Fiber Jumper Endface Inspection and Cleaning Methods

Fiber optic communications have not only eliminated the vast majority of previous network limitations, but also expanded the capabilities of networks beyond expectations. Fiber jumper, known as fiber patch cable as well, serves as an indispensable component in data transmission. So it is critical that the fiber jumper endfaces are clean and free from particular contamination to assure proper performance and reliability of the whole network systems, which absolutely make for successful operation. Then, have you ever encounter problems when performing fiber jumper cleaning? Take it easy, this article will offer you an instructive guideline to deliver better fiber jumper inspection and cleaning.

Fiber Jumper Overview

Fiber jumper is a fiber optic cable terminated with fiber optic connectors on both ends. It is often used to connect optical transceiver and fiber terminal box. Basically, it can be divided into single-mode patch cable (OS1, OS2) colored yellow, and multimode patch cable (OM1, OM2, OM3, OM4) colored orange or grey. According to the terminated connector, it can be same connector type patch cable, like LC to LC fiber patch cable, or hybrid fiber patch cable with different connectors on each end, such as LC to SC fiber patch cable. Fiber jumpers are featured by low insertion loss and high return loss, good repeatability and good interchange as well as excellent environmental adaptability. They are most employed to computer work station to outlet and fiber optic patch panels or optical cross connect distribution center.

Ways to Inspect Fiber Jumper

There is no doubt that a well-performed fiber jumper is able to ensure high quality system connection, reduce network failure and identify the point of failure. And to achieve a better connection between fiber jumper and fiber coupler, the endface cleanliness of fiber jumper really matters since it directly affects the quality of network communications. There are also two ways to inspect the circumstances of fiber jumper endface.

Visual Inspection: Under normal circumstances the most common practice is to check the face dirt: disconnect the device and pick up the fiber jumpers against the light, by observing the side facing the bright light refraction to detect whether the end is clean and smooth. Through observation, if the side facing the light reflection is smooth and bright, then it is clean. if the side facing the light reflection is not too bright and not enough smooth, maybe there is dirt or there are scratches on the face. The endface of fiber jumper will seriously affect the quality of the optical transmission.

Instrument Checks: Among fiber jumper endface inspection tools, fiber optic microscope is the most widely used professional inspection equipment. When used in multimode fiber jumper, the microscope shows that ratio of 200 times, whereas used in single-mode fiber jumper, it shows that ratio of 400 times. With more advanced fiber optic microscope currently available on the market, one can test fiber jumper endface without disconnecting the equipment, meanwhile, it also avoids the risk of laser hurting eyes.  

Fiber Jumper Cleaning Methods

During the process of checking fiber jumper endface, contamination must be properly cleaned and removed to ensure high quality data link and communication. Since cleaning methods can vary from different maintenance personnel and circumstances, cleaning effects hence are not the same. However, if the conditions permit, it is advised to use professional cleaning tools to deliver better cleaning.

Cleaning Without Professional Tools

1. Clean cotton ball in one hand, and then ethanol drops on cotton balls.

2. With anhydrous alcohol cotton ball wiping down with the same direction, according to the severity of the end surface dirt.

3. Put a good face with an alcohol wipe three or more layers of the folded lens paper, to wipe face in the same direction until the alcohol is completely dry and the endface of the light reflection of bright reflective so far.

4. Carefully check the condition of the local light reflex face each and end face on fiber debris residues, if necessary, repeat the above step 1 to 3 until the end face clean and flawless.

Cleaning With Professional Tools

Here, we introduce the clean endface card to help clean the fiber jumper endface.

1. Tear plastic coverage on the cleaning belt.

2. Drop small drops of detergent to the cleaning belt.

3. Holding the fiber connector with the vertical direction, wipe from the wet to the dry.

4. Check again to ensure clean completely. If necessary, use a cleaner to clean it again according to the above steps.

Conclusion

As the fiber jumper is considered to be a vital component in fiber optic network, more importance should be attached to its performance and cleanliness. The inspection and cleaning method we offer are simple and feasible to conduct, besides, the routine operation and maintenance are also essential. After all, only these details are taken seriously, can a reliable and flexible communication environment be assured.

