The small form-factor pluggable (SFP) or Mini-GBIC is a compact, hot-pluggable transceiver used for both telecommunication and data communications applications. It interfaces a network device mother board (for a switch, router, media converter or similar device) to a fiber optic or copper networking cable. It is a popular industry format jointly developed and supported by many network component vendors.[1] SFP transceivers are designed to support SONET, Gigabit Ethernet, Fibre Channel, and other communications standards.
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SFP transceivers are available with a variety of transmitter and receiver types, allowing users to select the appropriate transceiver for each link to provide the required optical reach over the available optical fiber type (e.g. multi-mode fiber or single-mode fiber). Optical SFP modules are commonly available in several different categories:
Divided by rate :155M/622M/1.25G/2.125G/4.25G/8G/10G,155M and 1.25G market is used more, 10G technology is maturing, demand is to increase quickly.
Divided according to the wavelength : 850nm/1310nm/1550nm/1490nm/1530nm/1610nm.
The bare module is easy to confuse if they have no mark,the manufacturers will make the color of pull ring to distinguish generally, For example:
SFP, with its small and low-cost advantages to meet the equipment needs of high-density optical modules has become mainstream.
The enhanced small form-factor pluggable (SFP+) is an enhanced version of the SFP. It supports data rates up to 10 Gbit/s. The SFP+ was first published on May 9, 2006, and version 4.1 published on July 6, 2009.[6] SFP+ supports 8 Gbit/s Fibre Channel, 10 Gigabit Ethernet and Optical Transport Network standard OTU2. It is a popular industry format supported by many network component vendors.[7]
The small form-factor pluggable (SFP Fiber Optic Transceiver) is a version of Mini-GBIC. It supports data rates up to 10 Gbit/s. The SFP Fiber Optic Transceiver are available with a variety of transmitter and receiver types.[6] SFP+ supports 8 Gbit/s Fibre Channel, 10 Gigabit Ethernet and Optical Transport Network standard OTU2. It is a popular industry format supported by many network component vendors.[8]
In comparison to earlier XENPAK or XFP modules, SFP+ modules leave more circuitry to be implemented on the host board instead of inside the module.[9]
Consideration has to be given to whether the module is linear or limiting. Linear SFP+ modules are appropriate for 10GBASE-LRM otherwise limiting modules are preferred.[10]
It is possible to design an SFP+ slot that can accept a standard SFP module.[11][12]
SFP sockets are found in Ethernet switches and network interface cards. Storage interface cards, also called HBA's and Fibre Channel storage switches is another use of these type of modules, supporting different speeds like 2Gb, 4Gb and 10Gb. Because of their ability to provide a connection to different types of optical fiber, SFP provides such equipment with enhanced flexibility.
The SFP transceiver is specified by a multi-source agreement (MSA) between competing manufacturers. The SFP was designed after the GBIC interface, and allows greater port density (number of transceivers per cm along the edge of a mother board) than the GBIC, which is why SFP is also known as mini-GBIC. The related Small Form Factor transceiver is similar in size to the SFP, but is soldered to the host board as a pin through-hole device, rather than plugged into an edge-card socket.
However, as a practical matter, some networking equipment manufacturers engage in vendor lock-in practices whereby they deliberately break compatibility with "generic" SFPs by adding a check in the device's firmware that will only enable the vendor's own modules.[13]
The SFP transceiver contains a PCB that mates with the SFP electrical connector in the host system.
| Pin | Function | Pin | Function |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | VeeT | 1 | VeeT |
| 19 | TD- | 2 | TxFault |
| 18 | TD+ | 3 | TxDisable |
| 17 | VeeT | 4 | MOD-DEF(2) |
| 16 | VccT | 5 | MOD-DEF(1) |
| 15 | VccR | 6 | MOD-DEF(0) |
| 14 | VeeR | 7 | RateSelect |
| 13 | RD+ | 8 | LOS |
| 12 | RD- | 9 | VeeR |
| 11 | VeeR | 10 | VeeR |
MOD-DEF 0,1,2 are the mode definition pins.
SFP dimensions are:[14]
The SFP MSA defines a 256-byte memory map in EEPROM describing the transceiver's capabilities, standard interfaces, manufacturer, and other information, which is accessible over I²C interface at the 8-bit address 1010000X (A0h).
Modern optical SFP transceivers support digital diagnostics monitoring (DDM) functions according to the industry-standard SFF-8472. This feature is also known as digital optical monitoring (DOM). This feature gives the end user the ability to monitor real-time parameters of the SFP, such as optical output power, optical input power, temperature, laser bias current, and transceiver supply voltage.
The diagnostic monitoring controller is available as I²C device at address 1010001X (A2h).
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