Pluggable Fiber Optic Transceivers

The pluggable fiber optic transceivers are hot-swapped compact media

converters that are used to provide instant fiber connectivity for the

networking needs. They are an affordable and cost effective way to connect

single network devices to a wide variety of fiber cable distances and types.

These devices facilitate the transportation of fast Ethernet and the

gigabit Ethernet LAN packets over a multiplexed time-division mode over

a packet-switched network.

Mode of operation

These devices are used in data communication, and telecommunication

networks interfacing devices such as switches, routers, and fiber optic

cables to perform the conversion between the optical and the electrical

signals. These fiber optic transceivers support the communication

standards that include the Synchronous Optical Networking (SONET),

Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH), gigabit Ethernet and the fiber

channel.

The Optical Transceivers have a wide range of detachable interfaces to

the multimode/single-mode fiber optics, that allow the users to make a

selection on the appropriate transceiver, in accordance with the required

optical range for the network.

Availability

The Optical Transceivers are available with the copper cable interfaces,

which facilitate a host device that is primarily designed for the optical

fiber communications to allow communication over unshielded twisted pair

networking cables. The modern transceivers support the digital

diagnostics monitoring (DDM) functions which is also known as digital

optical monitoring. This is the feature that allows the users to monitor

the real-time parameters of SFP, such as the power output of the optical

device, the optical input power, temperature, the laser bias current and

the transceiver supply voltage.

Types of Available Fiber Optic Transceivers.

There are different types of the available transceivers on the market.

The most common ones are;

1. SFP

This is a small form-factor pluggable that is compatible, hot-swapped

transceiver module, that is used for both telecommunication and data

communications applications. These modules can be regarded as an upgrade

to the GBIC module. The SFP is a popular industry format that is supported

by various network component vendors as they are designed to offer the

support of SONET, the Gigabit Ethernet, Fiber Channel and other

communications standards.

2. SFP+

The SFP+ is an enhanced and advanced version of the SFP that supports data

rates for up to 10 Gbit/s, with support of the 8 Gbit.s Fiber Channel,

10-gigabit Ethernet and the Optical Transport Network standard (OTU2).

It is a popular industry standard format that is supported by many network

component vendors. In the modern market, their applications have expanded

to SONET OC-192, SDH STM-64, OTN G..709. CPRI wireless, the 16G Fiber

Channel and the modern 32G Fiber Channel application.

3. XFP

The XFP appeared before the introduction of the SFP+. It is a standardized

form factor of the serial 10 Gb/s fiber optic transceiver. It is protocol

independent and fully compliant with various standards such as - 10G

Ethernet, 10g Fiber Channel, SONET OC-192, SDH STM-64 and the OT G.709.

These transceivers are used in datacom and telecom optical links to offer

a small footprint and lower the power consumption of the transponders.

4. QSFP/QSFP+

This is the quad 4 channel small form-factor pluggable that is compact

hot-pluggable transceiver used for the data communication applications.

The QSFP+ emerged as a standard to support the 1oGb.s data rates.

5. CFP

The C form-factor pluggable is a multi-source agreement that is used to

produce a common form factor for the transmission of high-speed digital

signals. The c stands for the Latin letter C that is used to denote the

number 100 which means centum, as the standard was initially developed

for the 100 Gigabit Ethernet Systems

Application areas

These Optical Transceivers are applicable to a number of places such as;

- Switches/Bridges/Routers/Servers

- SONET/SDH Network

- Gigabit Ethernet

- 1x/2x Fiber Channel

- Point-Point Networking

- Metro Access Rings

- Fiber-to-the-desktop (FTTD)

- High-speed Computer Links

- LANS, SAN (Local, storage area networks)

The pluggable fiber optic transceivers facilitate the network upgrades

because they are interchangeable with the fiber connectors that can adapt

to most of the existing networks. There is an increasing demand for

the Optical Transceivers as the communication market grows in response

to the many available smartphones and the internet transmission of data.

BENEFITS

The benefits of using the pluggable fiber optic transceivers are many.

Their benefits make them valuable to many networks because of their

universality and ability to operate in many different networks.

- They are easy to replace and repair

- They are compatible with many other devices

- They pass data across long communication distance

- They have various set speeds facilitating different data rates

The transceivers are able to accommodate a wide range of link spans and

can be used in the telecom and datacom applications to change an electrical

signal into optical signals and vice versa. They are pluggable fiber

transceivers that are preferred by many designers because of their

flexibility, scalability, and affordability.