Broad product selection and innovative technology have made Finisar the optical module man-ufacturer of choice for all major networking equipment vendors worldwide. Finisar has taken a leading role in transforming the data communications and telecommunications equipment markets from utilizing expensive discrete optical components to high-volume pluggable pay-as-you-grow optical modules.

Finisar's optical communication products are compliant with standards including Ethernet, Fibre Channel, SONET/SDH and WDM and operate at data rates from 100 Mb/s to 100 Gb/s for data-center, HPC (High-Performance Computing), access, metro-regional, wireless, and long haul net-works. They feature outstanding performance over extended voltage and temperature ranges, while minimizing jitter, electromagnetic interference (EMI) and power dissipation.

TrANSCEIvEr/TrANSPONDEr FOrM FACTOrSCFPThe CFP is a hot-pluggable transceiver module form factor that supports a wide range of 40Gb/s and 100Gb/s applications such as 40G and 100G Ethernet, OC-768/STM-256, OTU3 and OTU4. Different versions of CFP modules can support various link distances over either multimode or single mode fiber optics. The CFP module includes numerous innovative features like advanced thermal management, EMI management and enhanced signal integrity design, as well as an MDIO-based management interface. Its electrical interface to the system host board is based on Nx10Gb/s, with the value of N depending on the application being supported.

CXPThe CXP is a hot-pluggable high-density parallel optics transceiver form factor which provides 12 channels of traffic in each direction (Tx and rx). Current versions of the CXP module can handle up to 12.5Gb/s per channel, supporting applications such as 100G Ethernet, three 40G Ethernet channels and InfiniBand 12xQDr. Potential future CXP versions could support 14Gb/s and 25Gb/s per channel over multimode fiber optics. The CXP form factor provides the highest density and lowest power dissipation among all standardized pluggable form factors today, but it’s limited to short multimode links. Both transceiver modules and active optical cable versions are available in the market.

QSFP/QSFP+The QSFP is a hot-pluggable high-density transceiver form factor which provides 4 channels of traffic in each direction (Tx and rx). Initial versions of the QSFP module supported 2.5Gb/s and 5Gb/s per channel and were called “QSFP”. More recent versions called “QSFP+” support up to 10.5Gb/s per channel for applications such as 40G Ethernet and InfiniBand 4xQDr. Both mul-timode and single mode versions of the QSFP+ module are available in the market, as well as QSFP-based active optical cables.

XFPXFP is a standardized form factor for serial 10 Gb/s fiber optic transceivers. It is protocol-independent and fully compliant to the following standards: 10G Ethernet, 10G Fibre Channel, SONET OC-192 and SDH STM-64. XFP transceivers are used in datacom and telecom optical links and their benefits are a smaller footprint than other 10 Gb/s transponders (such as XENPAK, X2, XPAK AND 300-PIN). The electrical interface to the host board is a standardized serial 10 Gb/s interface called XFI.

OPTICAL MODULESReference Guide

XFP

SFP and SFP+

CFP

SFF

CXP and QSFP

OPTICAL MODULES REfEREnCE GUIDE

SFP and SFP+ (Small Form Factor Pluggable) SFP and SFP+ transceivers are designed to be hot-swappable in industry-standard cages and connectors, and offer high-speed performance in a compact package. SFP was the first standard-ized form factor in this family, and has been used for data rates up to 4 Gb/s. With the need for compact transceivers at high data rates, an enhanced version named SFP+ was developed for applications up to 10 Gb/s and beyond. SFP+ transceivers are interchangeable with SFP trans-ceivers and can be used in the same cages as SFP transceivers. For 10 Gb/s applications, SFP+ transceivers have a smaller footprint and lower power consumption than XFP transceivers. The electrical interface to the host board for SFP and SFP+ modules is a serial interface.

SFF (Small Form Factor)Small form factor, or SFF, trans ceivers are designed for a range of data rates up to 4 Gb/s and offer physical compactness and pin-thru hole soldering onto a host board. They are available in several configurations including industry standard 2x5 / 2x10, and de-facto 2x6 and 2x7 pinouts.

