QSFP+ / QSFP28 application guide

2017/20/04
40G QSFP+
QSFP+ to QSFP+ connectivity QSFP+ to 4x10G SFP+ aggregation

SFP+

SFP+

SFP+
QSFP+
QSFP+ QSFP+ SFP+

Four technologies
Direct Attached Cable (DAC - copper cable assembly with no transceivers)
Active Optical Cable (AOC - cable assembly with optical transceivers)
Multimode cables and transceivers
Singlemode cables and transceivers
QSFP+ to QSFP+
40G connectivity
SO-QSFP-40G-PCUxM / ACUxM
Active and Passive DAC Cables

Direct Attached Cable

Less parts, avoids dirty connectors

Point to point connectivity

Single cable assembly instead of

discrete components

Lowest cost connectivity

Active cables (CDR) 0-15m

Passive cables 0-5m

SO-QSFP-40G-AOCxM
Active AOC Cable

Active Optical Cable

Comparable to using transceiver and

separate fibers

point-point connectivity

Longer distance than DACs

Lighter and smaller than DACs

Up to 100m cable lengths

SO-QSFP-SR4 / eSR4
QSFP+, 40GBase, 850nm, MM, DDM, 150m@OM4
(SR4), 300m@OM4 (eSR4), MPO
Multimode transceiver
MPO connector

Ribbon cabling
40G signal as 4 parallel 10G signals
over MM ribbon cable
Point to point connectivity

Lowest cost transceiver types, non

standard connectors
SO-QSFP-SR4 100m
MTP8-MTP8-OM4 SO-QSFP-eSR4 300m
Up to 300m over
MM fiber
SO-QSFP-LR4/ER4
QSFP, 40GBase, CWDM 1270-1330nm, SM, DDM

Singlemode transceiver

LC connector

Internal CWDM mux/demux

40G signal as 4 parallel 10G signals

over SM LC duplex using CWDM

Structured LC cabling

LR4 10km

LR4-20 20km

ER4 40km
Up to 40km
DS-LC/U-LC/U-x patch cable
SO-QSFP-LX4
QSFP, 40GBase, CWDM 1270-1330nm, DDM,
2km@SM and 100m@OM, LC
SM/MM transceiver

LC connector

Internal CWDM mux/demux

40G signal as 4 parallel 10G signals

over SM LC duplex using CWDM

Structured LC connectors instead of

MPO ribbon cables

MM 100m

SM 2km
Up to 2km
DS-LC/U-LC/U-x patch cable

Up to 100m
DS-LC/P-LC/P-OM3-x patch cable
SO-QSFP-LR4-PSM4
QSFP+, 40GBase, 1310nm, SM, DDM, 10km, MPO

Singlemode transceiver

PSM – Parallel Single Mode

MPO connector

Used with SM ribbon fiber cables

Up to 10km

MTP8-MTP8-OM4
Up to 10km over
SM fiber
QSFP+ to 4xSFP+
4x10G aggregation
SO-QSFP-4SFP-PCUxM / ACUxM
QSFP to 4xSFP+ fanout DAC Cables

