Category Archives: Cabling Solutions

How FS 400G MTP/MPO Cables Enable Efficient Connectivity

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400G

The demand for 400G transmission rates by major data centers and telecom carrier continues to grow and cabling solutions are constantly being updated. In order to achieve 400G data rates and save cabling costs, breakthroughs, higher connection density, and simplified network design approaches must be considered, so 400G MTP/MPO cables are becoming more and more common. FS offers MTP/MPO cabling solutions to meet the needs of high-performance 400G networks. This article will describe specific cabling application scenarios.

A Glance at FS 400G MTP/MPO Cables and Transceivers

MTP/MPO cables with multi-core connector are used for optical transceiver connection. There are 4 different types of application scenarios for 400G MTP/MPO cables.

Common MTP/MPO patch cables include 8-fiber, 12-core, and 16-core. 8-core or 12-core MTP/MPO single-mode fiber patch cable is usually used to complete the direct connection of two 400G-DR4 optical transceivers. 16-core MTP/MPO fiber patch cable can be used to connect 400G-SR8 optical transceivers to 200G QSFP56 SR4 optical transceivers, and can also be used to connect 400G-8x50G to 400G-4x100G transceivers. The 8-core MTP to 4-core LC duplex fiber patch cable is used to connect the 400G-DR4 optical transceiver with a 100G-DR optical transceiver.

SR8-vs-DR4-vs-DR8.jpg

Figure 1: SR8-vs-DR4-vs-DR8

FS 400G MTP/MPO Cabling Solutions for Typical 400G Network Applications

As the network upgrades and data centers migrate to 400G rates, how to transition from existing 50G/100G/200G devices to 400G, here are FS MTP/MPO cabling solutions.

400G-400G Direct Connection

500m span with 8-fiber/12-fiber MTP/MPO cable

400G short and medium distance direct connection usually consists of 8-core/12-core MTP patch cable with 400G-DR4 OSFP/QSFP-DD modules. The term “DR4″—”DR” stands for 500m reach using single-mode fiber and “4” implies there are 4 x 100 Gbps optical channels. Since one optical channel requires two fibers, an 8-fiber or a 12-core MTP/MPO cable can be used for the 400G-DR4 module to achieve direct connection. In the 8-fiber MTP cabling, the fiber utilization is 100%, while in the 12-core MTP cabling, four fibers remain unused. Take 400G QSFP-DD module as an example, the following picture is presenting the MTP cabling for 400G DR4 direct connection.

400G-400G Direct Connection Scenario 1.jpg

Figure 2: 400G-400G Direct Connection Scenario 1

ProductsDescription
400G DR4 QSFP-DDGeneric Compatible 400G DR4 QSFP-DD PAM4 1310nm 500m DOM Transceiver Module
MTP®-12 (Female) 12 Fibers OS2 Single ModeOS2 Single Mode Elite Trunk Cable, 12 Fibers, Type B, Plenum (OFNP)

100m span with 16-fiber MTP/MPO cable

The 400G-SR8 transceivers require the use of a 16-core MTP cable. The term “SR8” – “SR” stands for a distance of 100 meters using multimode fiber, and “8” implies there exist 8 optical channels with each operating at 50Gbps. In this direct connection, the 16-core MTP cable has 100% fiber utilization. The primary adopters of these 400G-SR8 fiber transceivers are expected to be certain hyperscale cloud service providers in North America and China.

400G-400G Direct Connection Scenario 2.jpg

Figure 3: 400G-400G Direct Connection Scenario 2

ProductsDescription
400GBASE-SR8 QSFP-DDGeneric Compatible 400GBASE-SR8 QSFP-DD PAM4 850nm 100m DOM Transceiver Module
MTP®-16 APC (Female) OM4 CableOM4 Multimode Elite Trunk Cable, 16 Fibers, Plenum (OFNP), Magenta, 850/1300nm

400G-2x200G Direct Connection

100m span with 16-fiber MTP conversion cable

In the backbone and some more complex metropolitan area networks, the dual-carrier technology (2x200G) will be adopted to compress the channel spacing compared to a single-carrier 400G technology. Extending the transmission distance and improving the spectral efficiency, 400G-2x200G direct connection can help to deploy 400G backbone networks with minimum bandwidth resources.

In this case, 16-core MTP conversion cables terminated with MTP/MPO connectors on both ends are needed. With this type of cable, one 400G OFSP/QSFP-DD module and two 200G QSFP56 modules can be directly connected.

400G-2x200G Direct Connection Scenario.jpg

Figure 4: 400G-2x200G Direct Connection Scenario 3

ProductsDescription
400GBASE-SR8 QSFP-DDGeneric Compatible 400GBASE-SR8 QSFP-DD PAM4 850nm 100m DOM Transceiver Module
200GBASE-SR4 QSFP56FS for Mellanox MMA1T00-VS Compatible 200GBASE-SR4 QSFP56 850nm 100m DOM Transceiver Module
MTP®-16 APC (Female) OM4 CableOM4 Multimode Elite Trunk Cable, 16 Fibers, Plenum (OFNP), Magenta, 850/1300nm

400G-4x100G Direct Connection

500m span with 8-fiber MTP/MPO trunk cable and 4-LC duplex patch cable

In the 400G to 4x100G migration scenario, an 8-core MTP-LC cassette that packaged in the fiber rackmount enclosure is adopted to realize the transmission from MTP to LC, and then an 8-core MTP/MPO trunk and 4-LC duplex patch cables are used to connect at both ports.

