Category Archives: Transceivers Common Sense

3rd Party Optical Transceivers vs OEM Switch Warranty

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As we all know, 3rd party optical transceivers are much cheaper than Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) optical transceivers. Therefore, more and more companies are using and plan to use 3rd party optical transceivers in their network project. However, many original equipment manufacturer published limited warranty policy about 3rd party hardware. Then should we use 3rd party optical transceivers or not? Let’s get a look at most popular network equipment manufacturer warranty policies firstly.

3rd Party Optical Transceivers

Cisco
The Cisco guideline for support and warranty services for the use of third-party memory, cables, gigabit interface controllers (GBICs), filters, or other non-Cisco components is as follows:

When a customer reports a product fault or defect and Cisco believes the fault or defect can be traced to the use of third-party memory products, cables, GBIC’s, filters, or other non-Cisco components by a customer or reseller, then, at Cisco’s discretion, Cisco may withhold support under warranty or a Cisco support program such as SMARTnet™ service.
When a product fault or defect occurs in the network, and Cisco concludes that the fault or defect is not attributable to the use of third-party memory, cables, GBICs, filters, or other non-Cisco components installed by a customer or reseller, Cisco will continue to provide support for the affected product under warranty or covered by a Cisco support program.

Juniper
Juniper Networks is not obligated to provide services for any of the following:

Third-party devices (hardware, software, cabling, etc.) not provided by Juniper Networks, or problems associated with or arising directly or indirectly from such components. Problems with product that have been installed by any party other than (A) Juniper Networks or (B) a party authorized by Juniper Networks.

Brocade

In order to ensure proper operation of Brocade products, it is required that all Brocade systems utilize only Brocade supplied optical transceiver components. Brocade reserves the right to void warranty and service support offerings if optical transceiver components other than those supplied by Brocade are used in the operation of Brocade products.

HP

This HP Limited Warranty does not apply to expendable or consumable parts, with the exception of HP printing supplies and certain rechargeable batteries as specified below, and does not extend to any HP Hardware Product from which the serial number has been removed or that has been damaged or rendered defective by software, interfacing, parts or supplies not supplied by HP; HP is not responsible for any interoperability or compatibility issues that may arise when products, software, or options not supported by HP are used; If HP equipment is got defective because of using 3rd party hardware, then HP Limited Warranty does not apply.

Dell

What is covered by this limited hardware warranty? – This limited hardware warranty covers defects in materials and workmanship in your Dell-branded hardware products, including Dell-branded peripheral products.

What is not covered by this limited hardware warranty? – Using accessories, parts or components not supplied by Dell & Commercial hardware products that use, or in which have been installed, products or components that have not been provided by Dell.

How long does this limited hardware warranty last? This limited hardware warranty may be voided by Dell, at Dell’s sole discretion, if third party products that were not provided by Dell are installed on your Dell system.

Conclusion
Comparing some of the biggest network equipment vendor warranty policies we see that most of them have similar rules on using 3rd party optical transceivers. If problems are caused by 3rd party optical transceivers, then warranty support will be refused until optical transceivers are changed to OEM ones. In the mean while if defect to vendor’s equipment is caused by 3rd party optical transceiver (and it is proved by vendor) then warranty can also be voided. So, this leads to biggest question – Does 3rd party transceivers ensures the same working and quality standards as OEM optical transceivers?

The answer is yes! Because 3rd party optical transceivers are manufactured and assembled in the same factories where OEM branded ones are. Optical transceivers are standardized by SFP Multi source agreement. This means everyone can manufacture and supply optical transceivers. As a result there is absolutely no difference in hardware for official branded transceiver and reliable 3rd party optical transceiver, as much as four or ten times cost difference. The performance is the same because all manufacturers follow same rules same standards.

If there is no real difference between OEM optical transceivers and 3rd party transceivers, then why network equipment vendors has such strict warranty policies? That is because network equipment manufacturers has to make money. They will use all available resources to sell more of their production. So they make warranty policies which psychologically affects their customers, making them think that there will problems (warranty void) if they will use other vendor equipment’s (transceivers) in their OEM devices.

As the leading global manufacturer and supplier of compatible optical transceiver modules, Fiberstore (FS.COM) always specialized in compatibility breakthrough and insisted on the high performance of the optical components. Most of the common used transceivers which are designed to be compatible with many major brands are in stock and with very competitive prices for your options.