First published: http://www.fiber-patch-cords.com/blog/a/130/Fiber-Jumper-Endface-Inspection-and-Cleaning-Methods

Upgrading Your Network With OM3/OM4 Patch Cable

As the demand for higher speed, reliability, manageability and flexibility of the network never ends, it is high time to upgrade your existing infrastructure in data centers. Therefore, more attention should be attached to fiber patch cable—one of the most vital components to ensure sound network environment. Currently, two types of multimode fibers—OM3 and OM4 patch cables have provided optimum choices to enhance network reliability and performance, which will be explained detailedly in following paragraphs.

OM3 and OM4 Patch Cable Overview

OM here refers to optical multimode, and multimode fiber has been widely employed in data centers nowadays since it presents a cost efficient option for short distance transmission. OM3 and OM4 are both laser-optimized multimode fibers with 50/125um core, which are designed for use with 850nm VCSELS (vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser) and are developed to accommodate faster networks such as 10, 40 and 100 Gbps. Compared with OM1 and OM2 patch cables, OM3 and OM4 patch cables are undoubtedly more suitable for today’s demanding networks as they enable data to transport at higher rate and longer distance. The following diagram clearly illustrates the performance of different multimode patch fiber.

Fiber Type	1G	10G	40/100G
OM1	300 m	36 m	N/A
OM2	500 m	86 m	N/A
OM3	1 km	300 m	100 m
OM4	1 km	550 m	150 m

The Advantages of OM3 and OM4 Patch Cable

The IEEE 802.3ba 40/100G Ethernet Standard was ratified in June 2010, which provides specific guidance for 40/100G transmission with multimode and single-mode fibers. According to the standard, OM3 and OM4 are the only multimode fibers included in it. And they are massively applied to upgrade the legacy infrastructure, especially for migrating to high-density networks. So, how can we exactly benefit from OM3/OM4 patch cables?

Get Higher Bandwidth

First and foremost, bandwidth is the main reason why OM3 and OM4 patch cables are used for network upgrades. OM3 and OM4 patch cables are optimized for 850nm transmission and have a minimum 2000 MHz∙km and 4700 MHz∙km effective modal bandwidth (EMB). Compared with OM1 and OM2 patch cables with the maximum 500 MHz∙km, advantages of OM3 and OM4 are obvious. With a connectivity solution using OM3 and OM4 cables that have been measured using the minimum EMB calculate technique, the optical infrastructure deployed in the data center will meet the performance criteria set by IEEE for bandwidth.

Get Longer Transmission Distance

The impact that transmission distance of fiber patch cables has on the data center cabling cannot be overestimate. And the manageability and flexibility will increase parallelly with longer transmission distance. OM3 and OM4 patch cables can support longer transmission distance compared with traditional multimode fibers. Generally OM3 fibers can run 40/100 Gigabit at 100 meters and OM4 fibers can run 40/100 Gigabit at 150 meters.

Get Lower Insertion Loss

Insertion loss has always been an essential factor to be considered during data center cabling. This is because the total connector loss within a system channel impacts the ability to operate over the maximum supportable distance for a given data rate. As total connector loss increases, the supportable distance at that data rate decreases. OM3 patch cable is specified to a 100m distance with a maximum channel loss of 1.9dB, which includes a 1.5dB total connector loss budget. And OM4 patch cable is specified to a 150m distance with a maximum channel loss of 1.5 dB, including a total connector loss budget of 1.0 dB. In this way, OM3 and OM4 patch cables help to achieve maximum flexibility and longer supportable transmission distance.

OM3 Patch Cable vs. OM4 Patch Cable

Apparently, OM3 and OM4 patch cables offer us an ideal alternative to upgrade the existing infrastructure. A question may occur to us is to determine which one is better. Well, it depends on several factors. Among which the applications and the total costs always serve as major ones.