The 400G-4x100G architecture uses four optical modules with 100Gbps wavelengths. However, the current 100G technology is based on a 4x25G design and unable to scale to 400G. 100Gbps per channel can be achieved using PAM4 technology and then aggregated to achieve an overall 400Gbps speed with 4x100G. MTP/MPO cables allow splitting 400G bandwidth into multiple 100G or 40G data streams.

400G-4x100G Direct Connection Scenario.jpg

Figure 5: 400G-4x100G Direct Connection Scenario 4

ProductsDescription
400G DR4 QSFP-DDGeneric Compatible 400G DR4 QSFP-DD PAM4 1310nm 500m DOM Transceiver Module
100GBASE-DR QSFP28 Single LambdaGeneric Compatible 100GBASE-DR QSFP28 Single Lambda 1310nm 500m DOM Transceiver Module
MTP® Female to 4 LC UPC Duplex 8 FibersMTP Type B Plenum (OFNP) OS2 9/125 Single Mode Elite Breakout Cable 1310/1550nm
FHD MTP®-8 Cassette to 4x LC Duplex (Blue)8 Fibers OS2 Single Mode, Universal Polarity, MTP® to 4x LC Duplex (Blue), 0.35dB max
Customized 8-144 Fibers MTP®-12OS2 Single Mode Elite Breakout Cable
FHD 144 Fibers (LC) EnclosureFHD High Density 1U Rack Mount Enclosure Unloaded, Tool-less Removable Top Cover, Holds up to 4x FHD Cassettes or Panels

400G-8x50G Direct Connection

500m span with 16-fiber MTP conversion cable and LC duplex patch cable

The rapid growth of 400G has contributed in part to the less popular 50G market, and MTP/MPO cables provide the technology to scale 50GbE to accommodate 400G (8x50G) network. For this scenario example, the MTP cassette is in the middle to connect the 16-core MTP conversion cable and the LC duplex patch cords together to realize the 400G-8x50G direct connection. Eight 50G lanes can support the optical link of 40Gbps aggregation via PAN modulation.

400G-8x50G Direct Connection Scenario.jpg

Figure 6: 400G-8x50G Direct Connection Scenario 5

ProductsDescription
400G DR4 QSFP-DDGeneric Compatible 400G DR4 QSFP-DD PAM4 1310nm 500m DOM Transceiver Module
MTP®-16 APC (Female) OM4 CableOM4 Multimode Elite Trunk Cable, 16 Fibers, Plenum (OFNP), Magenta, 850/1300nm
FHD MTP®-24 Cassette to 12x LC Duplex (Aqua)24 Fibers OM4 Multimode, Type A, MTP® to 12x LC Duplex (Aqua), 0.35dB max
MTP®-16 APC (Female) to 8 LC UPC Duplex CableOM4 Multimode Elite Breakout Cable, 16 Fibers, Plenum (OFNP), Magenta,850/1300nm
FHD 144 Fibers (LC) EnclosureFHD High Density 1U Rack Mount Enclosure Unloaded, Tool-less Removable Top Cover, Holds up to 4x FHD Cassettes or Panels

Scaling to FS 400G MTP/MPO Cabling System for 400G Networks

400G is increasingly becoming ubiquitous in many high-performance and high-density networking environments. 400G MTP/MPO cables have been widely used as cabling solutions for 400G network transmission rates due to their unique cabling simplicity and cost reduction benefits. FS offers a wide range of related 400G MTP/MPO cabling products and solutions to smoothly achieve high-speed data transmission.

Original Source: How FS 400G MTP/MPO Cables Enable Efficient Connectivity

How to Build Affordable 10G Network for Small and Midsize Business?

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With the fast development of today’s networking field, many people tend to build 10G network in small and midsize business for their growing network needs. Then, why they choose 10G network? How to build an affordable one? If you want to build such a network, what things you should know? Don’t worry. Let’s find all the answers in the following text.

Necessity of 10G network

Actually, the necessity of 10G network is quite simple to understand. As time goes on, there will be more traffic and applications running on your existing networks and they will keep growing. At that time, the common used Gigabit network will no longer satisfy the urgent needs for higher networking speeds and larger network construction.

How to Build An Affordable 10G Network?

To build a 10G network, there are several indispensable components you need, such as 10GbE switch (10G core switch and access switch with 10G uplinks), 10G SFP+ modules, fiber cables, severs and storage devices, etc.

10G network layout

To build an affordable 10G network for small and midsize business (SMB), let’s take fiber cabling solution as an example.

Fiber Cabling Solution for 10G Network

Under such circumstance, the server or storage has 10G SFP+ port. And it is suitable for applications matching with a 10G fiber switch as the core switch. You can connect all the devices with the steps below:

Step 1: Connect Server Or Storage to A Core Switch

For connection between server (or storage) and a core switch, you can insert a 10G transceiver module connecting with one end of a LC cable into the server or storage, and then connect the other end of the LC cable with the core switch.

Here, the transceiver we use is 10G SFP+ module provided by FS.COM. It can reach a maximum cable distance of 300m over OM3 multimode fiber (MMF).

The LC cable we use is LC UPC to LC UPC duplex OM3 MMF, which has less attenuation when bent or twisted compared with traditional optical fiber cables and will make the installation and maintenance of the fiber optic cables more efficient.

What’s more, the core switch we use is FS S5850-48S2Q4C. This network switch is a 48-port 10Gb SFP+ L2/L3 carrier grade switch with 6 hybrid 40G/100G uplink ports. It is a high performance top of rack (ToR) or leaf switch to meet the next generation metro, data center and enterprise network requirements.

