Introduction to Semiconductor Optical Amplifier

Optical amplifier, with the introduction in 1990s, conquered the regenerator technology and opened doors to the WDM technology. It is mainly used to amplify an optical signal directly, without the need to first convert it to an electrical signal. There are many types of optical amplifiers, namely Raman amplifiers, erbium doped-fiber amplifiers (EDFAs), and semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA). This article will make a clearer introduction to SOA amplifier, and analyze its advantages and disadvantages.
The Basics of Semiconductor Optical Amplifier (SOA)
SOA optical amplifiers use the semiconductor as the gain medium, which are designed to be used in general applications to increase optical launch power to compensate for loss of other optical devices. Semiconductor optical amplifiers are often adopted in telecommunication systems in the form of fiber-pigtailed components, operating at signal wavelengths between 0.85 µm and 1.6 µm and generating gains of up to 30 dB. Semiconductor optical amplifier, available in 1310nm, 1400nm, 1500nm, 1600nm wavelength, can be used with singlemode or polarization maintaining fiber input/output.
Key Points of SOA Amplifier
1310 nm, 1400 nm, 1550 nm and 1610 nm wavelength selectable
High fiber-to-fiber gain of 20 dB
Up to 16 dBm output
1 MHz with 10 ns pulse width (optional)
PM Panda fiber input/output (optional)
Similar to lasers, but with non-reflecting ends and broad wavelength emission
Incoming optical signal stimulates emission of light at its own wavelength
Process continues through cavity to amplify signal
Working principle of SOA amplifier
The basic working principle of a SOA is the same as a semiconductor laser but without feedback. SOAs amplify incident light through simulated emission. When the light traveling through the active region, it causes these electrons to lose energy in the form of photons and get back to the ground state. Those stimulated photons have the same wavelength as the optical signal, thus amplifying the optical signal.
SOA Over EFDA in DWDM Networks
As the solution below, 120km Metro Networks by Using an SOA amplifier. You may wonder why not use EDFA in the above networks.
Theoretically, SOA optical amplifiers are not comparable with EDFA in the terms of performance. The noise figure of SOA optical amplifier is typically higher, the gain bandwidth can be similar, SOAs exhibit much stronger nonlinear distortions in the form of self-phase modulation and four-wave mixing. Yet, the semiconductor optical amplifier is of small size and electrical pumped, which is often less expensive than EDFA. Additionally, SOA can be run with a low power laser.
How to Choose SOA Optical Amplifier?
When selecting SOA amplifier, you have to check the every detailed parameter in the product data sheet. But, seriously, do you understand it? No, please read the following part.
The key parameters used to characterize a SOA amplifier are gain, gain bandwidth, saturation output power and noise.
Gain is the factor by which the input signal is amplified and is measured as the ratio of output power to input power (in dB). A higher gain results in higher output optical signal.
Gain bandwidth defines the range of bandwidth where the amplification functions. A wide gain bandwidth is desirable to amplify a wide range of signal wavelengths.
Saturation output power is the maximum output power attainable after amplification beyond which no amplification is reached. It is important that the SOA has a high power saturation level to remain in the linear working region and to have higher dynamic range.
Noise defines the undesired signal within the signal bandwidth which arises due to physical processing in the amplifier. A parameter called noise figure is used to measure the impact of noise which is typically around 5dB.
Conclusion
SOA amplifier is the economic, high-performance solution for long-hual WDM networks. SOA amplifier, due to its features, can be used in Booster and in-line amplification, optical network, general purpose test and measurement and fiber sensing. However, it also has its limit. In semiconductor optical amplifiers, electron-hole recombination occurs which will affect the performance of the whole line. fiber-mart offers EDFA, SOA, Raman optical amplifiers of excellent quality and price.

