Gourt Home::Gourt :: SFP transceiver
The Small Form-factor Pluggable (SFP) is a compact optical transceiver used in optical communications for both telecommunication and data communications applications. It interfaces a network device mother board (for a switch, router or similar device) to a fiber optic or unshielded twisted pair networking cable. It is a popular industry format supported by several fiber optic component vendors.
SFP transceivers are available with a variety of different 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 four different categories: 850 nm, 1310nm, 1550nm, and DWDM. SFP transceivers are also available with a "copper" cable interface, allowing a host device designed primarily for optical fiber communications to also communicate over unshielded twisted pair networking cable.
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 inch 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 (SFF) 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 a edge-card socket.
Optical SFPs often include a digital diagnostics interface that provides a powerful optical management tool.
SFP transceivers are commercially available with capability for datarates up to 4.25 Gbit/s. A variant standard, XFP, is capable of 10 Gbit/s.
SFP transceivers are designed to support SONET, Gigabit Ethernet, Fibre Channel, and other communications standards.
External links
- The LC Alliance advocates the LC fiber optic connector, the most common type used in SFP transceivers.
See also
"SFP transceiver"