Step 2: Connect the Core Switch With An Access Switch

Next, you need to connect the core switch with an access switch. Just like step 1, insert a 10G transceiver module connecting with one end of a LC cable into the core switch, and then connect the other end of the LC cable with the access switch.

Here, we use FS Gigabit Ethernet switch with 10G SFP+ uplink as the access switch. This is a fanless switch, which is suitable for quilt requirement in SMB network. In addition, it has 24 10/100/1000BASE-T ports and 4 10Gb SFP+ ports for uplinks.

And the LC cable and 10G transceiver we use are the same as the products used in step 1.

Step 3: Connect Your Access Switch to Computers

After the previous two steps, you can use Cat5 or Cat5e cable (here we use Cat5e) to connect your access switch with computers or other devices you need to use. Just remember that you have to connect the 10/100/1000BASE-T ports rather than the 10Gb SFP+ ports.

Products
Price
Features
From US$16.00
Supports 8 Gbit/s Fibre Channel, 10 Gigabit Ethernet and Optical Transport Network standard OTU2.
From US$1.4 to 5.3 for 1m
OM3 10Gb 50/125 multimode fiber
US$5,699.00
48 x 10Gb + 2 x 40Gb + 4 x 100Gb ports; Non-blocking bandwidth up to 960Gbps
US$279.00
24 x 100/1000BASE-T + 4 x 10GB SFP+ ports; Switching capacity up to 128Gbps
Start from US$0.82 for 6in
Shielded (STP) or Unshielded (UTP) Cat5e Ethernet network patch cable (24/26AWG, 100MHz, RJ45 connector)

Conclusion

From all the above, you may get clearer about how to build affordable 10G network for small and midsize business with 10GbE switch, fiber cables, Ethernet cables, etc. As long as you use the right way, you can not only build an affordable 10G network but also a powerful network for future network reconstruction.

Related Articles:

How to Build a 10G Home Fiber Network?

How to Build 10GbE Network for Small and Mid-Sized Business?

10G Twinax vs Fiber: SFP+ Copper Cable or SFP+ SR Module?

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Over the years, 10GbE has successfully stretch its reach from enterprise data centers to midmarket networks due to the increased bandwidth requirements and the growth of enterprise applications.   As the deployment of 10GbE is going boarder, it is important to understand how to effectively leverage the technology to better satisfy your network demand. Thus, all elements should be carefully reviewed to choose the appropriate cabling solution for your workloads. Many customers facing the problem to choose from 10G twinax vs fiber (SFP+ copper cable vs SFP+ SR) as both are viable options for short range. This is what we are about to figure out in this article.

10G Twinax vs Fiber: SFP+ DAC Cable Is Simple and Cost-Effective

10G twinax vs fiber for short reach connection? Before we go any further, it’s better to take a glimpse of what  SFP+ direct attach cable (DAC)are and what role they play. A SFP+ DAC cable, also known as SFP+ twinax copper cable, is effectively viewed as a transparent cable to the switch. It is a cable invented with each end physically resembling an 10g SFP+ transceiver, but with none of the expensive electronic components. Although being even more pricy than fiber optic cables, SFP+ Copper Cables effectively eliminate the expensive optical transceiver required in the equipment they connected.

10g twinax vs fiber - 10g dac

SFP+ Copper Cables comes to two different flavors: passive and active. Passive SFP+ Copper Cables requires little to no direct power to operate, and are extremely affordable with the length ranging from 0.5m all the way up to 7m. Active SFP+ Copper Cables integrates signal processing circuitry into its built-in connectors and actively powering those circuits with DC power provided by the switch. The circuitry in active sfp+ cable thus brings up the overall cost. This partly explains why active sfp+ cable is usually more expensive than its passive counterparts.

10G Twinax vs Fiber: SFP+ SR Is Flexible and Future-Proofing

For 10G twinax vs fiber, we cannot make our decisions until we clear knows each function. SFP+ SR are similarly used for short runs, and that is exactly “SR” stands for – short reach. SR transceivers are almost always multimode, and optimized for high speeds over relatively short distances. It operates at 850 nm, and can reach up to 300 m with laser-optimized OM3 and 400 m with OM4. The 10G SFP+ SR transceiver module offer a flexible connectivity option for data centers, enterprise wiring closets, and service provider transport applications. The price is the major issue that some customers turn to SFP+ Copper twinax cable instead of SFP+ SR transceivers for short runs, especially for those who are under tight budget. Fortunately, third-party optics has narrowed down the price gap by providing decent performance transceiver modules with only a fraction of the cost at the original ones.

10g twinax vs fiber - 10gbase sfp+ sr transceiver module

10G Twinax vs Fiber: Application Considerations

When choosing between 10G twinaxs vs fiber, the following factors have to be well considered.

10g twinax vs fiber - 10g direct attach cable dac vs 10g sfp+ sr module

Distance: Advocators of SFP+ twinax copper cable  insist that, if distance is not a problem, they tend to choose SFP+ cable  because of the lower power needs and lower latency it provides, and the power saving alone is significant. Not to mention that the cable itself is less fragile and more durable. As SFP+ twinax cable  only reach up to 10m, when distance happens to be a factor, SFP+ SR transceiver can get much longer reach and more compatibility anyway. Or if the switches are connected via patch panel, then your hand is forced to 10G SFP+ SR transceiver and fiber. To sum it up, SFP+ cables are used within the rack to connect servers and storage to ToR switches, it is an “intra-rack” thing, whereas SFP+ SR in for connection between racks – known as “inter-rack” cabling.

