The encapsulation of optical modules ensures the stability and reliability of optical communication. Shenzhen Mshine Technology Co.,Ltd. introduces several common types of packaging for optical modules.
SFP package: SFP (Small form factor plug-in) means small and pluggable. It is a pluggable module that can support Gigabit Ethernet, SONET, Fiber Channel, and other communication standards, and can be plugged into the SFP port of a switch. SFP supports speeds up to 4.25Gbps. Due to its smaller size, SFP has replaced the previously common Gigabit Interface Converter (GBIC) and is therefore also known as Mini GBIC SFP. LC interfaces are commonly used.
SFP+ package: 10G optical module, limited to SFP only supporting a transmission rate of 4.25Gbps, the highest speed of SFP+ can reach 16Gbps, SFP+ is an enhanced SFP. The SFP+ specification is based on SFF-8431. SFP+ modules, with their advantages of small size and easy use, have replaced the XENPAK and XFP modules that were commonly used in early 10 Gigabit Ethernet, and are widely used in 10 Gigabit Ethernet.
XFP package: 10G optical module, can be used in various systems such as 10 Gigabit Ethernet, SONET, etc. SFP+and XFP are both 10G fiber modules, and can communicate with other types of 10G modules, often using LC interfaces.
SFP28 is an enhanced version of SFP+, with the same size as SFP+, but it can support a single channel speed of 25Gb/s. SFP28 provides an efficient solution for upgrading 10G-25G-100G networks, meeting the growing demands of next-generation data center networks.
QSFP+ Compared to SFP+ with a transmission rate of 10Gbps per channel, it is an upgraded version of QSFP. QSFP can support 4-channel transmission simultaneously, with a data rate of 1Gbit/s per channel. However, QSFP+ is different from QSFP in that it supports 4x10Gbit/s channel transmission and can achieve a transmission rate of 40Gbps through 4 channels. Compared with SFP+, the transmission rate of QSFP+ optical modules can reach four times that of SFP+ optical modules. When deploying 40G networks, QSFP+ optical modules can be directly used, thereby effectively saving costs and increasing port density.
QSFP28, Born to meet the requirements of 100G applications, there are a total of 4 high-speed differential signal channels, with transmission rates ranging from 25Gbps to possibly 40Gbps per channel, which can meet the application needs of 100G Ethernet (4 × 25Gbps) and EDR InfiniBand. There are many types of QSFP28 products, and there are different ways to achieve 100G transmission, such as 100G direct connection, 100G to 4-channel 25G branch link, or 100G to 2-channel 50G branch link.
CFP, The full name is “C form factor plug-in”. CFP was originally developed for 100G Ethernet systems, where “C” refers to the Latin numeral for 100. CFP electrical interfaces support 10 × 10Gbit/s channel transmission in both the transmit (TX) and receive (RX) directions, but optical interfaces can transmit 100G through 4 × 25Gbit/s channels in addition to 10 × 10Gbit/s channels. 100G CFP is an optical module package designed for high-speed digital signal transmission, used for service provider transmission, data center networks, and enterprise network core aggregation layer applications.
The QSFP-DD package is highly favored by 400G due to its advantages of high speed, small size, and pluggable. The 400G QSFP-DD optical module has become one of the most popular optical modules for the next generation of data center network interconnection. With the standardization of 400G, major manufacturers and suppliers have developed different types of 400G QSFP-DD optical modules, such as 400G QSFP-DD SR8 optical modules.
With the development of network technology, fiber optic modules are moving towards miniaturization, low cost, low power consumption, high speed, long distance, and support for hot swapping.