Related article: OEM Optics vs Third-Party Transceivers: Which to Choose?

How to Build a Home Network?

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You may want to connect your desktops, laptops, printers and other machines at your home to the internet and achieve the information sharing. Perhaps you just want to connect your smart phone via WiFi when you’re at home to reduce the usage of your mobile data plan. To complete that, all you need to know is how to build a home network. There are lots of ways to set one up. I’ll introduce the basic setup for the most common case. For person that already have a network, I’II tell ways about how to expand the existing home network in this blog too.

Basic Wired Ethernet Connection

The basis of your home network will be Ethernet. This word has a very specific technical meaning, but in common use, it’s simply the technology behind 99% of computer networks. Most computers now come already equipped with an Ethernet adapter – it’s the squarish hole that accepts Ethernet cables.

ethernet-laptop

Usually, your broadband connection being cable, DSL, or something else will first go through some kind of device typically called a modem. The modem’s job is to convert the broadband signal to Ethernet. You’ll connect that Ethernet from your broadband modem to a broadband router. Router, as its name implies, is used to “route” information between computers on your home network and between those computers and the broadband connection to the Internet. Each of your computers already has an Ethernet adapter. An Ethernet cable will run from each computer to the router and another cable will connect the router to the modem.

Wired Ethernet Connections

Set up Wireless Connection

Most laptops and portable devices (and even a few desktops) support wireless connection via a technology known as WiFi. WiFi is a short-range wireless technology that you need to provide on your home network, if you want to be able to use it. The most common approach to include wireless capabilities in your network is by using a wireless router.

Wireless Connections

The wireless router combines the functions of two devices: the router, just as we saw before, and a wireless access point. A wireless access point, occasionally abbreviated WAP, is simply a network device that converts the wired Ethernet signals into wireless WiFi signals and vice-versa. Wireless routers are actually more common than their wired-only counterparts in the home and small business networking market. In fact, even if you don’t have a wireless device today, I typically recommend getting a wireless router anyway for future expansion.

Expand the Home Network Capacity

The number of internet-connected devices that we now deal with is pretty amazing. A typical wireless router or router with a wireless access point can easily handle dozens of devices connected wirelessly. However, wired devices may present problems. Many home routers – wired or wireless – come with only a limited number of connections. It’s common for there to be exactly five connections: one for the internet (“WAN” or modem) and then four for networked devices.

router-connect

If all you have is a four-port router, adding that fifth device looks like a problem. The simple solution is to use a switch. A switch is a semi-intelligent network extender. Its job is simply to make sure that data coming in on any port is sent to the other correct port to reach its intended destination. That’s really all it is. All ports on a switch are equal. In the example below, one port of the switch is connected to one of the ports on the router to which a computer might have been connected. Other computers are then connected to the switch. Switches come in many sizes and often add much more than just a few ports. Common configurations for the home include 8 or 16-port switches.

Expand Home Networks

Conclusion

Build a home network is very easy. Usually, the modem is provided by ISP. All you need to buy is the router and some Ethernet cables. FS.COM provides cat5e, cat6 and cat6a Ethernet cables with many color and length options. Snagless boot design prevents unwanted cable snags during installation and provides extra strain relief. Besides, custom service is also available. For more details, welcome to visit www.fs.com or contact us over sales@fs.com.

Source:http://www.fs.com/blog/how-to-build-a-home-network.html

Considerations for Buying Compatible Optical Transceiver

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When choosing compatible optical transceiver, nearly 90% of transceiver end users may worry about their quality and compatibility. As we know, the price of compatible optical module is usually much lower than original-brand transceiver. So, can compatible optical transceiver really perform well as the original one? What should I pay attention to when buying compatible optical module? This blog will give you some practical advice aimed to help you choose compatible optical transceiver with high compatibility and low cost.

Main Concerns for Buying Compatible Optical Transceiver

  • Compatibility – The transceiver can’t be compatible with your original-brand switch.
  • Life Span – The quality of the transceiver is not reliable and the service life is short.
  • Poor performance – High latency etc.
  • Others – Refurbished modules, power consumption etc.

Compatible Optical Transceiver

How to Ensure Quality of Compatible Optical Transceiver?

