Options Upgrading to 100G Connection

With growing data traffic volume in recent years, the existing 10Gb/s optical networks are becoming saturated, which drive the great need for 40G and 100G networks. In turn, 100G network also can bring benefits for network operators. For example, 100G network can reduce the cost per bit, improve the utilization of existing fiber and reduce the network delay. This post intends to explore the options to get 100G connection.

100G Connectivity Challenges

As we all know, existing 10G network use two fibers in either a SC duplex or a LC duplex connector to realize data transmission. But different from this transmit type, data in 100G network often get multiplexed and transferred over the 4 or 10 parallel wavelengths on a single fiber, which means the lanes of the two kinds of networks are a little different. This is one problem that should be considered when deploy 100G connections.

Except for that, the cost is another problem needed to be resolved. No matter the 40G or 100G, both of them require more fibers and optical connectors, resulting in increasing cost. For example, 40G Ethernet and 100G Ethernet over multimode fiber uses parallel optics at 10 Gb/s per lane. One lane uses one fiber for each direction of transmission. So 40G Ethernet requires eight fibers. And 100G Ethernet requires 20 fibers.

Options Upgrading to 100G Connections
Option One: Upgrading to 100G Connections with DWDM Mux

With the boom application of cloud services, telemedicine, video on demand, etc, data rate migration encompassing the entire optical network. Therefore, some core networks have deployed DWDM to release this bandwidth explosion. With large capacity transmission ability, DWDM technology offers a cost-effective method to meet the bandwidth requirements.

Complementing the existing 10Gbps DWDM system with 100Gbps upgrades

In many cases, to avoid the high cost and save cost, some operators often use one DWDM Mux to add one or more 100G services into the same fiber. The picture is showing one of that cases. In this case, 10G and 100G services are multiplexed by two separated 100GHz DWDM MUX. Owing to the 100G services are easy to be affected by dispersion, so the optical amplifier and DCM (Dispersion Compensation Module) are added in the links to boost the signal power. Then the 10G and 100G services are bundled together by using the interleaver which is an optical router often used in DWDM system. And finally the 100G connection is achieved.

Option Two: Upgrading to 100G Connections with MTP Assemblies

Nowadays there are various products on the market to support 100G connections. The most often used is 100G CFP, 100G QSFP28 and MTP optical cables. For many network operators, the option one that uses 100GHz DWDM Mux, optical amplifier, DCM and 100G optical transceivers maybe a little expensive. However, except for using DWDM Mux to achieve 100G connections, there is another choice. It is to achieve 100G connections with MTP assemblies.

100G Connection Deployment

In this connection, the 100G connection can be realized by using a MTP cord with a 24-fiber MTP connector on one end and two 12-fiber MTP connectors on the other end.

Notes: this simple chart just illustrates a short distance 100G connection.

Besides, since 10G connections usually use common fiber optic cables with LC or SC connectors, and the 40G connections use 12-fiber MTP cables, while 100G connections utilize 24-fiber MTP connections. Therefore, migrating from 10G/40G to 100G can be realized. Look at the basic 10G and 40G deployment scenario.

10G 40G network deployment

From the picture we can see, the similarities of these connections are that they are using MTP cables. Just change the cable types and then migrating from 10G to 40G and 100G are possible.

Summary

100G connection is the trend in the future data centers. This post introduces two options to achieve 100G connections with existing optical components. According to different requirements, you can choose a suitable solution. FS.COM supplies various optical components to meet diverse applications in data centers and enterprise networks. If you want to know more details about 100G networks, please visit our website www.fs.com.

40GBASE-SR4 QSFP+ Transceiver Overview

The 40G QSFP+ transceiver is a hot-swappable transceiver module which integrates 4 independent 10Gbit/s data lanes in each direction to provide 40Gbps aggregate bandwidth. 40GBASE QSFP+ transceiver provides a wide variety of high-density 40 Gigabit Ethernet connectivity options for data center and computing networks. 40G QSFP+ transceivers have various types like QSFP-40G-CSR4, QSFP-40G-PLR4, 40GBASE SR4 transceiver and so on. The following passages will mainly introduce the 40GBASE-SR4 QSFP+ transceiver.

