An Overview of Cisco SFP Transceiver Modules

SFP transceiver modules are hot-pluggable devices that plug into module sockets. These transceivers connect the electrical circuitry with the optical or copper networks. You can use any combination of SFP modules that your device supports. Cisco, the largest networking company in the world, has manufactured many kinds of SFP modules that support Ethernet, Sonet/SDH and Fiber Channel applications across all Cisco switching and routing platforms. To have a better understanding of Cisco SFP transceiver modules, we can divide these transceivers into three types: Cisco Fast Ethernet SFP modules, Cisco Gigabit Ethernet SFP modules, and Cisco CWDM SFP modules. This article will make an introduction to these three types of Cisco SFP modules for your reference.

The Cisco 100BASE-X SFP devices are mainly plugged into Fast Ethernet ports, dual-rate Fast/Gigabit Ethernet ports, or Gigabit Ethernet ports of a Cisco switch or router, linking the port with the fiber cabling network. Cisco offers a range of Fast Ethernet SFP modules, including 100BASE-FX SFP, 100BASE-LX10 SFP, and 100BASE-BX10 SFP, etc. The Cisco 100BASE-FX SFP modules (as shown in following picture) operate on ordinary multimode fiber-optic link spans of up to 2 km. The Cisco 100BASE-LX10 SFP modules operate on ordinary single-mode fiber optic link spans of up to 10 km. While the Cisco 100BASE-BX10 SFP modules operate on ordinary single-mode single strand fiber optic link spans of up to 10 km. Besides, Cisco offers one type of 100M SFPs for Fast Ethernet SFP (FE) port.

Cisco offers a range of SFP transceivers for Gigabit Ethernet applications. These small, modular optical interface transceivers offer a convenient and cost effective solution for the adoption of Gigabit Ethernet in data center, campus, metropolitan area access and ring networks, and storage area networks. There are many SFP modules for Gigabit Ethernet applications, such as 1000BASE-T SFP, 1000BASE-SX SFP, 1000BASE-LX/LH SFP, 1000BASE-ZX SFP, or 1000BASE-BX10-D/U SPF on a port-by-port basis, etc. Among them, the 1000BASE-T SFP modules operate on standard Category 5 unshielded twisted-pair copper cabling of link lengths of up to 100 m. The 1000BASE-SX SFP modules, such as MA-SFP-1GB-SX 1000BASE-SX SFP transceiver (as shown in following picture) and Cisco GLC-SX-MMD 1000BASE-SX SFP transceiver, operate on multimode fiber link spans of up to 550 m. And the 1000BASE-LX/LH SFP mudules operate on standard single-mode fiber optic link spans of up to 10 km and up to 550 m on multimode fibers. In addition, there is also one type of 100M SFPs for Gigabit Ethernet (GE) SFP port.

The Cisco CWDM SFP modules are hot-swappable input/output devices that plug into an SFP port or slot of a Cisco switch or router, and link the port with the fiber optic network. The Cisco CWDM SFP solution has two main components: a set of SFP pluggable transceivers, and a set of different Cisco CWDM passive multiplexer/demultiplexer or OADMs. These CWDM SFP modules come in wavelengths that range from 1470 nm to 1610 nm. They allow enterprise companies and service providers to provide scalable and easy-to-deploy Gigabit Ethernet and Fiber Channel services in their networks. These products enable the flexible design of highly available and multiservice networks.

Fiber optic technology has become an indispensable component for network backbone and other applications. At the same time, highly complex transceivers that require a large amount of intricate configurations are in demand. Cisco SFP transceiver modules provide a rich set of choices in terms of speeds, protocols, reaches and supported transmission media. These industry-standard Cisco SFP modules, such as Cisco Fast Ethernet SFP modules, Cisco Gigabit Ethernet SFP modules, and Cisco CWDM SFP modules, greatly meet customers’ requirements in data center, campus, metropolitan area access and ring networks, and storage area networks.