1. Professional Testing Process

Make sure the compatible optical transceiver you buy is tested on relevant original-brand switch. For example, when you buy a Cisco compatible optical transceiver, make sure it’s tested on Cisco switches. Usually, the compatible optical transceiver that has been tested can always guarantee perfect performance in your network.

2. Guaranteed Warranty Policy

The shopping experience tells us that bad quality products usually have short-term warranties. If there’s something wrong with your products, the vendor won’t give you any maintenance and return service. Instead, if the warranty time is long such as lifetime warranty, the products’ quality may be more reliable and stable.

3. Reputable Brand Vendor

With strict quality control system and OEM experience for many years, reputable brand vendors can usually guarantee a reliable and stable connectivity for your high-speed fiber transmission system. All the raw materials they used are safe and the performance can be comparable with the original.

Reliable Compatible Optical Transceiver Structure Details

Besides the considerations mentioned above, knowing the structure details requirement of a good compatible optical transceiver may also help you a lot.

1. Premium Metal Housing

A good transceiver module is made of premium pluggable hard gold plating, which can ensure repeated plugging and unplugging. In addition, by strict control of the gold plating thickness, it can reach a superior quality and ensure excellent connection as well as reducing the working temperature.

premium-metal-housing

2. High-Quality Laser

The high-quality laser is with high sensitivity, low attenuation and high quality which ensure the perfect signal transmitting and receiving.

high-quality-laser

3. Advanced Chip

The advanced chip offers the high performance and low power consumption to the module solution which ensures the signal to be transmitted with high speed and stable performance.

advanced-chip

4. Perfect Combination

The combination of the gold-finger (conductive metal), chip and metal housing makes a perfect transceiver module.

perfect-combination

Conclusion

When you’re looking to upgrade your network, it makes sense to choose a compatible optical transceiver to help save cost. FS.COM, a professional manufacturer and supplier of compatible optical transceiver, may be your ideal choice. Each transceiver module from FS.COM is tested on the real working environment before shipping which ensures the reliable and stable performance. Besides, FS.COM offers a 60-day money-back return policy and a guaranteed warranty policy to ensure their transceivers’ quality. If you try to use them, you may like them.

Related Article: All About Compatibility: Third-Party vs. Brand Optics

Common Mistakes in Fiber Optic Network Installation

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When install a fiber optic network, people may make some common mistakes, which were usually overlooked. In this article, I will list the most common ones. Hope to give you some guidance for your optical network installation.

1. Single Strand Fiber Device Must Be Used in Pairs

You will never buy two left shoes, but people often make a similar mistake when they’re working with Single Strand Fiber (SSF). Single strand fiber technology allows for the use of two independent wavelengths, such as 1310 and 1550 nm, on the same piece of cable. The most common single strand fiber device is Bi-Directional (BiDi) transceiver. Two BiDi transceiver must be matched correctly. One unit must be a 1310nm-TX/1550nm-RX transceiver (transmitting at 1310 nm, receiving at 1550 nm) and the other must be a 1550nm-TX/1310nm-RX transceiver (transmitting at 1550 nm, receiving at 1310 nm). The 1550nm-TX/1310nm-RX transceiver is more expensive than the 1310nm-TX/1550nm-RX transceiver, due to the cost of their more powerful lasers. So network engineers may hope to save money by installing a pair of 1310nm-TX/1550nm-RX transceivers. But, like mismatched shoes, it doesn’t work.

single-strand-fiber

2. Don’t Use Single-Mode Fiber over Multimode Fiber

Some people may want to make use of legacy cabling or equipment from an older fiber installation to save cost. But keep in mind that single-mode and multimode fiber are usually incompatible. Multimode fiber uses cable with a relatively large core size, typically 62.5 microns (om2, om3 and om4), and 50 microns (om1) still used in some installations. The larger core size simplifies connections and allows for the use of less powerful, less expensive light sources.  But the light therefore tends to bounce around inside the core, which increases the modal dispersion. That limits multimode’s useful range to about 2 km. Single-mode fiber combines powerful lasers and cabling with a narrow core size of 9/125 microns to keep the light focused.  It has a range of up to 120 km, but it is also more expensive. If you tried to use single-mode fiber over a multimode fiber run.  The core size of the fiber cable would be far too large.  You’d get dropped packets and CRC errors.