Cable management: in terms of managing cables, fibers are believed easier to work with – it has no limit of cable length as with SFP+ cables. As for bulky and thick SFP+ cables it is fine for same rack FEX extension or one or two servers, but load half a rack with a top of rack FEX/switch with twinax, you will have mass of inflexible copper at the back of the rack. And that can be a nightmare.

Cost: 10G optical transceivers are much expensive than 10G SFP+ copper cable – these might be the driven course for people using twinax over SR optics. However, the booming of third party optics well addressed the issue by providing full compatible and trustworthy transceiver modules, which on the other hand, significantly reduces the cost of optics. Since the price gap between SFP+ cables and SR SFP+ optics is reduced, it bestowed customers more chances to weight other affecting factors.

Uniformity: users prefer to use SFP+ SR when working with different vendors, it’s less likely to run into issues if you use optical transceivers. Truly, SFP+ SR indeed makes multi-vendor environment cabling much easier: imagine that you have to connect two switches from different vendor, simply use two SR transceivers that compatible with each brand switch can well solve the problem. However, if cost really matters, you can equally choose this special made SFP+ twinax cable from FS – different brands can be made at each ends, which are compatible with the major vendor on the market.

fs 10g dac twinax cable

Conclusion

10G twinax vs fiber, from a network perspective, the SFP+ twinax cable is fine and a lot cheaper for very limited short runs – typically intra rack cabling, while for mass adoption, they become absolutely thick and unmanageable. So it’s worth the savings if your switch is in the same rack as the equipment you are connecting, and if it goes to another rack, SFP+ SR with fiber and a patch panel can be a sound option. With SR optics, you have much more flexibility in the placement of servers and how you lay out your racks. It is the obvious choice once the demand for bandwidth and length becomes more acute and cable management and future growth becomes critical.

Related Articles:

SFP+ Direct Attach Copper Twinax Cable Deployment Considerations

SFP+ cable vs 10GBASE-T

One LC Switchable Uniboot Cable Removes All Your Problem

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Suppose that you need some LC fiber patch cords to build a data center and now there are common LC patch cable and LC switchable unibboot cable. What kind of cable will you choose? Considering the cost, you may select common LC patch cords. But think about that for a while, you may make the different choice. Let’s see why you need LC switchable uniboot cable.

LC Switchable Uniboot Cable: Switch Polarity Easily and Quickly

Have you ever changed polarity when running fiber patch cords? How long did you spend on finishing that? Did you make any mistake? Polarity is quite a complicated thing. Engineers must be very careful to ensure that the transmit signal (Tx) at one side should match the corresponding receiver (Rx) at the other side. If polarities don’t match, signal transmission may get impacted. Then how to do polarity conversion in an easy and quick way? LC switchable uniboot cable is your option.

duplex-cords-polarity

LC Switchable Uniboot Cable Help You Do Easy Polarity Conversion

We all know that polarity conversion of traditional LC cables would require to re-terminate connector. It takes much time and leads mistakes. What’s more, you need special tool to finish that process. Unlike common LC patch cords, this switchable uniboot cable supports the polarity to be switched without connector re-termination. Polarity changes can be made in the field quickly, without the use of tools, to the correct fiber mapping polarity. No damage to fiber.

lc switchable uniboot cable

How to Reverse the Polarity of LC Switchable Uniboot Cable?

To reverse polarity, you just need three steps. First, open the connector top. Second, switch the polarity you need. At last, close the connector top. No tools are needed during the whole process. Isn’t the LC switchable uniboot cable a good choice?

lc-switchable-uniboot-polarity

LC Switchable Uniboot Cable Is Good for Saving Space and Cooling

Except the polarity issue, engineers may come across the problem of limited space and airflow when building infrastructure in high density data center. How to deal with that? Switchable uniboot cable is absolutely a good choice. The cable is designed as round style of 2mm jacked cables instead of zipcord duplex cables, reducing cable size and increasing 60% density. So switchable uniboot cable is beneficial for saving space and cooling.

lc-uniboot-vs-standard

What Should Notice When Buying LC Switchable Uniboot Cable?

LC switchable uniboot cable is helpful to simplify switching polarity, save space, which is an ideal solution for high density data center. In case that you need, here are some suggestions for you When buying LC switchable unibboot cable.

  • 1. Connector is an essential factor. If the connector has a poor quality, it can cause optical loss. You are suggested to choose Senko connector which is famous for its high quality.
  • 2. For patch cords, the other important factor is fiber. As we know bending sometimes inevitable. Corning fiber is outstanding for its bending insensitivity. For single mode fiber, the minimum bend radius is 10mm. For multimode fiber, the minimum bend radius is 7.5mm.
  • 3. Pay attention to insertion loss (IL) and return loss (RL) for single mode and multimode cable.
  • 4. Find if the cable meets various standards, for instance, CE, IEC, ROSH, EIA/TIA, Telecocordia GR-326-CORE standards.
  • 5. LC uniboot patch cable price is of course another point you care much. So find several uniboot lc cable manufacturers to compare the price and choose the one you accept.

Related Article: LC Fiber Connector, Adapter and Cable Assemblies

Change Polarity in a Hurry? Try Polarity Switchable LC Cable!