Specifications of 40GBASE-SR4 QSFP+ Transceiver

The 40GBASE SR4 QSFP+ transceiver modules support link lengths of 100m and 150m respectively on laser-optimized OM3 and OM4 multimode fibers. It primarily enables high-bandwidth 40G optical links over 12-fiber parallel fiber terminated with MPO/MTP multifiber connectors. And also, it can be used in a 4 x 10G mode for interoperability with 10GBASE-SR interfaces up to 100m and 150m on OM3 and OM4 fibers respectively. The worry-free 4 x 10G mode operation is enabled by the optimization of the transmit and receive optical characteristics of the QSFP-40G-SR4 to prevent receiver overload or unnecessary triggering of alarm thresholds on the 10GBASE-SR receiver, at the same time being fully interoperable with all standard 40GBASE-SR4 interfaces. The 4 x 10G connectivity is achieved by using an external 12-fiber parallel to 2-fiber duplex breakout cable, which connects the 40GBASE-SR4 module to four 10GBASE-SR optical interfaces. Below is a picture of 40GBASE-SR4 QSFP+ transceiver.

40GBASE-SR4 QSFP+ module

From the above statement, it can be seen that 40GBASE-SR4 QSFP+ transceiver uses MPO (Multi-fiber Push-On) connector to support optical links. Why use MPO connectors rather than other connectors? Please keep reading the below passage and you will get an answer.

MPO Connector Used in 40GBASE-SR4 QSFP+ Transceiver

With higher speed transmission mode, 40GbE drives the data center to run at a high-density and cost-effective style. Thus, parallel optics technology is considered to be a perfect solution for transmission due to its support of 10G, 40G and 100G transmission. The IEEE 802.3ba 40G Ethernet standard offers 40G transmission a direction by using laser-optimized OM3 and OM4 multimode fibers. Parallel optical channels with multi-fiber multimode optical fibers of the OM3 and OM4 are utilized for implementing 40G Ethernet. The small diameter of the optical fibers has no problems with the lines laying, but the ports must accommodate four or even ten times the number of connectors. So the large number of connectors cannot be covered with conventional individual connectors any more. Under this situation, 802.3ba standard incorporated the MPO multi-fiber connector for 40GBASE-SR4 because MPO connector provides a smooth transition to higher Ethernet speeds with minimum disruption and without wholesale replacement of existing cabling and connectivity components.

In fact, MPO connectors have either 12-fiber or 24-fiber array. For 40GBASE-SR4 QSFP+ transceiver, a MPO connector with 12 fibers is used. 10G is sent along each channel/fiber strand in a send and receive direction and only 8 of the 12 fibers are required and provide 40G parallel transmission as shown in below figure.

40GBASE-SR4 QSFP+ transceiver

After looking through the above illustration, have you got a brief understanding of the 40GBASE-SR4 QSFP+ transceiver? Fiberstore, a leading and professional 40gbase sr4 qsfp+ manufacturers, offers high quality 40G qsfp+ transceiver including 40Gbase SR4 transceiver, 40GBASE-LR4 transceiver, Cisco QSFP-40G-SR4, etc. If you are looking for a 40G transceiver. Fiberstore would be a primary choice. For more information, please visit www.fs.com.

40/100G With OM3 and OM4 In MPO Cabling Data Center

With the continued requirement for expansion and scalability in the data center, cabling infrastructures must provide reliability, manageability, and flexibility. Deployment of an optical connectivity solution allows for an infrastructure that meets these requirements for current and future data rates. A key factor when choosing the type of optical connectivity is scalability. Scalability refers to not only the physical expansion of the data center concerning additional servers, switches, or storage devices but also to the scalability of the infrastructure to support a migration path for increasing data rates. As technology evolves and standards are completed to define data rates such as 40G and 100G Ethernet, 32G and higher-speed Fibre Channel, and 40G and higher-speed InfiniBand, the cabling infrastructures installed today must provide scalability to accommodate the need for more bandwidth in support of future applications.

As Data Center bandwidth requirements increase due to requirements for additional switching and routing, virtualization, convergence, video-on-demand (VoD), and high-performance cloud computing, the need for reliable and high-performance cabling infrastructure to support these applications becomes more important. The IEEE 802.3ba 40G/100G Ethernet standard guides 40G/100G transmission with multimode and singlemode fiber. OM3 and OM4 are the only multimode fibers included in the standard.