Direct Attached Cable

Aggregate 4 x 10G SFP+ to 40G QSFP+

Low cost / less parts

Avoids dirty connectors

Better EMI performance

Better utilization of 40G ports

PCU (Passive)0-5m

QSFP+ to 4xSFP+ DAC fanout ACU (Active) 0-10m

SO-QSFP-4x10G-AOCxM
QSFP to 4xSFP+ fanout AOC Cables

Active Optical Cable

Aggregate 4 x 25G SFP+ to 100G

QSFP28

Similar to using discrete cables & trx

0-100m

QSFP+ to 4xSFP+ AOC fanout

QSFP+ to 4xSFP+
Cables and Transceivers, MPO cabling

Transceivers and patch cables

Aggregate 4 x 10G SFP+ to QSFP+

Server to top of rack applications

Better utilization 40G ports

QSFP+, 40GBASE-SR4
Structured cabling

100m

MTP8-8xLC-OM4-x

SFP+, 10GBASE-SR
QSFP+ to 4xSFP+
Cables and Transceivers, LC cabling

Transceivers and patch cables

Aggregate 4 x 10G SFP+ to QSFP+

Longer distance than MPO / MM

Can use structured cabling

QSFP+, 40GBASE-LR4
SO-QSFP-LR4 10km

SO-SFP-10GE-LR-C27 10km CWDM

SO-SFP-10GE-LR10-C29 10km CWDM

SO-SFP-10GE-LR10-C31 10km CWDM

SO-SFP-10GE-LR10-C33 10km CWDM

T-3012 as fanout Mux/Demux

SFP+, 10GBASE-CWDM
QSFP+ to 4xSFP+
Cables and Transceivers, PSM approach

Transceivers and patch cables

PSM – Parallel Single Mode

MPO connector, SM fiber to 4x LC

duplex fanout cable
QSFP+, 40GBASE-LR4-PSM 4 x SFP+ LR to individual servers

Structured LC cabling

Long distance fanout applications

MTP8-8xLC-SM-x Up to 10km

SFP+, 10GBASE-LR
QSFP+ selection guide
Cable assemblies
DAC Passive DAC Active AOC MM

Cable assembly Cable assembly Cable assembly

no optical transceiver optical transceiver

Lowest cost Low cost Higher cost than DAC

Lowest distance Better performance (CDR) Longer distance than DAC

inside rack inside rack and rack to rack Rack to rack

0-3m 0-15m 0-100m

Transceivers
Parallel MPO, ribbon cable Duplex LC connector

SO-QSFP-SR4 100m
Multimode SO-QSFP-LX4 100m
SO-QSFP-eSR4 300m

SO-QSFP-LX4 2km

2km
SO-QSFP28-CWDM4
SO-QSFP-IR4-PSM 1.4km
2km
SO-QSFP-IR4
Singlemode 10km
SO-QSFP-LR4
20km
SO-QSFP-LR4-20
SO-QSFP-LR4-PSM 10km 30km
SO-QSFP-ER4
40km
SO-QSFP-ER4-40
40G across long distance fibers
WANs
Longer distance connectivity & cable management
40G Transceiver to 1310nm
Mux/Demux port
Simple and cost effective
Green data center networking up to
30km
QSFP+ to 4x10G CWDM QSFP to 4xSFP+ LR/SR
Cost advantage of fanout Transponder converts to CWDM / DWDM
LC structured cabling for Better channel utilization on wdm system
space saving in mega DCs
Amplification and encryption
(LC cable much smaller
than AOC/DAC)
QSFP28
QSFP Form Factor summary

QSFP+ QSFP28

Speed 40G 100G

Traffic 40G or 4x10G 100G, 4x25G, 10x10G

Form factor Same Same

DAC DAC

AOC AOC
Technologies
MM cables and Trx MM cables and Trx

SM cables and Trx SM cables and Trx

Point to point Point to point

Topologies
QSFP+ to 4x10G fanout QSFP10 to 4x25G fanout

Longer distance options 4x10G in to transponder Compatible with 100G coherent DWDM for mega long distance connectivity
Complete QSFP28 transceiver portfolio
New

SO-QSFP28-SR4 SO-QSFP28-SWDM4
QSFP28, 100GBase, 850nm, QSFP28, 100GBase, SWDM4,
MM, DDM, 100m@OM4, MPO MM, 100m@OM4, LC

New New

SO-QSFP28-LR4 SO-QSFP28-LR4-10L SO-QSFP28-LR4-2L SO-QSFP28-CWDM4

QSFP28, 100GBase, 1310nm, QSFP28, 100GBase, 1310nm, SM, QSFP28, 100GBase, 1310nm, SM, QSFP28, 100GBase, CWDM4,
SM, DDM, 10km, LC DDM, 10km, LC, DML Type DDM, 2km, LC, DML Type SM, 8dB, 2km, LC

New

SO-QSFP28-ER4 SO-QSFP28-PSM4
QSFP28, 100GBase, 1310nm, QSFP28, 100GBase, 1310nm,
SM, DDM, 25km, LC SM, DDM, 2km, MPO
Complete QSFP28 transceiver portfolio

Multimode transceivers
SO-QSFP28-SR4 QSFP28, 100GBase, 850nm, MM, DDM, 100m@OM4, MPO
SO-QSFP28-SWDM4 Coming soon