Owing to the difference in the construction of fiber cable, OM4 patch cable has better attenuation and higher bandwidth of longer distance. Moreover, the cost for OM4 is higher than OM3. As 90% of all data centers have their runs under 100 meters, OM3 may be a better choice. However, considering future growth, the overall cost would come down with the increasing demand. In this case, OM4 might be the most viable option.

Conclusion

With either OM3 or OM4 patch cable, you are capable of upgrading the existing infrastructure to achieve more reliable and flexible network performance. Since they both provide us higher bandwidth, longer transmission distance and lower insertion loss. And when choosing between these two types of patch cables, your decision better be based on the current circumstances of the application and budget. Moreover, don’t forget to take future plan into consideration.

First published: http://www.fiber-patch-cords.com/blog/a/129/Upgrading-Your-Network-With-OM3/OM4-Patch-Cable

Reference Guide to Optical Transceiver Testing

As an integral part of the entire network, optical transceiver plays a significant role in deciding the overall performance and reliability of the network. The importance of testing optical transceiver therefore cannot be overestimated. Currently, since an increasing number of optical transceivers employed in networks are provideed by third party suppliers, to ensure their compatibility and interoperability becomes more of a concern than ever. Well, this article is here to help you solve the problem.

Optical Transceiver Overview

Generally, an optical transceiver consists of a transmitter and a receiver. When a transmitter is connected with a receiver but the system doesn’t achieve your desired bit-error-ratio (BER), is there something wrong with the transmitter or the receiver? The transmitter and the receiver can affect each other, thus, specifications should guarantee that any receiver will interoperate with a worst-case transmitter, and any transmitter will provide a signal with sufficient quality such that it will interoperate with a worst-case receiver.

Precisely, defining worst case is often a complicated task. If a receiver needs a minimum level of power to achieve the system BER target, then that level will dictate the minimum allowed output power of the transmitter. If the receiver can only tolerate a certain level of jitter, this will be used to define the maximum acceptable jitter from the transmitter. In general, there are four basic steps in testing an optical transceiver, as shown in the following picture, which mainly includes the transmitter testing and receiver testing.

Transmitter Testing

Transmitter parameters may include wavelength and shape of the output waveform while the receiver may specify tolerance to jitter and bandwidth. There are two steps to test a transmitter:

1. The input signal used to test the transmitter must be good enough. Measurements of jitter and an eye mask test must be performed to confirm the quality using electrical measurements. An eye mask test is a common method to view the transmitter waveform and provides a wealth of information about overall transmitter performance.

2. The optical output of the transmitter must be tested using several optical quality metrics such as a mask test, OMA (optical modulation amplitude), and Extinction Ratio.

Receiver Testing

To test a receiver, there are also two steps:

1. Unlike testing the transmitter, in which case one must ensure that the input signal is of good quality, testing the receiver involves sending in a signal of poor enough quality. In this case, a stressed eye represents the worst case signal shall be created. This is an optical signal, and must be calibrated using jitter and optical power measurements.

2. The last step is to test the electrical output of the receiver. There are three basic categories we should follow:

• A mask test, which ensures a wide enough eye opening. The mask test is usually accompanied by a BER (bit error ratio) depth.
• Jitter budget test, which tests for the amount of certain types of jitter.
• Jitter tracking and tolerance, which tests the ability of the internal clock recovery circuit to track jitter within its loop bandwidth.

Conclusion

Complicated as it is, to test a fiber optic transceiver is also an indispensable step to ensure overall network performance. As basic eye-mask test offers an effective and commonly used option for testing the transmitter, testing the receiver can be more complex and requires more testing methods. A wide variety of fiber optic transceivers are available in FS.COM that are compatible with major brands on the market, such as Cisco, HP, IBM, Juniper, etc. Moreover, each fiber optic transceiver has been tested with the original-brand switch to ensure its high performance and superior quality. For more detailed information, please visit www.fs.com.

First published: http://www.fiber-optic-solutions.com/reference-guide-optical-transceiver-testing.html

Do You Know Enough About Fiber Connectors?