single-mode-multimode-fiber

3. Understand All kinds of Fiber connectors First

Fiber optic transceivers use a variety of connectors, so make clear their differences before you begin ordering products for a fiber installation is necessary. SC (stick and click) is a square connector. ST (stick and twist) is a round, bayonet-type. LC, or the “Lucent Connector”, was developed by Lucent Technologies to address complaints that ST and SC were too bulky and too easy to dislodge. LC connectors look like a compact version of the SC connector. SFP (small form‐factor pluggable) transceivers usually use LC connector.  Less common connectors include MT-RJ and E2000.

st-lc-sc

4.Connector Links and Splice Times Also Affect 

Although single-mode fiber suffers from less signal loss per km than multimode, all fiber performance is affected by connectors and splices. The signal loss at a single connector or splice may seem insignificant. But as connectors and splices become more numerous signal loss will steadily increase. Typical loss factors would include 0.75 dB per connector, 1 dB per splice, 0.4 dB attenuation per km for single-mode fiber and 3.5 dB attenuation per km for multimode fiber.  Add a 3 dB margin for safety. The more splices and connectors you have in a segment, the greater the loss on the line.

5. Don’t Use APC connector with UPC Connector

Fiber connections may use Angle Polished Connectors (APC) or Ultra Polished Connectors (UPC), and they are not interchangeable. There are physical differences in the ferules at the end of the terminated fiber within the cable (shown in the figure below).  An APC ferrule end-face is polished at an 8° angle, while the UPC is polished at a 0° angle. If the angles are different, some of the light will fail to propagate, becoming connector or splice loss. UPC connectors are common in Ethernet network equipment like media converters, serial devices and fiber‐based switches. APC connectors are typical for FTTX and PON connections.  ISPs are increasingly using APC.

apc-upc-connector

6. Don’t Connect SFP to SFP+ Transceivers

Small Form Pluggable (SFP) transceivers are more expensive than fixed transceivers.  But they are hot swappable and their small form factor gives them additional flexibility. They’ll work with cages designed for any fiber type and their prices are steadily dropping.  So they have become very popular. Standard SFPs typically support speeds of 100 Mbps or 1 Gbps. XFP and SFP+ support 10 Gbps connections. SFP+ is smaller than XFP and allows for greater port density.  Though the size of SFP and SFP+ is the same, you can’t connect SFP+ to a device (SFP) that only supports 1 Gbps.

Related Article: Optical Module Maintenance Methods and Installation Tips

Data Center Upgrade — Who Should Be Responsible for Buying Transceivers?

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There was a time that cable products specifically associated with hardware OEMs. If a company was buying or using one of these vendors’ products, the matching cables also had to be used. Therefore, whoever was responsible for managing the hardware was also responsible for the cabling used to connect the devices together. Then, the structured cabling industry replaced this. The cabling infrastructure is now viewed as an independent asset separate from the IT hardware. This has allowed companies to make purchasing decisions for IT and cabling without the concern of each other. But this may be a problem. To understand the problem, let’s understand the LAN network operation principles first.

transceiver

The OSI Model of LAN Network
As we know, the operation of local area networking (LAN) was defined with the Open Systems Interconnection Reference Model (OSI Model). The OSI Model defined seven layers of operation. By using the model, the industry could develop networking functions in a modular fashion and still ensure interoperability. The bottom of the stack is Layer 1, the Physical Layer. Layer 1 includes the cabling that is used to connect the various pieces of equipment together so that the data can be transported. The next step up on the stack is Layer 2, the Data Link Layer. Layer 2 provides for addressing and switching, so that the data can be sent to the appropriate destination. Layer 3 is the Network Layer, where data can be routed to another network. Layers 4 through 7 deal with software implementations.

OSI Model
The OSI Model meant that an end-user could purchase software (Layer 7) and expect it to work on multiple vendors’ hardware (Layer 2). And the hardware could be connected using multiple vendors (Layer 1). Structured cabling now had a home within Layer 1. Then this module leads to division of responsibility, for cabling versus network design specifications. The end-user ended up having “cabling people” and “networking people” on their staff. Each group of people used their own set of vendors and supply chains to specify and source their materials. And they each only needed a very basic understanding of what the other people were doing. This system has worked very well for the enterprise LAN. So what’s the problem?