Active Optical Cables Finisar has active cables for different applications, including Laserwire,® a 10G serial active cable for distances up to 30 meters, Quadwire,® a 40G parallel active cable for distances up to 100 meters, and C.wire,® a 150G parallel active cable for distances up to 300 meters. These cables include optics imbedded inside the cable assembly, which has many significant advantages for datacenter applications, including:

Elimination of expensive connectorization of fiber optic cables.

Cost optimization through component matching and test margin elimination.

Elimination of dirt/dust issues common to existing fiber assemblies.

In addition, active optical cables are capable of longer reach, lower EMI, lower power dissipation and are significantly lower in weight and less bulky than competing copper solutions.

GBIC (Gigabit Interface Converter)The gigabit interface converter, or GBIC, was the original hot-swappable standardized form fac-tor. The GBIC has been widely adopted in a large number of legacy systems, with designs rang-ing in data rates up to 2.5 Gb/s.

SNAP12SNAP12 Transmitter and receiver modules are fiber optic modules for parallel optical data com-munication applications. These modules are compliant to the SNAP12 MSA and are primarily used for intra-chassis connections. These 12-channel devices are for short-reach applications and are designed to operate on multimode fiber systems at a nominal wavelength of 850 nm.

300 PIN300 PIN is a standardized fiber pigtailed form factor for 10 and 40 Gb/s fiber optic transponders. For 10 Gb/s applications, SONET OC-192, SDH STM-64 and DWDM (including tunable) versions are available. For 40 Gb/s applications, SONET OC-768/SDH STM-256 as well as DWDM tunable OTU3/OTU3e versions based on advanced phase modulation formats are available. 300 PIN modules are used primarily in telecom and DWDM optical links. The electrical interface to the host board is a 16-lane bus.

XAUIXPAK, X2, and XENPAK are standardized form factors for 10 Gb/s fiber optics transponders. Both 10G Ethernet and 10G Fibre Channel versions are available. XPAK, X2, and XENPAK transponders are used in datacom optical links. The electrical interface to the host board is also standardized and is called XAUI (4 x 3.125 Gb/s).

GBIC

X2

Active Optical Cables

300 PIN

SNAP 12

DATACOM NETWOrK EXAMPLE

TELECOM NETWOrK EXAMPLE

EthernetSwitch/Router

TDM/CWDM/DWDM

EthernetSwitch/Router

NIC Card Server

HBA

Data Center

RAIDSystem RAID

System

TapeDrive

Metro EthernetLink (<80 km)

Intercampus ISL

SFP/SFP+

SFP/SFP+ XFP

XFP CFP QSFP+ Quadwire

XPAK

SFF

SFF

X2 XENPAK

SFP/SFP+

SAN

LAN

Metro

ETHE

RNET

ETHE

RNET

FIBR

E CH

ANNE

L

SFP/GBICCopper

FCSwitch

SFP/SFP+ QSFP+ Quadwire

SFP/SFP+

QSFP+

Fiber to the Home

Wireless

CampusCommercial

Complex

CFP WSS ROADM

CFPXFP

GPON SFF/SFP

ACCESS (Up to 100 km)

METRO-REGIONAL (100-800 km)

LONG-HAUL (800-2000 km)

SFP/SFP+

CO

CO

COCO

CO

COCO

CO

CO

CO

COCO

CO

COCOCOCO

Splitter

GPON/EPONStick

WSS ROADMAWG

AWGInterleaver

SFP/SFP+GPON/EPON SFP

300-PIN LinecardXFP

300-PIN LinecardTunable XFP

FTTHTrans-

mission

OPTICAL MODULES REfEREnCE GUIDE

1389 Moffett Park DriveSunnyvale, CA 94089Phone +1 408-548-1000Email: sales@finisar.comwww.finisar.com

©2012 Finisar Corporation. All rights reserved. Finisar, Laserwire, Quadwire, and C.wire are registered trademarks of Finisar Corporation. Features and specifications are subject to change without notice. 04/12

Datacom: Data traffic typically transmitted using Fibre Channel or Ethernet protocols.

telecom: Telecommunications traffic transmitted using SONET/SDH protocols or WDM interfaces.