As there exists a wide range of splice options for fiber network available on the market, selecting the right connector for your application can sometimes be tough and confusing. While choosing the fiber connector, various factors like cost and availability should be considered, which naturally lead to even less thought goes to connector itself. Since each connector has its own unique design as well as merits and demerits, it can pose a significant influence on deployment speeds and costs in the long run. So before making your decision, you’d better have an overall understanding of fiber connectors, and this is what we will talk about.

Fiber Connectors Overview

In this part, we will introduce some fiber connectors that are commonly used in the network applications. The following diagram directly explains the differences among them in performance.

Name	Mating Cycles	Ferrule Size	Typical Insertion Loss (db)	Application Features
SC	1000	2.5 mm Ceramic	0.25-0.5	Mainstream, Reliable, Fast deployment, Field fit
LC	500	1.25 mm Ceramic	0.25-0.5	High density, Cost effective, Field fit
FC	500	2.5 mm Ceramic	0.25-0.5	High precision, Vibration environments, Field fit
ST	500	2.5 mm Ceramic	0.25-0.5	Military (legacy), Field fit
MTP/MPO	1000	6.4*2.5 mm molded	0.25-0.75	High density, Aggregate networking, Fast deployment

SC Connector

SC connector was one of the first connectors presented on the market following the advent of ceramic ferrules. It has a push-pull coupling end face with a spring loaded ceramic ferrule. Initially intended for Gigabit Ethernet networking, it became increasingly popular as manufacturing costs came down. The SC connector has held a dominated position in fiber optics for over a decade with only the ST rivaling it. And it still remains the second most common connector for polarization maintaining applications. The SC is ideally suited for datacoms and telecoms applications including point to point and passive optical networking.

LC Connector

Considered to be the modern replacement of the SC connector, LC connector is also a push-pull connector, but it utilizes a latch as opposed to the SC locking tab and with a smaller ferrule it is known as a small form factor connector. LC connector shares huge popularity in datacoms and other high-density patch applications. And its small size and latch feature make it an ideal alternative for densely populated racks and panels. Since LC compatible transceivers and active networking components have been introduced, LC connector is likely to continue to grow steadily.

FC Connector

FC connector leads the trend to use a ceramic ferrule, but unlike the plastic bodied SC and LC, it utilizes a round screw-type fitment made from nickel-plated or stainless steel. In spite that the manufacturing and installation of FC connector are much more complex, it’s still an optimum option for precise measuring equipment such as OTDRs. Moreover, FC connector is particularly effective in high vibration environments, ensuring that the spring-loaded ferrule is firmly mated.

ST Connector

ST connector looks much like FC connector, but it uses a bayonet fitment rather than a screw thread. Deployed predominately in multi-mode datacoms, it is most common in network environments such as campuses, corporate networks and in military applications where the quick connecting bayonet had its advantages at the time. However, it cannot be terminated with an angled polish, which limits use in single mode fiber and FTTH applications.

MTP/MPO connector

MTP and MPO connector falls into the category of multiple fiber push-on/pull-off connector. It is larger than other connectors since it can support up to 24 fibers in a single ferrule. It is currently extensively used in high density patch environments such as data centers, both at single mode and multi-mode wavelengths. MTP/MPO connector is often supplied with a fan-out assembly at the opposing end (such as LC, SC FC etc.). This allows the operator to change channels simply by re-patching the fanned-out side of the cable.

Conclusion

Getting to know the differences between various types of fiber connectors simply contribute to the primary stage of selecting the right one. And when it comes to the planning process of fiber deployments, the differences can be much more clearly. So, make sure to invest enough time to select the right fiber connector, which will do you a good return in the long run.

First published: http://www.china-cable-suppliers.com/know-enough-fiber-connectors.html

Why Not Use QSFP28 Transceiver for Your 100G Network?