In addition to the cable performance, the choice of physical connection interface is also important. Since parallel-optics technology requires data transmission across multiple fibers simultaneously, a multifiber connector is required. Factory terminated MPO MTP connectors which have either 12 fiber or 24 fiber array, will support this solution. For example, a 10G system would utilize a single MPO/MTP (12 Fiber) connector between the 2 switches. Modules are placed on the end of the MPO connector to transition from an MPO connector to a 12 Fiber breakout LC duplex or SC duplex cable assembly. This enables connectivity to the switch. 40G and 100G systems require a slightly different configuration. Individual modules and subracks as well as various cable assemblies are available which provide an MPO/MTP interface and which also provide connectivity to LC, and SC connectors.

Factory-terminated MPO solutions allow connectivity to be achieved through a simple plug-and-play system. To meet the needs of today’s serial Ethernet applications, MPO-terminated backbone/horizontal cabling is simply installed into pre-terminated modules, panels, or harnesses (Figure 1).

Fiber MPO Cable

Cabling migration from 10G to 40G to 100G in an MPO-based system is a simple and easy deployment. Starting with 10G, a 12 fiber cable is deployed between the two 10G switches. Modules are used at the end to transition from the 12-fiber MPO to the LC duplex. This enables connectivity into the switch (Figure 2).

12 Fiber

When the switches migrate to 40G, the module is removed and replaced by a 12-fiber MPO adapter panel. The use of a 12-fiber MPO jumper is needed to establish connectivity between the switches (Figure 3).

MPO Fiber

Insertion loss is a critical performance parameter in current data center cabling deployments. Total connector loss within a system channel impacts the ability of a system to operate over the maximum supportable distance for a given data rate. The 40G and 100G Ethernet standard specifies the OM3 fiber 100-meter distance maximum channel loss to be 1.9 dB, which includes a 1.5-dB total connector loss. The OM4 fiber 150-meter distance maximum channel loss is 1.5 dB, which includes a 1.0-dB total connector loss budget. The insertion loss specifications of the MPO connectivity components should be evaluated when designing data center cabling infrastructures. With low-loss MPO connectivity components, maximum flexibility can be achieved with the ability to introduce multiple connector matings into the connectivity link such that structured cabling architectures can be supported.

Cabling deployed in the data center today must be selected to support data rate applications of the future, such as 100G Ethernet, Fibre Channel ≥32G, and InfiniBand ≥40G. To do this, OM3 or OM4 fiber is a must. In addition to being the only multimode fibers included in the 40G and 100G Ethernet standards, OM3 and OM4 fibers provide the highest performance as well as the extended reach often required for structured cabling installations in the data center.

Multiple loss-performance tiers are available for MPO connectivity solutions. Just as connector loss must be considered with current, deployed applications such as 10G Ethernet, insertion loss is also a critical factor for 40G and 100G Ethernet applications. For example, IEEE 802.3ae defines a maximum distance of 300 meters on OM3 multimode fiber for 10G Ethernet (10GBase-SR). To achieve this distance, a total link loss of 2.6 dB is needed with a maximum total connector loss of 1.5 dB. As the total connector loss in the channel increases above 1.5 dB, the supportable distance decreases the channel loss increases. When extended distances or multiple connector matings are required, low-loss performance modules and connectivity may be necessary. OM3 is bandwidth-limited beyond 300 meters.

As the network migrates to 100G, the link-loss requirements are the same as 40G. In this scenario, two 50-meter links are connected from the MDA to the HDA. 100G switches are deployed, and the link loss is calculated from the HDA to the MDA and from one HDA to another. In this case, both links are below the 1.9 dB maximum for 100G on OM3 fiber.

To best meet the needs of the future, MPO-based connectivity using OM3 and OM4 fiber is the ideal solution in the data center. With inherent modularity and optimization for a flexible, TIA-942-compliant structured cabling installation, MPO-based optical fiber systems can be installed for use in today’s applications, while providing an easy migration path to future high-speed technologies such as 40G and 100G Ethernet.