Singlemode transceivers
SO-QSFP28-LR4 QSFP28, 100GBase, 1310nm, SM, DDM, 10km, LC
SO-QSFP28-LR4-10L QSFP28, 100GBase, 1310nm, SM, DDM, 10km, LC, DML Type
SO-QSFP28-LR4-2L QSFP28, 100GBase, 1310nm, SM, DDM, 2km, LC, DML Type
SO-QSFP28-CWDM4 QSFP28, 100GBase, CWDM4, SM, DDM, 2km, LC
SO-QSFP28-LR4-PSM4 QSFP28, 100GBase, 1310nm, SM, DDM, 2km, MPO
SO-QSFP28-ER4 QSFP28, 100GBase, 1310nm, SM, DDM, 25km, LC

AOC Cable assemblies

SO-QSFP28-AOCxM QSFP28, 100GBase, AOC, xm
SO-QSFP28-4XSFP28-AOCxM QSFP28 to 4xSFP28, 100G, AOC, xm

DAC Cable assemblies Same performance as original

SO-QSFP28-ACUxM-2C QSFP28, 100GBase, DAC, AWGxx, xm, active (2CDRs)
Lower cost and more choice
SO-QSFP28-PCUxM QSFP28, 100GBase, DAC, AWGxx, xm, passive
SO-QSFP28-4SFP28-ACUxM QSFP28 to SFP28, 100G, DAC, AWGxx, xm, active High quality
SO-QSFP28-4SFP28-PCUxM QSFP28 to SFP28, 100G, DAC, AWGxx, xm, passive
Full warranty and support

Reconfigurable for other applications

QSFP28 selection guide
Cable assemblies
DAC Passive DAC Active AOC MM

Cable assembly Cable assembly Cable assembly

no optical transceiver optical transceiver

Lowest cost Low cost Higher cost than DAC

Lowest distance Better performance (CDR) Longer distance than DAC

inside rack inside rack and rack to rack Rack to rack

0-3m 0-5m 0-100m

Transceivers
Parallel MPO, ribbon cable Duplex LC connector

Multimode SO-QSFP28-SR4 100m SO-QSFP28-SWDM4 100m

SO-QSFP28-CWDM4 2km

SO-QSFP28-LR4 10km

Singlemode SO-QSFP28-LR4-PSM4 2km SO-QSFP28-LR4-2L (DML) 2km

SO-QSFP28-LR4-10L (DML) 10km

SO-QSFP28-ER4 25km
100G QSFP28
QSFP28 to QSFP28 connectivity QSFP28 to 4x SFP25 aggregation

SFP+ 25G

SFP+ 25G

SFP+ 25G
QSFP28
QSFP28 QSFP28 SFP+ 25G

Four technologies
Direct Attached Cable (DAC - copper cable assembly with no transceivers)
Active Optical Cable (AOC - cable assembly with optical transceivers)
Multimode cables and transceivers
Singlemode cables and transceivers
QSFP28 to QSFP28
100G connectivity
SO-QSFP28-ACUxM-2C
Active DAC Cable with 2 CDRs

Direct Attached Cable

point-point connectivity

Single cable assembly instead of

discrete components

Lowest cost connectivity

Avoid dirty connector problems

Less parts

0.5m to 5m cable lengths

SO-QSFP28-AOCxM
Active AOC Cable

Active Optical Cable

point-point connectivity

Single cable assembly instead of

discrete components

Longer distance than DACs

Lighter and smaller than DACs

Comparable to using transceiver and

separate fibers

0.5m to 100m cable lengths

SO-QSFP28-SR4
QSFP28, 100GBase, 850nm, MM, DDM,
100m@OM4, MPO
Multimode transceiver

MPO connector

Ribbon cabling

100G signal as 4 parallel 25G signals

over MM ribbon cable

Lowest cost transceiver types, non

standard connectors

MTP8-MTP8-OM4
Up to 100m over
MM fiber
SO-QSFP28-SWDM4
QSFP28, 100GBase, 850nm, MM, DDM,
100m@OM4, LC
Multimode transceiver

LC connector / doesn’t need MPO ribbon

100G signal as 4 parallel signals at

850nm, 880nm, 910nm, 940nm

Convenient upgrade from 10G to 100G

Up to 100m
DS-LC/U-LC/U-x patch cable
SO-QSFP28-LR4 / CWDM4
QSFP28, 100GBase, 1310nm, SM, DDM

Singlemode transceiver

LC connector

LR4 10km

LR4-10L (DML) 10km

LR4-2L (DML) 2km

CWDM4 2km

Up to 10km
DS-LC/U-LC/U-x patch cable
SO-QSFP28-ER4
QSFP28, 100GBase, 1310nm, SM, DDM, 25km, LC