Service providers and enterprise data centers are undergoing an infrastructure transformation to achieve higher levels of performance and scalability that may explain why the demand for 100G network is always on the rise. Optical transceiver, therefore, is usually considered to be a vital component to ensure the flexibility and reliability of the whole system. 100G transceivers have become a preferable alternative for those bandwidth-hungry applications in data centers to accelerate data flow. In this article, we will introduce several 100G transceivers which are commonly seen on the market. And emphasis will be put on the 100G QSFP28 transceiver.

Common 100G Transceivers Overview

There exist 100G CFP transceiver, CFP2 transceiver and CFP4 transceiver on the market. The CFP transceiver comes out firstly. It was designed just after SFP interface, but it is significantly larger to support 100 Gbit/s data rates. While the electrical connection of a CFP transceiver uses 10 x 10 Gbit/s lanes in each direction (RX, TX), the optical connection can support both 10 x 10 Gbit/s and 4 x 25 Gbit/s variants of 100 Gbit/s interconnects.

With improvements in technology, CFP2 and CFP4 specifications have appeared to allow higher performance and higher density. Having similar electrical connection with a CFP transceiver, CFP2 transceiver and CFP4 transceiver specify a form-factor of 1/2 and 1/4 respectively in size of a CFP transceiver. These three modules are not interchangeable, but would be inter-operable at the optical interface with appropriate connectors.

100G QSFP28 Transceiver Description

And here comes the dominate 100G transceiver—100G QSFP28 transceiver, which is implemented with four 25 Gbit/s lanes. With an upgraded electrical interface, QSFP28 transceiver is capable of supporting signal rates up to 28 Gbit/s, thus making it as easy to deploy 100G networks as 10G networks. Moreover, it has a strong ability to increase density, decrease power consumption, and decrease price per bit. With QSFP28, the way to migrate to 100G can change from 10G-40G-100G to 10G-25G-100G or 10G-25G-50G-100G, which can largely simplify the cabling in data center and effective decrease the cable density and the cost.

Basically, there are two types of QSFP28 transceiver: QSFP28 SR4 for short range transmission up to 100 m and QSFP28 LR4 for long range transmission up to 10 km. The following diagram illustrate some detailed information of each type.

	QSFP28 SR	QSFP28 LR
Fiber Type	Multimode	Single-mode
Reach	100 m over OM3; 125 m over OM4	10 km over SMF
Transmission Type	Parallel MM (4x25G)	CWDM (4x25G)
Wavelength(s)	4 x 850 nm	1295 nm-1309 nm
Application	Data Centers	Data Centers; Carriers

What Can We Benefit From QSFP28?

Giving a look back to the evolution of 100G modules in the past few years, all these changes are closely related to factors like power and cost, which matters a lot to every data center and server room. Thus, the reason why 100G QSFP28 emerges is partly explained. Then, what exactly can QSFP28 bring to us?

Higher Port Density: The first generation of 100G transceiver is CFP, which is very large. When it comes to CFP2 and CFP4, the next generation of 100G modules, their sizes decrease a lot. With the same footprint and face plate density as QSFP+, QSFP28 is even smaller than CFP4, and its high port density is also an overwhelming advantage. Generally, up to 36 QSFP28 can be installed on a 1RU switch on the front panel.

Lower Power Consumption: Compared with other 100G transceivers, QSFP28 requires the lowest power for transmission, which could be less than 3.5 W. While for other 100G transceivers, the power consumption ranges from 6 W to 24 W.

Lower Cost: QSFP28 is able to save considerable amount of money with higher port density and lower power consumption. In addition, QSFP28, implemented with four lanes, increases the transmission capacity of every lane from 10G to 25G, which can effectively decrease cost for each bit.

Conclusion

With higher port density, lower power consumption and lower cost, QSFP28 offers an optimum and feasible alternative for 100G network data transmission, especially for those large scale data centers and carriers. Hope this article could assist you in choosing the right transceiver to achieve smooth migration to 100G.

First published: http://www.china-cable-suppliers.com/not-use-qsfp28-transceiver-100g-network.html

How to Choose Fiber Patch Cable for Your Transceiver?

