N
Type
Intel Ethernet SFP+ Twinaxial Cable, 1 meter
XDACBL1M
SFP-10G-DAC
10G SFP+ Passive Direct Attach Copper Twinax Cable
Intel Ethernet SFP+ Twinaxial Cable, 3 meter
XDACBL3M
SFP-10G-DAC
10G SFP+ Passive Direct Attach Copper Twinax Cable
Intel Ethernet SFP+ Twinaxial Cable, 5 meter
XDACBL5M
SFP-10G-DAC
10G SFP+ Passive Direct Attach Copper Twinax Cable
Table 4: 10G DAC cables for Intel X520 Adapters
QSFP+ Breakout Cables for Intel X520
The new QSFP+ single-port X520-QDA1 can connect the server to the latest 40GbE switches with a single cable operating in 4x10GbE mode. This adapter can also utilize existing 10GbE SFP+ switches using the QSFP+ to 4xSFP+ breakout cable. The QSFP+ adapter supports direct attach copper cables and Intel Ethernet QSFP+ SR optical transceivers. Intel Ethernet QSFP+ breakout cables have one QSFP+ connector on one end and break out into four SFP+ connectors on the other end for direct attachment to SFP+ cages. The following table lists the Intel Ethernet QSFP+ cable for Intel adapter X520-QDA1 in Table 5.
Intel Ethernet QSFP+ Breakout Cables for Intel Adapter X520-QDA1
Name
Product Code (MFG PART#)
FS P/N
Intel Ethernet QSFP+ breakout cable, 1 meter
QSFP-4SFP10G-CU1M
QSFP-4SFP10G-DAC
Intel Ethernet QSFP+ breakout cable, 3 meter
QSFP-4SFP10G-CU3M
QSFP-4SFP10G-DAC
Intel Ethernet QSFP+ breakout cable, 5 meter
QSFP-4SFP10G-CU5M
QSFP-4SFP10G-DAC
Table 5: QSFP+ Breakout Cables for Intel Adapter X520-QDA1
Summary
From what we have discussed, 10G SFP+optics are determined to the data transmission of Intel X520 adapters. SFP+ SR Optics, SFP+ LR optics, 1000BASE-T SFP modules, 10G SFP+ direct attach copper cables and QSFP+ breakout cables are available stock in FS.COM. All SFP+ cables are 100% tested to ensure compatibility and quality. Welcome to visit www.fs.com.
Over the years, Ethernet technologies have evolved rapidly and amazingly to meet the never-ceasing requirements of higher bandwidth and faster data transmission speeds for high quality network applications, such as live video and video download with high resolution. Through this great evolution, Ethernet technology standards have been designed, like 10 Gigabit Ethernet (GbE).
After IEEE Standard 802.3ae- 2002 for 10GbE was ratified several years ago, some enterprises have begun to deploy 10GbE in their data centers to support bandwidth-needing applications. Before deploying 10GbE, as matter of fact, there are many things that should attract your attention. Here this article lists two important things you need to consider for a reliable 10GbE deployment: 10GbE cabling choices, and 10GbE transceiver types.
10GbE Cabling Choices
Along with the technological revolution, cables used for transmission also experienced progressive development. There are two physical media available for 10GbE transmission: fiber and copper.
10GbE Fiber Cabling Choices
Fiber cables fall on two classifications: single-mode fiber (SMF) and multi-mode fiber (MMF). In SMF, there is only one path for light, while in MMF light flow through multiple paths. SMF is intended for long distance communication and MMF is used for distances of less than 300 m. Commonly used 10GbE ports designed for SMF are 10GBASE-LR, 10GBASE-ER and 10GBASE-ZR, and the ports specified for MMF are 10GBASE-SR and 10GBASE-LRM. It’s of great importance to choose these ports 10GbE transmission when link lengths matter. For example, you can choose a J9150A transceiver when the required distance is less than 300m. In a word, the form factor options depend on your link lengths.
10GbE Copper Cabling Choices
As the structured cabling techniques become mature, copper cabling technology also grasps the chance to develop itself. And more and more people start to choose copper cables as the medium for 10GbE transmission. 10GBASE-T and SFP+ direct attach cables (DAC) standards symbolize copper applications.
10GBASE-T, or IEEE 802.3an-2006, is a standard released in 2006 to provide 10Gbit/s connections over unshielded or shielded twisted pair cables, over distances up to 100 metres (330 ft). It requires the Cat 7 or Cat 6A to reach 100 meters, but can still work on Cat 6, Cat 5E, or even Cat 5 cable when reduced distances are required.
SFP+ DAC is the latest standard for optical transceivers, and it connects directly into an SFP+ housing. In SFP+ DAC cabling assembly, no optical transceiver is used at each end. A cable was invented with each end physically resembling a SFP+ transceiver, but with none of the expensive electronic components. This creation is known as DAC. Actually, besides 10GbE applications, DAC is also considered as a cost-effective solution to replace fiber patch cables sometimes in 40GbE systems. Like QSFP-H40G-ACU10M, this Cisco 40G cabling product is the QSFP to QSFP direct attach passive copper cable assembly designed for 40G links.
10GbE Transceiver Types
After choosing cables, you need to select devices that connect these cables to your networks. These devices are transceivers. 10GbE has four transceiver types: XENPAK (and related X2 and XPAK), GBIC, SFP and SFP+.
XENPAK is a Multisource Agreement (MSA) that defines a fiber-optic or wired transceiver module which conforms to the 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10GbE) standard of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.3 working group.
X2 defines a smaller form-factor 10 Gb/s pluggable fiber optic transceiver optimized for 802.3ae Ethernet,ANSI/ITUT OC192/STM- 64 SONET/SDH interfaces,ITUT G.709,OIF OC192 VSR,INCITS/ANSI 10GFC (10 Gigabit Fibre Channel) and other 10 Gigabit applications.X2 is initially centered on optical links to 10 kilometers and is ideally suited for Ethernet,Fibre Channel and telecom switches and standard PCI (peripheral component interconnect) based server and storage connections. X2 is physically smaller than XENPAK but maintains the mature electrical I/O specification based on the XENPAK MSA and continues to provide robust thermal performance and electromagnetic shielding. The 10GB X2 fiber optic transceivers series include X2-10GB-SR, X2-10GB-LR, X2-10GB-ER and X2-10GB-ZR, they are designed based on the X2 MSA and IEEE802.3ae. They’re created for the integrated systems solution provide, fiber optics distributor along with other IT distributors.
SFP+, also called SFP Plus, is short for enhanced small form-factor pluggable, an enhanced version of the SFP that supports data rates up to 16Gbit/s. SFP+ 10GbE transceiver series include SFP+ 10GBASE-SR, SFP+ 10GBASE-LR, SFP+ 10GBASE-ER, and so on. Among these types, 10GBASE-SR is widely used when the required distance is less than 500m. Say SFP-10G-SR, this Cisco 10GBASE-SR SFP+ transceiver listed in Fiberstore is designed to support 10GbE applications with the maximum distance reach of 300m.
Conclusioni
After discussion, maybe you have obtained a better understanding of 10GbE cables and transceivers, which helps you to better choose the right devices for your 10GbE applications. Fiberstore supplies various numbers of 10GbE cables and transceivers which are quality assured. For more information about 10GbE solutions, you can visit Fiberstore directly.
