Why CPAK Transceiver is Different in 100G Solutions?

Nowadays, as the bandwidth, transmission speed and network traffic volumes continue to escalate, 100G transceiver market is booming and will be more popular in the future. At present, there are several types of 100G optical transceivers on the market: CFP, CFP2, CFP4, QSFP28 and 100G CPAK. All of them are playing a critical role in 100G networks. This post will give a detailed introduction of 100G CPAK module.

 

Overview of 100G CPAK Transceiver

CPAK transceiver is a hot-swappable I/O device that plugs into the 1-Port 100 Gigabit Ethernet EPA (EPA-1X100GE). It was launched by Cisco in 2013. The modules have a total of 82 pins (40 pins on the top row and 42 on the bottom row) on the electrical interface and either a duplex SC or 24-fibers MPO connector on the optical interface. CPAK is the first transceiver which is based on complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) photonics technology, aiming to provide industry-leading optical integration, performance, power savings, and scalability. Unlike other form factors like SFP+, QSFP and CFP family, 100G CPAK is totally Cisco propriety.

 

CPAK modules combine the greatest density and bandwidth with the lowest power consumption available in the market. And they are available in several IEEE-standard optical interface, which makes them well suit for connections in service provider data center, enterprise and edge networks.

 

What Makes CPAK Transceiver Different in 100G Networks?

 

As the increasing fierce competition between optical transceivers and the exploding demand for bandwidth on networks, many customers are eager to seek a solution to make 100G more cost-effective and significantly increase the density of 100G interfaces in networking equipment. Some vendors like fiber-mart.com have cut the price of 100G QSFP28 transceivers to offer big savings for their customers. Under this situation, what makes 100G CPAK module different?

 

COMS Based Technology

 

Although the data center and networks are struggling to keep up with the fast growth of data traffic, the limit of optical interconnect technologies is still a big problem. However, COMS technology offers an alternative for this matter. COMS photonics is a type of semiconductor technology controlling flow of photons in place of electrons. It integrates multiple circuit components in a highly efficient design, then printing entire circuits directly on silicon wafers to produce optical devices. This production method brings extremely efficient, low-power optical circuits. With the use of this technology, CPAK has smaller 100G footprint, which can offer higher port density.

 

Power Saving & High Density Port

 

In the past decades, even if the ASICs have developed rapidly, optical advanced come much more slowly. Although the optical interface reach 100 Gbps, the sheer physical size of the modules, excessive heat and power they dissipate are limiting the ability to scale networking and data center equipment to meet the increasing demand. Therefore, Cisco announced the 100G CPAK modules.

 

CPAK represents a significant advancement in optical networking, providing dramatic space and power efficiency. Compared with other alternative transceiver form factors such as CFP, Cisco CPAK modules can reduce space and power requirements by over 70 percent. And they can provide up to 20 percent greater port density and front-panel bandwidth than other competing products.

 

Summary

 

CPAK transceiver dramatically reduces space and power requirements, making 100Gbps network more widely deployable. Now, in order to maximize the benefits of our customers, fiber-mart.com has cut the price of QSFP 40G SR4 and QSFP28 100G SR4 modules. At the same time, fiber-mart.com will introduce 100G CPAK modules in the near future to provide more choices and better services for our clients. Welcome to visit our website www.fiber-mart.com for more detailed information.