Common Transceivers in Optical Communication

XFP

The XFP is a 10 gigabit Small Form Factor Pluggable which uses optic fiber to achieve computer network and telecommunication in a relatively high speed. XFP modules support Ethernet, Fiber Channel, SONET, OTN and parallel optics links as well. And they can either work on a single wavelength or use multiple techniques. XFP now is widely used in optic communication around the world since it provides flexibility interface choice and can be adapted into various transmitter and receiver types, so the users have much more rights and flexibility to choose a proper transceiver to achieve the most efficient optical reach.

X2

X2 transceiver is the 10G fiber optic transceiver which is developed on the basis of the former Xenpak standard. The 10-Gigabit Ethernet X2 module is a hot-swappable I/O device that plugs into 10-Gigabit Ethernet ports. Its functions are similar with those of the Xenpak but with a smaller size, which enables it can be adapted to density installation. The X2 enhances the data transmission rate greatly and can function well even in long distance from 300meters to 40km. 10G X2 modules offer customers various of 10 Gigabit Ethernet connectivity options for data center, enterprise wiring closet, and service provider transport applications.

XENPAK

XENPAK is a MSA that is widely used to define a fiber-optic or weird transceiver module. Numerous network equipment manufactures and module makers support the XENPAK until the advanced technologies bring about more compact form factors such as XPAK and X2 with different mechanical properties. But these two newly emerged standard  shares the same electrical interface with XENPAK. The XENPAK modules are mostly used in physical layer interfaces that support both multi-mode fiber optic cables and single mode ones. It can achieve the transmission distances as far as 100meters to 80km.

QSFP

QSFP is short for Quad Small Form-factor pluggable, which is a compact hot-pluggable transceiver applied in data communication, allowing data rates from 4×10 Gbit/s. The QSFP is developed to satisfy the demand of the market for a more intensified pluggable solution, and numerous mature and crucial techniques that once used in XFP were applied in it. QSFP modules increase the port-density by 3 to 4 times when comparing to the SFP+ modules, for it supports data transmission in four ports at the same time at the speed of 10Gbps. The QSFP has become a standard which is applied by some manufactures.

CFP

The CFP stands for the Centum Form-factor pluggable which is a hot pluggable fiber optic transceiver. It is designed to transmit the digital signal at a relatively high speed. As much as 100G data transmission over ten wavelength- division- multiplexed lanes can be achieved by the CFP, and the transmission distance can reach up to 40km. Being conveniently assembled into and released from the host system, the CFP provide much flexibility for the users. With the improvement of technology, the CFP2 and CFP4 specification are developed with higher performance and higher density. Although they have similar electrical form as CFP,  the size of these two is 1/2 and 1/4 respectively smaller than the original specification.