NETGEAR ProSAFE GS108PE Switch Connectivity Solution

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Businesses today depend heavily on their network to handle the exploring data traffic and critical mission. So companies are putting more applications and demands on their Ethernet Infrastructure. Deployment of VoIP and IP surveillance needs the network intelligence to separate the voice and video traffic from data, and prioritize them accordingly. However, companies do not need to invest extra money or advanced training in dealing with complex managed switches. Netgear Prosafe GS108PE network switch is designed to meet this growing need.

NETGEAR ProSAFE GS108PE Switch Unveil

NETGEAR Prosafe series switches provides fundamental network features such as VLANs, QoS, and IGMP Snooping that will help optimize the performance of business networks. These switches come in a variety of configurations ranging from 5 port desktop to 48 port rackmount. NETGEAR GS108PE switch comes in a sturdy metal case with a fan-less design for silent operation, supporting Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) and can power devices such as IP phones, IP surveillance cameras and wireless access points with just Ethernet cable. Proven to be perfect for low cost PoE deployments and upgrade from the plug-and-play unmanaged switch.

The NETGEAR GS108PE Gigabit switch has 8 Gigabit Ethernet ports which can be used for any 10/100/1000 Mbps connection, 4 of these ports can supply industry-standard IEEE 802.3af power, as well as providing power and data. This switch offers fundamental network features such as VLANs, QoS, and IGMP and allows for simple network set-up on top of plug-and-play connectivity. This switch will automatically detect 802.3af-compliant devices and will only provide power to these devices, and power will stop when the PoE devices are disconnected.

Model Name Form-Factor 10/100/1000 Base-T RJ45 Ports PoE 802.3af Ports Power Supply PoE Budget
GS108PE Desktop 8 4 External Power Adapter 53W
Highlights of NETGEAR ProSAFE GS108PE Switch
  • Easy Management – simple setup and configuration with easy-to-use web-browser based interface.
  • Enhanced Control – segment your network and prioritize your traffic with VLAN, QoS, IGMP Snooping, rate limiting and traffic monitoring.
  • Visibility – monitor your network status and your cabling with the port statistics and cable health.
  • Reliability – add redundancy to your network with port trunking.
  • Gigabit Ethernet – 8 auto-sensing 10/100/1000 Mbps Gigabit Ethernet ports with up to 16Gb non-blocking switching.
Target Applications of NETGEAR ProSAFE GS108PE Switch

Netgear ProSAFE GS108PE switch is ideal for small business networks that want to simplify the installation of their IP-based PoE devices. Which can bring big cost savings when used for devices that are installed away from electrical outlets for example IP door entry and IP cameras, as the PoE eliminates the requirement for a dedicated electrical outlet. It is an ideal upgrade for SMB network combining management capability with higher speed and better performance.

netgear prosafe gs108pe Switch application

Cabling Solutions for ProSAFE GS108PE

The NETGEAR ProSAFE GS108PE has 8 10/100/1000 Mbps ports, and 4 of these ports can supply industry-standard IEEE 802.3af power, as well as providing power and data. Cat5e cables can be used in these RJ45 ports to achieve link connection. FS offers a wide range of Cat5e network cables, which comes with unshielded (UTP) and shielded (FTP) type, PVC/OFNR and LSZH ratings. You can also customized the length and color of your cable – 10 different colors are offered for easier identification.

ethernet network cable

Conclusion

Netgear ProSAFE GS108PE Switch delivers essential networking features at a very affordable price, enabling network configuration and management at the price point of unmanaged switches. FS provides Cat5e Ethernet cables that fully supports Netgear GS108PE switch, and all of them are strictly tested to ensure top-notch quality. For more information, please visit www.fs.com.

Related Article: Optics Solutions for NETGEAR ProSAFE XSM7224S


How to Build a 10G Home Fiber Network?

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The network has become the lifeblood for home and small business. It changes the way we live, work and communicate. Nobody today would deny the importance of the network, while it keeps evolving to satisfy the requirement of people. 10G home fiber network, in this case, are no longer restricted to use in small and middle-sized business. It’s not uncommon for home to start with a 10G network setup. So how to get 10G home network? You may find some clues in this article.

Begin with Needs Assessment

Pretty much everything nowadays rely on a fast and reliable network, which leads to tremendous traffic and applications running on the networks and it keeps growing at high pace. Deploying 10G home fiber network at home eliminates network congestion at busy times while improves your productivity.   Better planning before deployment to ensuring your network can handle your business needs. You should ask yourself a few questions, such as how many computers, printers and other peripherals will connect to your network? How much wireless coverage will you need at your location? What type of mobile devices will need access to your network?

10g-home-network-needs-assessment

What Makes a 10G Home Fiber Network?

10G Ethernet makes streaming and sharing files over local network much faster. And 10GBASE-T standard is going mainstream into the consumer segment thanks to its lower power consumption and compatibility with existing infrastructure.

10g home fiber network

To build a 10G home fiber network, several components are indispensable: 10G core switches, access switches with 10G uplinks, and 10G network interface cards for servers and storage devices. The past few years had witness the price dropping of 10G network switches. For example, the cost of Ubiquiti Unifi and Eageswitch switches are only $200. And FS 10G network switch like S3800-48T4S only cost $480 by offering 48 100/1000Base-T and 4 10GE SFP+. When it comes to access switches with 10G uplink, FS S3800 series switches offers 24 ports with 4 10G uplinks at very decent price. These switches are well suited for home network use.

S3900 series switches

What About 10G Cabling – 10GBASE-T, DAC or SFP+?

