How many form factors for 100G Optical Transceivers?
- QSFP28: Taking the technology and squeezing down to the familiar QSFP form factor
- CFP: The first 100G transceiver form factor, CFP’s are larger modules, and were based originally on 10 lanes of 10G
- CFP2: The successor to the original CFP module, this boasts a higher port density and many transmisson options.
- CFP4: Further improvements were made to the CFP module, including reductions in power consumtion as well as size.
How long the transceivers can reach?
| Standard | Supported Distance | Fiber Type | Connector |
| 100GBASE-ER4 | 40km | SMF | Duplex LC |
| 100GBASE-ER4Lite | 20 ~ 25km | SMF | Duplex LC |
| 100GBASE-LR4 | 10km | SMF | Duplex LC |
| 100GBASE-SR4 | 70m @ OM3 100m @ OM4 |
MMF | MPO-12 |
| 100GBASE-SR10 | 70m @ OM3 150m @ OM4 |
MMF | MPO-24 |
| 100GBASE-CWDM4 | 2km | SMF | Duplex LC |
| 100GBASE-CLR4 | 2km | SMF | Duplex LC |
| 100GBASE-PSM4 | 500m | SMF | MPO-12 |
| 100GBASESWDM4 | 100m | MMF | Duplex LC |
Any different between QSFP28 Transceivers and 100G QSFP Transceivers?
They are the same. QSFP is short for Quad Small Form-factor Pluggable. allowing data rates from 4×1 Gb/s for QSFP and 4×10 Gbit/s for QSFP+ and to the highest rate of 4×28 Gbit/s known as QSFP28 used for 100 Gbit/s links. They are the same form factor but with different transmission rate per lane to support different transmission rate.
Are there any transceivers support both 40G and 100G working mode to avoid costly replacement when I upgrade?
The SFF committee that standardizes the management interface for 100G QSFP (SFF-8636 specification) has defined a CDR bypass mode, which enables the use of 100G optics at 40G speeds. Currently We offer QSFP- 100G-CWDM4 and QSFP-100G-PSM4, which can be used in both 40G and 100G modes.
What is the maximum link distance supported in a 100G QSFP form factor?
DWDM QSFP transceiver that supports up to 80km over duplex single mode fiber with the use of external amplifiers and dispersion compensators. The QSFP-100G-ERL4 supports link distances up to 40km when the forward error correction (FEC) on the host is used. In the default no-FEC mode, QSFP-100G-ERL4 supports up to 30km link distance over duplex single mode fiber. QSFP-100G-LR4 supports links up to 10km over duplex single mode fiber.
What is the 100G SWDM4 transceiver?
The QSFP-100G-SWDM4 transceiver provides 100Gbps bandwidth over a standard duplex multi-mode fiber eliminating the need for expensive parallel multi-mode fiber infrastructure and offers a seamless migration path from duplex 10G/40G to 100G. It is supported on all QSFP 100G ports and can be used for links up to 70m of OM3 fiber or up to 100m of OM4 fiber.
Can 100G QSFP interfaces interoperate with SR10 based 100GbE?
No. The 100G QSFP form factor has just 4 electrical lanes, which is not enough to support 10 lanes of 10G elec trical interface. A 100G QSFP can only support a 4x10G or 4x25G electrical interface, which can be used as 4x10GbE or 4x25GbE, but not 10x 10GbE.A s a result the 100G QSFP SR4 cannot interoperate with SR10 based 100GbE transceivers. A complex design with a reverse gearbox (4x25G to 10x10G) can achieve this but results in expensive and power hungry Optics.
