Compatible Issues of Optical Transceiver

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When deploying the cabling system,
sometimes you may encounter such situation when there is already brand A
switch, but you got brand B optical transceiver. Then, the compatible issue is
what you most worry about. Just like the following figure shows, Cisco
SFP-10G-SR transceiver definitely works well when plugged into 10G SFP+ port on
Cisco switch, so does HP SFP-10G-SR transceiver with HP switch. But when you
plug Cisco SFP-10G-SR transceiver into 10G SFP+ port on HP switch, will the
link perform well? The answer is “Yes”. However, not all cases that mix brands
will get the answer “Yes”. There are still some important aspects that you have
to take into consideration. This article will focus on compatible issues of
optical transceiver.

 

Important Aspects of Optical
Transceiver

To ensure the whole link works at high
performance level, before you use mixed-brand optical transceiver and switch,
there are some important aspects of optical transceiver that you must think
about.

 

Standard

 

We know that optical transceiver has
different standards, such as 10GBASE-SR, 10GBASE-LR, 10GBASE-ER, 10GBASE-ZR,
10GBASE-T, and so on. Different standards are applied to different network
infrastructure. And you have to pay attention that you use optical transceivers
of the same standard at each end, for example: both sides with 10GBASE-SR SFP
module. You can’t connect 10GBASE-SR SFP module with 10GBASE-T
SFP+ transceiver. Otherwise, you have to undertake the risk of link
failure.

 

Port

 

Usually, there are multiple ports on
the switch. Take 10G switch for example, it often has about 24 SFP ports and 2
10G SFP+ ports. And some may have 10G RJ45 port. It is not hard to understand
that you plug SFP module into SFP port, 10G SFP+ module into 10G SFP+ port, and
plug 10G copper SFP into 10G RJ45 port. But in fact, some SFP modules can work in
SFP+ port, only performing at 1G speed. While 10G SFP+ will only work for 10G
SFP+ port. Therefore, remember to check if you plug the optical transceiver
into the right port on the switch.

 

Wavelength

 

Optical transceiver works at a certain
wavelength, such as 850nm, 1310nm or 1550nm. It is essential that the
wavelength of the optical transceivers on both end matches. Because a
transceiver working at 1310nm will not talk to a transceiver working at 850nm.
The wrong wavelength may cause loss and degradation along the optical link. So,
make sure your transceivers will work at the same wavelength.

 

Cable Type

 

Optical transceiver must be used with
corresponding fiber optic cable. For example, 10G SFP+ transceiver made for
multimode fiber isn’t going to work well with single mode fiber. Besides,
though the transceiver is used with multimode fiber, OM3 or OM4 may have
different results. But the most important thing is that you have to choose the
cable according to the standard of the optical transceiver as well as its
interface.

 

Conclusion

From the above content we can conclude
that, in most cases, when connecting two optical transceivers of different
brands, the optical link will work well as long as you use optical transceivers
with the same standard and wavelength, plug it into the right port and choose
the suitable cable type. FIBER-MART.COM provides fully compatible optical
transceivers with affordable price and decent performance.