Upgrading the existing 1G network to 10G can be simple. As 10G switches also support 10GBASE-T, you can use the same RJ45 network cable to connect the 10G switch with your servers, storage and some other switches. The only difference is to use Cat6a network cable instead of Cat5e and Cat6 cable, or choose SFP+ 10GBASE-T modules with 2.5W power consumption and a maximum distance of 30 m.

For 10G switch that support 10G SFP+, you should use these ports if you have devices that come with 10G SFP+ port, or you need a 10G connection to other switches over 100m away. SFP+ ports look just the same as SFP ports on your Gigabit switches, but they’re now running at 10 Gigabit. For servers or storage devices with 10G SFP+ port, the most cost efficient way to connect is to use 10G DAC (direct attach twinax cable). These are basically copper cables with SFP+ connector on both sides, and they come in various lengths.

10g-dac-cable

To connect switches over 100 m apart, a pair of SFP+ modules and the matching fiber cable are needed between them. Depending on the length required in home network, you can use 10G optics such as 10GBASE SR SFP module and multimode fiber to reach 300 meters. FS offers a wide range of 10G SFP+ modules and fiber patch cables for short and long distance transmission.

Conclusion

This article presents you some basic facts about 10 Gigabit Ethernet and how you can build a home network over 10 Gigabit. FS provides comprehensive 10G solutions: all the components mentioned to build a 10G home network are available at FS.COM, including Cat6a Ethernet cables, fiber patch cables, DACs and 10G SFP+ modules. For more details, please visit www.fs.com.

Related Article:

Comparison Between 10Gb Switch Under $550

How to Get 10Gbps Home Network for Less Than $60?

40G Deployment: The Cost Difference Between SMF and MMF

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40G network are now being extensively adopted within LANs and data centers. 100G is still predominantly in the carrier network, but could soon extend its stretch to your local network. There exists much confusion as to whether to choose single-mode fiber (SMF) or multimode fiber (MMF) for deploying 40G bandwidth, considering the single mode vs multimode fiber cost. As well as how to get fully prepared for scaling to higher-speed 100G. If you are hesitating to make the choice, you may find this article helpful.

40G Cost: Difference Between SMF and MMF

Multimode Fiber (MMF): Cost-effective With Higher Tolerance to Dirt

Cost-effectiveness: Multimode fiber (MMF) has been evolving to handle the escalating speed: OM3 has been superseded by OM4 and OM5 is there ready to use. MMF has a wider array of short distance transceivers that are easier to get. One of the liable argument that in favor of using MMF is that multimode optics use less power than single-mode ones, but only in condition that you have tens of thousands of racks. In essence, MMF still has its position under certain circumstances, like cabling within the same rack, in Fiber Channel and for backbone cabling in some new construction buildings.

smf mmf

Tolerance to Dirt: Multimode fiber tends to have a lot more tolerance to dirty connections than single-mode fiber. It can handle very dirty couples or connectors to ensure reliable and consistent link performance. Besides, it is easy to terminate, and more accommodating bend radius. So MMF is preferred by links that change frequently or are less than permanent.

smf mmf

Single-mode Fiber (SMF): Higher Capability and Better Future-proofing

Speed capability: Capacities are really vital for network growth. SMF does so with relatively larger capability than that of MMF. The gap between SMF and MMF cabling is much wider for high-density, high-speed networks. If you want to go further with SMF, say scaling to 100G or beyond, you simply need to upgrade the optics. Unlike using MMF, in which you have to upgrade the glass (OM3 to OM4 to OM5), the labor cost concerning this cannot be underestimated. The capacity for scaling of SMF alone makes it worth the cost. You can use single-mode for almost everything, no need for media conversion. SMF offers enough bandwidth to last a long time, making it possible to upgrade 100 Gbps to Tbps with CWDM/DWDM.

smf mmf

Future proofing: Despite the fact that SM optical transceivers usually cost higher than MM optics, SMF cabling is cheaper and can support much longer distance and reliable performance. Not to mention that bandwidth on SMF keeps going up and up on the same old glass. The good news is that the cost of SMF is dropping in recent years, and it is redesigning to run with less power, thus advocators of SMF think that it is pretty much the only rational choice for infrastructure cabling and the sure winner for today and tomorrow.

SMF and MMF: A Simple Comparison of Cost

There is no doubt that SMF is a better investment in the long run, but MMF still has a long way to go in data center interconnections. In fact the price difference of SMF optics and MMF optics can be minimized if you choose the right solution. Assuming to connect two 40G devices at 70 m away, let’s see the single mode vs multimode fiber cost for deployment in the following chart.

Module Connector Type SMF or MMF Price 2 Connections 4 Connections 6 Connections
40GBASE-SR4 MPO12 MMF, OM4 $49.00 $564.48 $1128.96 $1693.44
40GBASE-BiDi LC MMF, OM4 $300.00 $1534.24 $2734.24 $3934.24
40GBASE-LR4 LC SMF, OS2 $340.00 $1,609.84 $2,969.84 $4,329.84
80 Gbit 160 Gbit 240 Gbit

 

Conclusion

Choosing the right fiber for your network application is a critical decision. Understanding your system requirements in order to select the appropriate fiber will maximize the value and performance of your cabling system. Be sure to select the right cable on the basis of aspects including link length, performance, and of course costs. FS provides a broad range of 40G optical transceivers and fiber patch cables with superior quality and fair price. For more details, please visit www.fs.com.