It is generally accepted that fiber patch cable nowadays has captured a major and dominate place in the telecommunication industry. It offers a more appropriate way to transmit signal with higher performance and reliability. Fiber patch cable, together with optical transceiver, are claimed to be vital and indispensable to ensure smooth and valid data transmission, especially for links between the switches and equipment. However, selecting fiber patch cables for the transceiver module can sometimes seem like a daunting task since there exist various kinds of fiber patch cables. Is there any standard or criterion to consider? That’s what we intend to discuss in this article. But at the very beginning, let’s just review something rudimentary.

Basics of Fiber Patch Cable

Fiber patch cable, known as fiber jumper or fiber patch cord as well, is designed to interconnect or cross connect fiber networks within structured cabling systems. It is terminated with fiber connectors at both ends to be connected to an optical switch or other telecom equipment. Classified by fiber types, there are single-mode (OS1, OS2) and multimode (OM1, OM2, OM3, OM4) fiber patch cables, both are available with simplex and duplex transmission. While according to connector types, there are LC, SC, ST, FC and MTP/MPO fiber patch cables. Fiber patch cable usually features good repeatability, and interchange as well as excellent environmental adaptability.

Basics of Fiber Optic Transceiver

Fiber optic transceiver, a self-contained component that allows for both transmitting and receiving signals. Usually, it is inserted in devices such as switches, routers or network interface cards which provide one or more transceiver module slot. During the transmission process, the electrical input can be converted to optical output to achieve fiber transmission. There are many optical transceivers types available on the market, such as SFP+ transceiver, X2 transceiver, XENPAK transceiver, XFP transceiver, SFP (Mini GBIC) transceiver, GBIC transceiver and so on.

Factors to Consider When Choosing Patch Cable

Since optical transceivers are capable of supporting higher and longer data rates, things can be more complicated when it comes to choose the right patch cable. So, before actually making your decision, here are certain aspects to consider: fiber type, transmission distance and data rate, and transceiver interface.

Fiber type and transmission distance: for optical transceivers, two types of fiber patch cables are used: single-mode (OS1, OS2) and multimode (OM1, OM2, OM3, OM4). Usually for short distance transmission up to 500 meters multimode patch cable is suggested, Whereas for long distance transmission, single-mode fiber patch cable is suggested.

Data rate: basically, as the transmission distance increases in a fiber optic cable, transmission data rate decrease. Compared with multimode, single-mode patch cords offer the best performance for different data rates in both long and short distances, but with higher cost. Therefore, for short distances data transmission with a limited budget, multimode fiber optic cable is likely to be a feasible and optimum option.

Transceiver interfaces: transceiver interface is directly connected to fiber patch cable, it usually uses one port for transmitting and one port for receiving. Generally, fiber optic transceivers usually employ duplex SC or LC interfaces. For BiDi transceivers, simplex patch cord is often adopted since it uses only one port for transmitting and receiving. Some 40G/100GBASE QSFP+ transceivers uses MTP/MPO interfaces, which should be connected to the network with multi-fiber patch cords attached with MTP/MPO connectors. If these ports are used for 40G to 10G or 100G to 10G connection, then fanout patch cable should be used. 

Real Case Analysis

In this part, let’s just take a real case for example, to explain how to implement we’ve discussed in reality.

Suppose that we need to choose a right patch cable using between Cisco fiber optic transceiver SFP-10G-SR and X2-10GB-SR. We know that SFP-10G-SR is the 10GBASE-SR SFP+ transceiver module for MMF, 850-nm wavelength, LC duplex connector. And X2-10GB-SR is the 10GBASE-SR X2 transceiver module for MMF, 850-nm wavelength, SC duplex connector. So that we would require patch cable with SC-LC connector with MMF, 850-nm wavelength. Likewise, we could choose right fiber patch cable for other transceivers.

Conclusion

Fiber patch cable is a key and indispensable component to achieve network flexibility and reliability, while choosing the right one for your transceivers, do not forget to take fiber type, transmission distance and data rate, as well as transceiver interface into consideration. This article simply offers you a reference guide, for more detailed product solution and tutorial, please visit www.fs.com.