What Is the Problem?
In the 1990s, copper cable was widely used in data center cabling deployment. As time went on, optical fiber cable was added. In fiber switches, it is common to use pluggable transceivers. This is done for a variety of reasons, but one is cost. Even though a transceiver is plugged into a switch, it is part of the OSI Model’s Layer 1, the Physical Layer. Additionally, most of the transceiver is part of the Physical Media Dependent (PMD) portion of Layer 1, as illustrated here. This means that the transceiver and the cable types must match.

transceiver Physical Media Dependent
However, unlike copper, there was never a fixed standard on the connector type or channel distance. Fiber may have many different standards and connector options. With multiple fiber types, multiple operating wavelengths, and multiple connectivity options, the number of solutions seemed limitless. Since the transceiver is physically plugged into the switch, it has always been considered the networking group’s responsibility. “Networking people” are responsible for buying transceivers and “cabling cable” are responsible for buying cabling products, then this causes the problem. Let’s take the following real-life case for example.

Real-life Case and Solution
Company A has a data center. Marsha is the facilities manager and is responsible for the data cabling. She has designed a cabling plan that has migrated from 1G into 10G. Anticipating the 40G requirements defined by IEEE 802.3ba (40GBase-SR4), she used a cassette-based platform to allow for the transition from LC connectivity of 10G to the MPO connectivity of 40G. Greg is the network manager. As the migration to 40G switches was about to commence, his hardware vendor recommended that they change to a new unique transceiver solution that used LC connectivity. This appeared to be a great idea because it would mean that Marsha would not have to change any of her connectivity. However, he did not consult with Marsha, because the hardware decisions are his to make. When the 40G switches arrived, Marsha was surprised by the connectivity choice because it limited her power budget. So this division causes the problem.

data center transceiver
Greg needs to have a 40G connection from Rack A to Rack B. From a Layer 2/3 perspective, that is all that matters. He still has the responsibility and complete control to define his needs and select equipment vendors for things like switches, routers, servers, etc. Instead of defining the form of the data rate, he simply specifies the speed. By shifting the single component (pluggable transceiver) from Greg to Marsha, the organization can make its decision much more efficiently. Greg does not have to worry about the variety of fiber and transceiver options, nor the impacts that they have on each other. And Marsha can manage the entire optical link, from transceiver to transceiver, which is all within Layer 1. Her experience with fiber and connectivity options puts her in a better position to determine which transceiver options are the most appropriate.

Conclusion
Looking back, the onset of structured cabling separated the cabling purchasing from the IT hardware purchasing. Looking at present-day and into the future, rapidly increasing data rates, especially in the data center are requiring another shift in the way we conduct business. By redefining the link to include not only cabling and connectivity, but also the transceiver, we put Layer 1 performance in the hands of the people most familiar with it. FS.COM provides a full range of transceivers and matched cabling products with the most cost-effective price. Aimed at offering a high performance-price ratio solutions for you.

How Do Optical Transceiver Vendors Differentiate Their Transceiver Design?

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In order to get a bigger share of the market. Optical transceiver vendors are challenged in how to differentiate their optical transceiver design and give the products conform to common form factors. To understand the importance of transceiver differentiation, it is worth reviewing the purpose of multi-source agreement (MSA) transceiver form factors.

Common form factors arose so that optical equipment makers could avoid developing their own interfaces or being locked into a supplier’s proprietary design. Judged in those terms, MSAs have been a roaring success. Equipment makers can now buy optical intoptical transceiver designerfaces from several sources, all battling for the design win. MSAs have also triggered a near-decade of innovation, resulting in form factors from the 300-pin large form factor transponder MSA to the pluggable SFP+, less than a 60th its size.

But MSAs, with their dictated size and electrical interfaces, are earmarked for specific sectors. As such the protocols, line rates, and distances they support are largely predefined. Little scope, then, for differentiation. Yet vendors have developed ways to stand out. One approach is to be a founding member of an MSA. This gives the inner circle of vendors a time-to-market advantage in securing customers for emerging standards. The CFP MSA for 40- and 100-Gigabit Ethernet is one such example.

Some designs required specialist optical components that only a few vendors have, such as high-speed VCSELs used for the latest Fibre Channel interfaces. In turn, many vendors don’t have the resources—design teams and the deep pockets—needed to develop advanced technologies, such as those for 40- and 100-Gbps transponders, whether it is integrated optical devices or integrated circuits.