Related Article: Single Mode vs Multimode Fiber: What’s the Difference? 


Connectivity Options for 10G Switch/Server Networking

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Much of the enterprise market is still running on 1GbE speeds and will be looking to migrate to 10G switch over the next several years. As we know, usually there are three types of connections between switches and servers in 10G networking—SFP+ DAC, fiber cables with SFP+ optics, and 10GBASE-T. And in theses connections, network interface card (NIC), also called network adapter, plays an paramount role. In this post, three connections that upgrade to 10G networking will be explored in details.

Connectivity Options

Today, IT managers can select 10G switch and interconnect options based on specific intended uses—using copper or fiber cables. Each has advantages and disadvantages. Here are the three connection options.

Fiber Cables with SFP+ Transceiver

Fiber optic connections are well suitable for areas that have heavy traffic aggregations like EoR (End of Row) switches. In these connections, SFP+ modules are used together with fiber patch cables on 10G fiber switch, just like the following picture shows. In some SFP+ connections, SFP+ NIC is also needed to link servers and switches such as in MoR (Middle of Row) or EoR (End of Row) connections. Though cabling with fiber in 10GbE fiber switch is great for latency and distance (up to 300m), it also costs more.

fiber

SFP+ Direct Attach Copper Cable (DAC)

Connections with DACs are a good choice for deploying 10G switch within blade server enclosures or racks over short distances. But its reach is limited to 7m and it is not backwards-compatible with existing GbE switches. Of course, an add-in 10GBASE NIC is required for these connections.

dac

10GBASE-T NIC (Network Interface Card)

Nowadays, IT managers have 10GBase-T as a third option for either ToR switch or EoR usage models. 10GBASE-T with Cat 6a UTP cabling makes 10GbE available to a much broader market at a lower cost. It offers the most flexible solution for more data center 10GbE networking applications. Besides, 10G SFP+ copper transceiver also uses Cat 6a or Cat 7 copper cables, but it only supports link length of 30 meters.

10GBASE-T NIC

Comparison

As have mentioned above, 10G connections between servers and switches can be realized with both fiber and copper cables. Here is a simple comparison chart.

10G network

No matter fiber cable, 10G SFP+ copper cable or 10GBASE-T NIC, they can be used in ToR, EoR and MoR connections. Apart from the difference listed in the chart, another factor that should be considered is the cost. Even if the fiber cable has advantages on distance and latency, the use of SFP+ transceiver can add up to 30%-40% to server, switch and storage interface costs. And more SFP+ connections mean more add-in network adapters, which add cost and maintenance overhead.

While the raw cost of the 10GBASE-T is far less than either optical fiber or direct attach twinax copper cables. Cat 6a cable is easy to install and maintain, allowing for customized length, and it can be field installed. The most important point is that Cat 6a cable is compatible with existing gigabit switches. Many networks today already have Cat 6 or Cat 6a cabling in place, so they are 10GBase-T ready. And today’s 10GBase-T network adapters are also cost-effective, enhancing the adoption of 10GBASE-T NIC.

Summary

10G Ethernet is no longer limited to fiber optic media. DAC cable is a popular choice for short distances; 10GBASE-T allows for more economical and easier deployment than ever before. With the price of 10GbE network getting more affordable than ever, many IT managers are sizing the opportunity to upgrade their networks and keep pace with these increasing bandwidth demands. After reading this post, fiber or copper, which would you choose?

Related Article: FS.COM LAN Access 10G Switch Analysis 


Different Applications for 10G SFP+ Cable

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10G SFP+ cables are of various kinds, including DACs, AOCs, and other 10G SFP+ optics (10GBASE-SR/LR/ER/ZR and 10GBAE-T copper transceivers) plus patch cables and copper cables, which are widely adopted in data centers to connect servers, storage appliance and switches. Each of them has different application for different distance. Next, we will talk about these cables respectively.

10G SFP+ DAC Cable: Server to Switch Connectivity

10G SFP+ DAC cable (Direct Attach Cable) is a type of sheathed high-speed cable featuring SFP connectors on either termination. The main utility of direct attach cables lies in connecting server to switch within the rack. Top-rack interconnections in data centers are made of 10g direct attach cables these days to provide better alternative to RJ 45 connectors, which are losing their foothold because of the bulkier interface and availability of very few equipment and protocol appearing in their compatibility matrix. For any short range connection measuring as small as 5 m to 10 m, a better performing direct attach cable offers easier and more affordable solution. Servers are typically connected to a switch within the same racks. 10G SFP+ DAC twinax cable supports link length up to 7 m, making it perfect for servers to switch connections.

FS 10G SFP+ DAC cables are available with different lengths with customized services being offered too. And every cable is individually tested on corresponding equipment such as Cisco, Arista, Juniper, Dell, Brocade and other brands, having passed the monitoring of FS intelligent quality control system. Part of the products are shown in the picture below.

10G SFP+ AOC Cable: Switch to Switch Connectivity

10G SFP+ AOC cable (Active Optical Cable) assemblies are high performance, cost effective I/O solutions for 10G Ethernet and 10G Fibre Channel applications, which can also be used as an alternative solution to SFP+ passive and active copper cables while providing improved signal integrity, longer distances, superior electromagnetic immunity and better bit error rate performance. They allow hardware manufactures to achieve high port density, configurability and utilisation at a low cost and a reduced power budget. Unlike 10G SFP+ DAC cable, which is often applied in short distance, 10G SFP+ AOC cables can achieve transmission distance up to 100 m, so they often used in switch to switch connections.