Datacenter: Facility in a data communications network housing switches, servers and related datacom equipment.

central office (co): Facility in a telecommunications network housing switching, transmission, and related telecom equipment.

access: Portion of a telecommunications network connecting end-users using typically Ethernet, SONET/SDH or GPON protocols at distances <80 km.

metro-regional: Portion of a telecommunications network connecting suburbs or cities using WDM interfaces at distances between 80 and 600 km.

long Haul: Portion of a telecommunications network connecting cities using WDM interfaces at distances between 600 and 2000 km.

lan: Local Area Network (using Ethernet protocol), typically within <500 meters for enterprise or datacenter applications.

san: Storage Area Network (using Fibre Channel protocol), typically within <300 m for datacenter applications.

Pin-tHru Hole oPtics: Transceivers with pins that are directly soldered into mounting holes on the host board (e.g. SFF—Small Form Factor transceivers).

Hot-swaPPable/Pluggable: Modules that can be manually inserted or removed from cages or sockets in host systems that are running (i.e. powered up and in operation).

oPtical transceivers/transPonDers: Integrated modules incorporating optical laser transmitters and photodiode receivers. These modules convert physical signals from electrical to optical and vice-versa in a network and couple the optical signals into (and out of) optical fiber. Transceivers have serial electrical interfaces on the host board. Transponders have parallel electrical interfaces to the host board.

active oPtical cable: Active optical cables combine optical transceivers with passive cables in order to provided a high-performance integrated interconnect solution. Unlike separate, interchangeable transceivers and cables, active optical cables form a closed system around the optical link, and host systems can employ a simple electrical connection to the active optical cables.

etHernet: Dominant communications protocol for networking over copper or optical fiber.

sonet/sDH: Synchronous Optical Network/Synchronous Digital Hierarchy. SONET is the widely used protocol for telecommuni-cations carriers in North America to transport data and voice traffic over optical fiber, while SDH is predominately used outside North America.

fibre cHannel: Dominant protocol for transmitting storage data over optical fiber in enterprises.

ePon/gPon: Protocols for Passive Optical Networking (PON). Passive optical networking is a method of deploying Fiber to the Home (FTTH) using a passive splitter and single fiber interfaces to each home.

Parallel oPtics: A parallel optical interface is a form of fiber optic technology aimed primarily at communications and networking over relatively short distances (less than 300 meters), and at high bandwidths. Parallel optic interfaces differ from traditional fiber optic communication in that data is transmitted and received over multiple, parallel fibers which are bundled together in a single ribbon. Different methods exist for splitting the data over this high-bandwidth link. In the simplest form, the parallel optic link is a replacement for multiple data communication links.

wDm: Wavelength Division Multiplexing. Enables multiple data streams of varying wavelengths (“colors”) to be combined into a single fiber, significantly increasing the overall capacity of the fiber. WDM is used in applications where large amounts of traffic are required over long distances in carrier networks. There are two types of WDM architectures: Coarse Wavelength Division Multiplexing (CWDM), typically handling up to 8 wavelengths, and Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM), supporting 40, 80, or even 160 wavelengths.

tunable: DWDM transceiver/transponder that can be electronically tuned to a specific wavelength. This has the advantage of significantly reducing the required inventory of products for a provisioned DWDM system or for inventory sparing applications.

Digital Diagnostics: Developed and patented by Finisar, this functionality enables real-time monitoring of 5 parameters critical to transceiver operation: transmitter output power, received optical power, laser bias current, transceiver input voltage and transceiver temperature.

HigH-Performance comPuting (HPc): Applications using supercomputers and computer clusters to solve advanced computation problems.

infinibanD: A switched fabric communications link used in high-performance computing and enterprise data centers. Its features include high throughput, low latency, quality of service and failover, and it is designed to be scalable.

DEFINITIONS