Singlemode transceiver

LC connector

25km connectivity

Up to 25km
DS-LC/U-LC/U-x patch cable
SO-QSFP28-PSM4
QSFP28, 100GBase, 1310nm, SM, DDM, 2km, MPO

Singlemode transceiver

PSM – Parallel Single Mode

MPO connector

Used with existing MM fiber

Up to 2km

MTP8-MTP8-OM4
Up to 2km over
MM fiber
QSFP28 to 4xSFP28
4x25G aggregation
SO-QSFP28-4SFP28-xCUxM
QSFP28 to 4xSFP28 fanout DAC Cables

Direct Attached Cable

Aggregate 4 x 25G SFP+ to 100G

QSFP28

Server to top of rack applications

Better utilization of 100G ports

PCU (Passive)0-3m

ACU (Active) 0-15m

SO-QSFP28-4SFP28-AOCxM
QSFP28 to 4xSFP28 fanout AOC Cables

Active Optical Cable

Aggregate 4 x 25G SFP+ to 100G

QSFP28

Up to 100m connectivity
QSFP28 to 4xSFP28
Multimode Cables and Transceivers

Aggregate 4 x 25G SFP+ to 100G

QSFP28

Server to top of rack applications

Better utilization 100G ports

Structured cabling

100m

MTP8-8xLC-OM4-x

SFP28, 25GBASE-SR
QSFP28 to 4xSFP28
Singlemode cables and Transceivers

Aggregate 4 x 25G SFP+ to 100G

QSFP28

MPO connector, SM fiber

4 x SFP28 LR to individual servers

SM ribbon cable to 4xLC duplex

fanout

Structured LC cabling

2km
MTP8-8xLC-OM4-x

SFP28, 25GBASE-LR
QSFP28 to 4xSFP28
Cables and Transceivers, LC cabling

Transceivers and patch cables

Aggregate 4 x SFP28 to QSFP28

Longer distance than MPO / MM

Can use structured cabling

QSFP28, 100GBASE-LR4
SO-QSFP-LR4 10km

SO-SFP28-LR-C27 10km CWDM

SO-SFP28-LR-C29 10km CWDM

SO-SFP28-LR-C31 10km CWDM

SO-SFP28-LR-C33 10km CWDM

T-3012 as fanout Mux/Demux

SFP28, 25GBASE-CWDM
QSFP28 to 4xSFP28
Cables and Transceivers, PSM approach

Transceivers and patch cables

PSM – Parallel Single Mode

MPO connector, SM fiber to 4x LC

duplex fanout cable
QSFP+, 100GBASE-PSM 4 x SFP28 LR to individual servers

Structured LC cabling

Long distance fanout applications

MTP8-8xLC-SM-x Up to 2km

SFP28, 25GBASE-LR
100G across long distance fibers
WANs
 Longer distance connectivity & cable
management

QSFP28 SR4/LR4/CR4 to
transponder
Conversion to DWDM CFP
Up to 88 DWDM channels per
Mux/demux
80km
QSFP28 to 1310nm Mux/Demux port
Simple and cost effective
Green data center networking up to 10km

QSFP28 SR4/LR4/CR4 to
transponder
Conversion to DWDM
Coherent CFP
1000km+
 1000+km

25km

10km

Data Centre 1 Data Centre 2

Intra rack Inter rack Data Center Interconnect (DCI)

DAC - Direct Attached Copper AOC - Active Optical Cable Single channel
Low cost cable assembly server to top of rack Cable assembly Single service per fiber
Removes dirty connector problems Same as using MM trx LR4, 2&10km
0-3m in the rack 0-100m

Multimode transceivers Single channel

AOC - Active Optical Cable
Lowest cost transceivers Single service per fiber
Cable assembly
SR4 0-100m, MPO connector ER4, 25km
Same performance as using MM transceiver
0-100m SWDM4 0-100m, LC connector

Multimode transceivers Singlemode transceivers DWDM Open Line System

Lowest cost transceivers Structured cabling 1U DWDM Mux/Demux
SR4 0-100m, MPO connector LR4 2&10km, CWDM4 2km, monitoring and distance extension
SWDM4 0-100m, LC connector PSM4 2&10km Any SAN and WAN traffic
Zero touch provisioning
Thank you!