10G SFP+ Cables

FS active optical cable (AOC) assemblies use active circuits to support longer distances than standard passive or active SFP+ Copper Cables. FS offers Cisco compatible AOC which is designed for high speed, short range data link via optical fiber wire.

10G SFP+ Optics: Server/Storage to Switch Connectivity

10G SFP+ transceivers, including 10GBASE-SR/LR/ER/ZR and 10GBASE-T copper transceiver, are designed for CWDM and DWDM applications. The range of transceivers supports 850nm, 1310nm, 18 channel for CWDM applications and 40 channels for DWDM applications. These optical transceivers are available with short haul or long haul receivers. Since server or storage to switch connection requires reliable, scalable and high-speed performance, transceivers plus patch cables are usually adopted to achieve such a connection.

10G SFP Cables

FS 10G transceivers are of various types, including GBIC, SFP+, XFP, X2, XENPAK optics, which can be deployed in diverse networking environments. With an industry-wide compatibility and strict test program, FS 10G SFP+ modules can give customers a wide variety of 10 Gigabit Ethernet connectivity options such as server/storage to switch connectivity.

Conclusion

Different 10G SFP+ cables are selected for different distance and application. Generally speaking, 10G SFP+ DAC cable is perfect for short reach applications within racks, while 10G SFP+ AOCs are suitable for inter-racks connections between ToR and EoR switches. With excellent quality and lifetime warranty, FS 10G optics brings real-time network intelligence to the financial services market at 10 Gbps speeds. All the products mentioned in the previous text are in stock. For more information, please visit us at www.fs.com.

Related Article: 10G SFP+ Cable for High Speed Data Center

                            SFP+ DAC Twinax Cable Deployment Considerations



Wideband Multimode Fiber: What to Expect From It?

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Multimode fiber (MMF) holds a major position in local area network (LAN) backbone cabling and data center due to its capability to transmit high data rates at relatively low cost. MMF has evolved now to support multi-gigabit transmission using 850 nm VCSEL (vertical cavity surface emitting laser) sources, and the channel capacity of which is greatly improved with the use of parallel transmission over multiple strands of fiber. Wideband multimode fiber (WBMMF), known as OM5, lately comes into our horizon as an alternative to support the escalating data rate and higher bandwidth. Then what can we expect from using WBMMF? This article may give you some hints.

Existing Problems of Multimode Fiber

OM1 and OM2 MMF are developed with the intention to support Fast Ethernet, which fail to support 10 Gbps and 25 Gbps data transmission rates. Hence they are not suggested for new installations. Laser-optimized OM3 and OM4 MMF now play a dominant role in 10G, 40G and 100G Ethernet cabling. However, the demand for bandwidth accelerates so fast, and the VCSEL-based transceiver technology cannot keep pace. Consequently, it’s getting more costly for fiber cabling systems to support next-generation Ethernet migration.

Wideband Multimode Fiber: Taking New Wavelength to Multimode Fiber

Wideband multimode fiber (WBMMF) is designed to carry multiple short wavelength signals that can be aggregated for high bandwidth applications–—a technology known as wavelength division multiplexing (WDM). Unlike conventional multimode fiber that optimally supports a single wavelength, WBMMF can accommodate multiple wavelengths, enabling these multiple wavelengths to simultaneously travel along a single fiber strand.

wideband multimode fiber

In this way, wideband multimode fiber increases each fiber’s capacity by at least a factor of four, allowing at least a fourfold data-rate increase, or a fourfold reduction in the number of fibers. That means, when transmitting four optical signals, instead of using four separate fibers, WBMMF can send down these signals on one fiber over four separate operating windows. For example, 400GbE could be accomplished with 4Tx and 4Rx fibers (today 400GbE over multimode requires 16Tx and 16Rx fibers).

Highlights of Wideband Multimode Fiber

So, what makes wideband multimode fiber standing out from other multimode fibers? Besides that it increases MMF’s utility and extends MMF’s value to customers, WBMMF also has the following advantages:

    • Wideband multimode fiber can support wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) across the 840-953nm wavelength range, at 30nm intervals.

WBMMF wavelength

  • The fiber geometry of WBMMF stays the same as existing OM4 fibers, therefore it is backward compatible with OM4 multimode fiber at 850 nm, making it feasible to retain legacy application support of OM4.
  • Wideband multimode fiber reduces fiber count by a faction of four, but increases capacity to over 100 Gb/s per fiber, enabling Ethernet 100G-SR, 400G-SR4, 1600G-SR16 and Fiber Channel 128G-SWDM4.
Applications of Wideband Multimode Fiber: Short Wavelength Division Multiplexing (SWDM)

Wideband multimode fiber provides better performance for applications using WDM technology. As the parallel multimode fiber MPO cabling is considerably more costly than the multimode fiber LC-duplex patch cord, WBMMF made it possible to use a single pair of LC fiber instead of MPO trunks in direct point-to-point connection. Which helps to reduce fiber count by transmitting multiple wavelengths in the same multimode fiber, and to keep the overall cabling costs to the minimum.

WBMMF and SWDM

Conclusion

Wideband multimode fiber is a reliable medium to expand your data center or enhance network capacity. With the capability of managing multiple wavelengths, it effectively reduces the number of fibers and enhances total channel capacity, proven to be a cost-effective solution for increasing network bandwidth, and to keep pace with the escalating data demands.

Related Article: WBMMF – Next Generation Duplex Multimode Fiber in the Data Center