Being the first to integrate existing designs into smaller form factors is another way to differentiate oneself. An example is JDSU, which has integrated a tunable laser into the pluggable XFP MSA. Fiberstore also then launched tunable XFP which features with tunable and multi-protocol functions in order to further expand the product lineup of the 10G optical transceiver modules.

Optical transceiver vendors are also differentiating their products through marketing approaches. New-entrant Far Eastern vendors are selling optical transceivers directly to service providers and data center operators, bypassing equipment makers. They are also looking to differentiate on price, cutting costs where they can (including R&D) and focusing on bread-and-butter designs. They are quite happy to leave the leading vendors to make the heavy investments and battle each other in the emerging 40- and 100-Gbps markets.

Some people think differentiation doesn’t matter so much for optical transceivers since even if a vendor gets a lead, others inevitable will follow. And anyway, the cost of transporting traffic is still too high evenoptical transceiver market with the fierce competition instigated by MSAs. In turn, optical transceivers are now a permanent industry fixture and they can’t be conjured to disappear.

For optical transceiver vendors, however, the result is a market that is brutal. So can optical transceiver vendors differentiate their products? Of course they can. FS.COM (Fiberstore), a company devoting on the research & development, and offering fiber connectivity network solutions for carriers, ISPs, content providers and networks, is the global market innovator and application technology pioneer in the field of optical network devices and interconnection. In the future, they seem to change this market.

How to Test a Fiber Optic Transceiver?

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Transceiver testWhen optical transceivers was first deployed, verifying the performance of it was straightforward. The entire network was installed and owned by a single company, and if the system worked, extensive testing of the subcomponents was unnecessary. Today, however, most optical networks use components that may come from a variety of suppliers. Therefore, to test the compatibility and interoperability of each fiber optic transceiver becomes particularly important. How to test a fiber optic transceiver? This article may give you the answer.

As we all know, basically, a fiber optical transceiver consists of a transmitter and a receiver. When a transmitter through a fiber to connect with a receiver but the system doesn’t achieve your desired bit-error-ratio (BER), is the transmitter at fault? Or, is it the receiver? Perhaps both are faulty. A low-quality transmitter can compensate for by a low-quality receiver (and vice versa). 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.

Fiber Optic Transceiver test

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:
Transmitter Testing1. 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 the common method to view the transmitter waveform and provides a wealth of information about overall transmitter performance.

Transmitter Testing2. 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:
Receiver Testing3. Unlike testing the transmitter, where one must ensure that the input signal is of good enough quality, testing the receiver involves sending in a signal that is of poor enough quality. To do this, a stressed eye representing the worst case signal shall be created. This is an optical signal, and must be calibrated using jitter and optical power measurements.

4. Finally, testing the electrical output of the receiver must be performed. Three basic categories of tests must be performed:

  • A mask test, which ensures a large enough eye opening. The mask test is usually accompanied by a BER (bit error ratio) depth.Receiver Testing
  • 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.

In summary, testing a fiber optic transceiver is a complicated job, but it is an indispensable step to ensure its performance. Basic eye-mask test is an effective way to test a transmitter and is still widely used today. To test a receiver seems more complex and requires more testing methods. Fiberstore provides all kinds of transceivers, which can be compatible with many brands, such as Cisco, HP, IBM, Arista, Brocade, DELL, Juniper etc. In Fiberstore, each fiber optic transceiver has been tested to ensure our customers to receive the optics with superior quality. For more information about the transceivers or compatible performance test, please visit www.fs.com or contact us over sales@fs.com.

Related Article: What Is An Optical Module?

Related Article: Optical Module Maintenance Methods and Installation Tips

Three Ways Fiber Optic Transceivers Promote Data Center

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The data center is one of the most critical and dynamic operations in any business. As companies produce, collect, analyze and store more data, IT infrastructures need to grow as well to keep up with the demand. With all the data processing and transmission, it is only critical that every design aspect and component of your data center is properly optimized, including its fiber optic transceiver technology. The fiber optics and other optical components need to meet the bandwidth requirement for storage, switch, and server applications. Now let’s see how will the fiber optic transceivers promote data centers in the future.Fiber Optic TransceiversSmall Package Makes Sense
Optical transceivers are becoming smaller, but more powerful, which makes them an important piece in server technology. In fact, even though a transceiver is physically small, it can handle a network expansion or an entire install. This shrinking of fiber optic transceivers allows for the improvement of servers. This reduces the overall footprint of servers and networks, which makes data centers smaller and streamlined. Optical transceivers also require lower power consumption, which means you get lower costs both in terms of design and electricity expenses.