First published: http://www.fiber-patch-cords.com/blog/a/128/How-to-Choose-Fiber-Patch-Cable-for-Your-Transceiver

Things to Know About BiDi Transceiver

In each and every data center and IT infrastructure, the demand for larger capacity, higher bandwidth and more reliable performance will never slack. Meanwhile, your applications and competitive advantages increasingly depend on it. Which may explain why nowadays migrating from 10G to 40G has become a popular and vital option for many service providers. This article will briefly introduce bidirectional (BiDi) transceiver—a cost-effective and feasible solution to bring 40-Gbps speeds to the access layer.

Introduction to BiDi Transceiver

BiDi transceiver, also known as bidirectional transceiver, usually consists of two different wavelengths to achieve transmission in both directions on just one fiber (single-mode or multi-mode). Unlike general optical transceivers which have two ports, BiDi transceivers have only one port. With wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) technology, BiDi transceiver enables the signal to be sent and received in both directions by different center wavelength. The most frequently used wavelength of BiDi optical module is 1310nm/1550nm, 1310nm/1490nm, 1510nm/1590nm. From the picture shown below, it is easy to distinguish BiDi transceiver from the general one.

Working Principle of BiDi Transceiver

The major difference between BiDi transceivers and general transceivers lies in the fact that BiDi transceivers are equipped with WDM couplers, which combine and separate data transmitted over a single fiber based on the wavelengths of the light. The following picture clearly illustrates how BiDi transceivers work. The two wavelengths that have been used in this example are 1310nm and 1490nm. Usually the upstream transmits at the shorter wavelength, while the downstream at the longer wavelength. What should be addressed is that BiDi transceivers must be deployed in pairs, so that the diplexers could turn to match the expected wavelength of the transmitter and receiver transmitting data.

What Can BiDi Transceiver Achieve

• 40G connectivity becomes more reliable with BiDi transceiver technology. Your servers need it, your applications and users demand it, and your competitors are working to deliver it.
• BiDi transceiver can reduce the cost in fiber cabling infrastructure since it requires less fiber cable and less fiber patch panels. On the other hand, BiDi transceiver also makes it possible to save more precious space in data centers.

QSFP BiDi Transceiver Solution

There exist three types commonly used BiDi transceivers: BiDi SFP+ transceivers, BiDi XFP transceivers and QSFP BiDi transceivers. As BiDi SFP+ transceivers and BiDi XFP transceivers are designed for bidirectional 10G serial optical data communications, QSFP BiDi transceivers allow reuse of existing 10G fiber infrastructure for 40G connections. In this part, we will discuss QSFP BiDi transceiver in detail.

40G QSFP BiDi transceiver has two 20G channels, each transmitted and received simultaneously on two wavelength over a single MMF strand (OM3 or OM4). It allows the existing 10G cabling system to be repurposed for 40G connectivity. Which means it lets you bring 40G speeds to the access layer using the same 10G cable plant you are using today. In contrast, the general QSFP SR4 transceiver like Cisco QSFP-40G-SR4 requires new patch cables and patch panels since the connector types differ and the size of the fiber trunk needs to be quadrupled.

The QSFP-40G-SR-BD transceiver transmits full-duplex 40G traffic over one dual-fiber LC-connector OM3 or OM4 MMF cable. It is capable of reusing 10G fiber infrastructure. That’s to say it enables data center operators to upgrade to 40G connectivity without making any changes to the previous 10G fiber cable plant. It is a huge cost savings, whether you are upgrading your current data center or building a new one. And it means you can start taking advantage of 40G performance for your organization right now.

Conclusion

BiDi transceiver serves as an ideal and feasible solution in situations where only limited fibers or limited conduit space is available. And the deployment of BiDi transceivers efficiently enhances the bandwidth capacity of the existing optical fiber infrastructure and help to achieve economical and reliable performance of the optical network.

First published: http://www.fiber-optic-solutions.com/things-know-bidi-transceiver.html