Buying Guide for Fiber Optic Transceivers
To enhance the connectivity across your network, it is often difficult to find the right transceiver that is compatible with the system that not only enhances the connectivity but also helps with optimizing the performance of the network.
What are optical transceivers?
Fiber Optic Transceivers are networking devices that utilize fiber optic technology that helps with sending and receiving data. Fiber Optical Transceivers consist of electronic components that are capable of encoding and decoding data into light pulses and then later sending it to other ends as electrical signals.
Transceivers usually have two ends, on one end there is a transmitter and a receiver on the other end by using light signals that are created by an LED or laser diode that represents the data. Further, the modern fiber optic transceivers also called small form-factor pluggable (SFP) transceivers are small devices that are usually plugged into networking devices.
Things to consider when choosing fiber optic transceivers
Choosing the right fiber optic transceiver can often be a daunting task as there is a wide variety of different types of cables, form factors, and connectors available to choose the right transceiver from.
Here is a brief guide on a few of the factors that should be considered before buying a transceiver for your network.
Form factor
One of the important factors to consider while buying the transceiver is the form factor. There are different types of form factors available that are compatible with different platforms. The most common types of form factors are SFP and SFP+.
Data Rate
Data rate also determines the bandwidth of the fiber optic transceivers. It is necessary to ensure that find the transceivers that can operate at the same data rate because if the data rates do not match with the components it may often result in a bottleneck in the data pipeline. Further, these data rates usually range from 155MB/s to 400GB/s. Hence, the higher the data rates are the better it helps transceivers to perform.
Wavelength
Another important factor to consider is the wavelength. Optical transceivers usually have wavelengths of around 400nm to 700nm. However, the light in fiber optic is usually used in the infrared region which consists of longer wavelengths than visible light. Further, the common wavelength usually ranges from 850nm to 1610nm whereas, multimode fiber has a wavelength around 850nm to 1310, followed by a single mode capable of operating at 1210nm to 1550nm.
Compatibility
It is necessary to check the compatibility by testing the interoperability and compatibility of the fiber optic transceiver. As there are many transceivers that cannot work with non-certified modules that work with their switches.
Fiber Mode
Fiber optic transceivers are available in two modes, including single-mode optical fibers that usually have a small core size that transmits a single ray of light, whereas, multimode transceivers are specifically designed for transmitting data for longer networks but can cater to small distances.
Best Fiber Optic Transceivers
Choosing the right transceiver is a difficult task because there is a wide variety of transceivers available in the market that makes it difficult for the users to choose the right transceivers for their network. Here, we have shortlisted a few of the top fiber optic transceivers for you to choose from.
FTLF8519P2BNL-DELL Dell 2Gbps 1000Base-SX Fiber Optic Transceiver
FTLF8519P2BNL-DELL Dell 2Gbps 1000Base-SX Multi-mode Transceiver is the high-performing transceiver that is designed for industrial networking equipment. This hot-swappable SFP transceiver can cater up to 2.125GB/s and provide transmission of around 300M distance over MMF followed by the cable with the wavelength of 850nm. Furthermore, this optical transceiver come with an LC duplex connector and consists of built-in digital diagnostic functions.
Specifications
| Model | Manufacturer | Dell |
| Manufacturer Part # | FTLF8519P2BNL-DELL | |
| Network | Transceiver Type | SFP |
| Data Transfer Rate | 2 Gbps | |
| Mode | Multi-mode Fiber (MMF) | |
| Max. Distance | 500 m | |
| Wavelength | 850 nm | |
| Connector Type | LC Connector |
MC2210511-LR4 Mellanox 40Gbps 40GBase-LR4 QSFP Fiber Optical Transceiver
MC2210511-LR4 Mellanox 40Gbps 40GBase-LR4 Fiber Optical Transceiver is designed as a single mode with the wavelength of 1310nm with duplex LC connectors. This transceiver consists of advanced features including digital diagnostics functions with an I2C interface. It is simple and easy to install and suitable for data centers, and high-performance computing networks followed by distribution layer applications and enterprise core.
Specifications
| General Information | Manufacturer Part Number | MC2210511-LR4 |
| Brand Name | Mellanox | |
| Product Type | QSFP | |
| Technical Information | Application/Usage | Data Networking Optical Network |
| Interfaces/Ports | Interfaces/Ports Details | 1 x LC 40GBase-LR4 Network |
| Media & Performance | Media Type Supported | Optical Fiber |
| Ethernet Technology | 40 Gigabit Ethernet | |
| Network Technology | 40GBase-LR4 | |
| Miscellaneous | Environmentally Friendly | Yes |
| Environmental Certification | RoHS-6 |
MC2210411-SR4 Mellanox 40Gbps 100m 850nm QSFP Transceiver Module
MC2210411-SR4 Mellanox 40Gbps 100m 850nm QSFP Transceiver Module consists of 12fibers MTP/MPO male connectors with the data transmission capacity of up to 150M over OM4. further, these transceivers consist of digital diagnostics functions followed by the I2C interface. Also, they consist of QSFP+ form factors followed by a 42GB/s data rate.
Specifications
| General Information | Manufacturer Part Number | MC2210411-SR4 |
| Brand Name | Mellanox | |
| Product Type | QSFP | |
| Technical Information | Application/Usage | Data Networking Optical Network |
| Interfaces/Ports | Interfaces/Ports Details | 1 x MPO 40GBase-SR4 Network |
| Media & Performance | Media Type Supported | Optical Fiber |
| Ethernet Technology | 40 Gigabit Ethernet | |
| Network Technology | 40GBase-SR4 |
JH231A HP X142 40Gbps 40GBase-SR4 Transceiver
JH231A HP X142 40Gbps 40GBase-SR4 Transceiver Module supports data transfer rates of up to 40 GB/s and can transmit data over the distance of 150M followed by the wavelength of 850nm through an MPO connector.
Specifications
| General Information | Manufacturer Part Number | JH231A |
| Brand Name | HPE | |
| Product Type | QSFP+ | |
| Technical Information | Application/Usage | Optical Network Data Networking |
| Interfaces/Ports | Interfaces/Ports Details | 1 x MPO 40GBase-SR4 Network |
| Media & Performance | Media Type Supported | Optical Fiber |
| Ethernet Technology | 40 Gigabit Ethernet | |
| Network Technology | 40GBase-SR4 |
Get The Best Deals on Fiber Optic Transceivers
To enhance the communication by receiving or transmitting signals between the networking devices, you need to use high-performing fiber optical transceivers. At Servers4Less, you can find the best networking transceivers from top manufacturers. These high-end transceivers are available in different variations of mode, wavelength, connector type, and more. In case of any confusion regarding selecting the right fiber optic transceivers and modules, please reach out to our network engineer to help you make the right choice.