100G QSFP28 With MTP/MPO Interface and Duplex LC Interface

100G transceiver market has been dominated by QSFP28 modules due to the low cost and small form factor. Similar to QSFP+, 100G QSFP28 transceivers can transmit optical signals through MTP/MPO patch cable and duplex LC patch cable. To make sure the cabling connection right, it’s necessary to know clearly about 100G QSFP28 interfaces. This article is gonna introduce 100G QSFP28 with MPO Interface and duplex LC Interface in details.

Currently, 100G QSFP28 specifications like 100GBASE-SR4, 100GBASE-PSM4, 100GBASE-CWDM4 and 100GBASE-LR4 are very common in the market. Each 100G QSFP28 transceiver has its own features. The following table shows basic information of four 100G QSFP28 transceivers. Two transceivers are configured with MTP/MPO interface and the other two are configured with LC duplex interface.

 

From the above table, we can see that 100GBASE-SR4 QSFP28 and 100GBASE-PSM4 QSFP28 modules have MTP/MPO interface. This kind of QSFP28 module offers 4 independent full-duplex transmit and receiver channels, each capable of running up to 28Gpbs data rate per channel. 100GBASE-SR4 QSFP28 complies with QSFP28 MSA and IEEE 802.3bm specifications. The 100G-PSM4 specification defines requirements for a point-to-point 100 Gbps link over eight single-mode fibers. Four identical and independent lanes are used for each signal direction.

 

MTP/MPO fiber cable is designed for 40G/100G high density data center cabling system. This cable is commonly used to connect QSFP+ or QSFP28 transceivers with MTP/MPO interface. MTP/MPO fiber cables are terminated with 12-fiber of 24-fiber MTP/MPO connectors. Both single-mode and multimode categories are available. Single-mode cable is able to carry signal over long distance while multimode MTP/MPO is for short link length.

 

Since 100GBASE-SR4 QSFP28 works over 8 fibers (four transmit and four receive), it should be connected with a 12-fiber MTP/MPO patch cable (four not used). Besides, “SR” standing for short rang, it means fiber cables for 100GBASE-SR4 QSFP28 should be multimode. Similar to 100GBASE-SR4 QSFP28, 100GBASE-PSM4 QSFP28 also requires 12-fiber MTP/MPO patch cable. But the difference is that this transceiver supports long distance data transmission. So it matches with single-mode MTP/MPO fiber patch cable to reach the distance up to 500 meters.

 

100G QSFP28 With Duplex LC Interface

 

100GBASE-CWDM4 QSFP28 and 100GBASE-LR4 QSFP28 are configured with duplex LC interface. 100GGBASE-CWDM4 QSFP28 is a full duplex module that complies with the requirement of CWDM4 MSA. It integrates transmit and receive path in one module. On the transmit side, 4 lanes of optical signals (25.78125Gbps per lane) are multiplexed into an LC connector. And on the receive side, four lanes of optical data streams are de-multiplexed by an integrated optical de-multiplexer and transformed to an electrical CAUI-4 output driver. 100GGBASE-LR4 QSFP28 is a fully 4x25Gbps transceiver module that can support link lengths up to 10 km. 100GBASE-LR4 QSFP28 also operates over single-mode fiber cable with duplex LC connector by multiplexing and de-multiplexing optical signals.

 

100G-CWDM4-QSFP28

 

Cable Solution for Duplex LC QSFP28

 

As well known, 1G SFP and 10G SFP+ transceiver modules generally have duplex LC interfaces. One problem that we often meet when upgrading network is to replace all the fiber patch cables. But you don’t have to worry about this issue if your transceivers are 100GBASE-CWDM4 QSFP28 and 100GBASE-LR4 QSFP28 which are duplex modules and can support 2km and 10 km link length. Common single-mode duplex LC patch cable can meet the cabling requirement of these two transceivers. For high density data center, HD LC fiber patch cable is highly recommended as the “push-pull” tab is easy to remove and can save space.

 

Conclusion

 

100G QSFP28 modules are designed for high port density with small compact size and low power consumption. From this article, the interface of 100G QSFP28 transceivers includes MTP/MPO and duplex LC type. The module with MTP/MPO interface can reach 500m connection and the one with duplex LC interface can realize the connection of up to 10 km. Remember this point and you will never feel confused about these 100G QSFP28 transceivers. If you intend to upgrade your network, you can choose 100GBASE QSFP28 from our site or contact us via [email protected].