Data Center Makes up Big Transceiver Market
Fiber optic transceivers are always being improved, which can only mean good things for data center managers. According to recent numbers, 2016 and beyond will be huge for the data center market and optical components as more companies require efficiency in their networks. Data centers make up 65% of the overall 10G/40G/100G optical transceiver market. Shipment of 10G transceivers continue to grow, but still has plenty of room to grow, especially as industry experts expect the Datacom optical transceiver market to reach $optical transceivers2.1bn by 2019.

40G and 100G Transceivers Pave the Way
Consumers and technology experts can expect optical transceivers to improve as data centers grow and the cloud industry expands. Manufacturers have introduced fiber optic transceivers that can transmit data at 40Gbps and 100Gbps, while some startups are investing millions in developing technology that can achieve higher speeds. These and other improvements can only mean good things for businesses and consumers.

Significantly improving your company’s IT infrastructure is becoming an essential task, especially in this data-driven world. Optical transceivers and components are some of the little things that definitely can make a big difference in this effort. FS.COM provide a variety of fiber optic transceivers with high quality and low price, from 1000Base SFP to 10G SFP+, 40G QSFP+ and 100G CFP. For more information, please visit www.fs.com.

Optical Fiber Benefits the Green Data Center Building

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Green DataCenterWith the amount of energy now required to power the world’s data centers, one of the greatest challenges in today’s data centers is minimizing costs associated with power consumption and cooling, which is also the requirement of building the green data center. Higher power consumption means increased energy costs and greater need for heat dissipation. This requires more cooling, which adds even more cost. Under these circumstances, high-speed optical fiber offers a big advantage over copper to reduce the network operational and cooling energy.

What Is Green Data Center?
The word “green” invokes natural images of deep forests, sprawling oak trees and financial images of dollar bills. The topic of green has been gaining momentum across international, commercial and industrial segments as global warming and greenhouse gas effects hit headlines. In terms of different fields, the word “green” has different definitions. Specific to the data center segment of the telecommunications industry, green data center is a repository for the storage, management, and dissemination of data in which the mechanical, lighting, electrical and computer systems are designed for maximum energy efficiency and minimum environmental impact.

green data enter

How to Build Green Data Center?
Green data center address two issues which plague the average data center. One is the power required to run the actual equipment, the other is the power required to cool the equipment. Reduced the power required will effectively lessen not only the energy consumption but also the impact on environment. Green solutions include:

  • More efficient hardware components and software systems
  • Innovative cooling systems
  • Using natural ways to cool equipment
  • Building near advantageous natural resources or environments
  • Effective server and rack management for better air-flow

How Does Optical Fiber Benefit the Green Data Center Building?
Compared to copper cable, optical fiber may offer many advantages in contribution to building green data center. Usually, optical fiber connectivity can enhance green data center installations by utilizing high-port-density electronics with very low power and cooling requirements. Additionally, an optical network provides premier pathway and space performance in racks, cabinets and trays to support high cooling efficiency when compared to copper connectivity. All these advantages can be summarized as the following three points.

Lower Operational Power Consumption
Optical transceiver requires less power to operate compared to copper transceiver. Copper requires significant analog and digital signal processing for transmission that consumes significantly higher energy when compared to optical media. A 10G BASE-T transceiver in a copper system uses about 6 watts of power. A comparable 10G BASE-SR optical transceiver uses less than 1 watt to transmit the same signal. The result is that each optical connection saves about 5 watts of power. Data centers vary in size, but if we assume 10,000 connections at 5 watts each, that’s 50 kW less power—a significant savings opportunity thanks to less power-hungry optical technology.

Less Cooling Power Consumption
Optical system requires far fewer switches and line cards for equivalent bandwidth when compared to a copper card. Fewer switches and line cards translate into less energy consumption for electronics and cooling. One optical 48-port line card equals three copper 16-port line cards (as shown in the following picture). A typical eight-line card chassis switch would have 384 optical ports compared to 128 copper ports. This translates into a 3:1 port advantage for optical. It would take three copper chassis switches to have equivalent bandwidth to one optical chassis switch. The more copper chassis switches results in more network and cooling power consumption.

Line card port density in a 10G optical system vs. copper system

More Effective Management for Better Air-flow
Usually, a 0.7-inch diameter optical cable would contain 216 fibers to support 108 10G optical circuits, while 108 copper cables would have a 5.0-inch bundle diameter. The larger CAT 6A outer diameter impacts conduit size and fill ratio as well as cable management due to the increased bend radius. Copper cable congestion in pathways increases the potential for damage to electronics due to air cooling damming effects and interferes with the ability of ventilation systems to remove dust and dirt. Optical cable offers better system density and cable management and minimizes airflow obstructions in the rack and cabinet for better cooling efficiency. See the picture below: the left is a copper cabling system and the right is an optical cabling system.

copper cabling system vs optical cabling system

Conclusion
Data center electrical energy consumption is projected to significantly increase in the next five years. Solutions to mitigate energy requirements, to reduce power consumption and to support environmental initiatives are being widely adopted. Optical connectivity supports the growing focus on a green data center philosophy. Optical cable fibers provide bandwidth capabilities that support legacy and future-data-rate applications. Optical fiber connectivity provides the reduction in power consumption (electronic and cooling) and optimized pathway space utilization necessary to support the movement to greener data centers.

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Understanding Fiber Optic Wavelength

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The light we are most familiar with is surely the light we can see. Our eyes are sensitive to light whose wavelength is in the range of about 400 nm to 700 nm, from the violet to the red. But for fiber optics with glass fibers, we use light in the infrared region which has wavelengths longer than visible light. Because the attenuation of the fiber is less at longer wavelengths. This text may mainly tell you the common types of fiber optic wavelength used in fiber optics and why they are used.

wavelength-nm

Fiber Optic Wavelength Definition

In fact, light is defined by its wavelength. It is a member of the frequency spectrum, and each frequency (sometimes also called color) of light has a wavelength associated with it. Wavelength and frequency are related. Generally, the radiation of shorter wavelengths are identified by their wavelengths, while the longer wavelengths are identified by their frequency.

Common Fiber Optic Wavelengths

Wavelengths typically range from 800 nm to 1600 nm, but by far the most common wavelengths actually used in fiber optics are 850 nm, 1300 nm, and 1550 nm. Multimode fiber is designed to operate at 850 nm and 1300 nm, while single-mode fiber is optimized for 1310 nm and 1550 nm. The difference between 1300 nm and 1310 nm is simply a matter of convention. Both lasers and LEDs are used to transmit light through optical fiber. Lasers are usually used for 1310nm or 1550nm single-mode applications. LEDs are used for 850nm or 1300nm multimode applications.

fiber optic wavelength

Why Those Common Fiber Optic Wavelengths?

As mentioned above, the most common fiber optic wavelength includes 850 nm, 1300 nm and 1550 nm. But why do we use these three wavelengths? Because the attenuation of the fiber is much less at those wavelengths. Therefore, they best match the transmission properties of available light sources with the transmission qualities of optical fiber. The attenuation of glass optical fiber is caused by two factors: absorption and scattering. Absorption occurs in several specific wavelengths called water bands due to the absorption by minute amounts of water vapor in the glass. Scattering is caused by light bouncing off atoms or molecules in the glass.

It is strongly a function of wavelength, with longer wavelengths having much lower scattering. From the chart below, we can obviously see that there are three low-lying areas of absorption, and an ever-decreasing amount of scattering as wavelengths increase. As you can see, all three popular wavelengths have almost zero absorption.

wavelength-nm

Conclusion

After reading this passage, you may know some basic knowledge of wavelengths in fiber optics. Since the attenuation of the wavelengths at 850 nm, 1300 nm, and 1550 nm are relatively less, they are the most three common wavelengths used in fiber optic communication. Fiberstore offer all kinds multimode and single-mode fiber optic transceivers which operate on 850 nm and 1310 nm respectively very well. For more information, please visit fs.com.

Related Article: From O to L: the Evolution of Optical Wavelength Bands

Related Article: The Bandwidth and Window of Fiber Optic Cable