400G CFP8 PAM4 & 400GBASE-SR16 NRZ Transceiver Modules

With the price of 100G QSFP28 optics and CFP form factors (CFP module/CFP2/CFP4) dropping down in 2017, 100G technology is becoming more and more popular among data center managers and IT pros in order to cope with the ever-lasting bandwidth needs. However, 100G is not the finish line. CFP multimode source agreement (MSA) demonstrated CFP8 (16X 25 Gb/s) form factor for 400 Gigabit Ethernet at OFC 2017. Although CFP8 module is still in development, it is assured to be popular in the near future. Therefore, this article will have a clearer introduction to 400G CFP8 PAM4 and NRZ modules, and compare with the former CFP modules and 400G CDFP.
Introduction to 400GbE CFP8 Modules
CFP8 module is the latest developing CFP from factor version, which supports eight times and four times the bandwidth density of CFP and CFP2 form factors, respectively. The CFP8 interface supports up to 16 different lanes in each direction with nominal signaling rates of 25Gb/s or 26Gb/s per lane, and either NRZ or PAM4 signaling. As the above image shows, CFP8 is approximately the size of a CFP2 optics. This interface has been generally specified to allow for 16 x 25 Gb/s and 8 x 50 Gb/s mode.
400G CFP8 FR8 and LR8 Transceivers with PAM4 Technology
CFP8 PAM4 optics, compliant with IEEE 802.3bs 400GBASE-FR8 & LR8 electrical interface specifications, offers higher receiver bandwidth capacity for reach up to 2km and 10km. The 400GBASE-FR8 & LR8 consumes less than half the power per GB compared to a 100G CFP4 msa solution. CFP8 optics uses LC duplex fiber cables.
The PAM4 stands for pulse amplitude modulation with four levels. Instead of driving the laser to generate one of the two output amplitudes, like NRZ, PAM4 technology generates four different amplitude levels, meaning a network based on PAM-4 can send twice as much data as an NRZ version.
CFP8 400GBASE-SR16 with NRZ Technology
CFP8 400GBASE-SR16 modules focus on non-return to zero (NRZ) signal modulation Scheme. To use an analogy, it means you’re sending signals in the most simple format: “light on” and “light off.” A ‘1” is transmitted as pulse of light whereas ‘0” is no light output. Based on the currently available fast VCSEL light sources only achieving data rates of 25G, sixteen channels must transmit in parallel to create a 400G data stream.
Due to the design simplicity NRZ, the modulation format of choice for all data rates up to 25Gb/s. 400GBASE-SR16 CFP8 transceivers requires 16 fiber pairs to support a total of 400Gb/s with MPO multimode cables.
What’s New With CFP8 Module?
A CFP8 module is a hot pluggable module. Compared with the former modules, the control and status reporting functions between a host and a CFP8 module use non-data control and status reporting pins on the 124-pin connector. There are three Hardware Control pins, two Hardware Alarm pins, and four pins dedicated to the MDIO interface.
Compared to CFP2/CFP4 MSA Optics
CFP8 is the proposed CFP8 from factor by MSA member companies. It maintains the large size of CFP form factor (nearly the size of CFP2, larger than CFP4 MSA modules), but supports 4x100G i.e. 4x the CFP2. Besides this, CFP8 uses less power than the former CFP form factor modules. There are 400GBASE-SR16 for parallel MMF 16x25G NRZ, and 400GBase-FR8/LR8 duplex SMF 8x50G PAM4 WDM.
CFP8 Vs. CDFP
CFP8 is not the first released 16x25G= 400G modules, but CDFP. 400G CDFP module (CD=400 in Latin), is the four generation CFP form factor. Providing a high level of integration, performance and long-term reliability, the CDFP 400 Gbps interface is available in short- and long-body versions. The specifications are compatible for use with direct attach cables, active optical cables, and connectorized optical modules. The CDFP module will support:
5 meter direct attach cables
100 meter multimode fiber
500 meter parallel single‐mode fiber
2 kilometers of duplex single‐mode fiber
The compact modules are well suited for low power applications using copper, VCSEL or silicon photonics based technology. They also targeted InfiniBand EDR hydra cables and 128GFC applications but so far little market segment pick up. Though relatively new with 2014 and 2015 rev releases, CDFP may be short lived due to the smaller more efficient developing set of CFP8 solutions.
Latest Trend With 400 Gb/s in the Industry
While 400 GbE standard is still a few years away, the need for 400 Gb/s interfaces is here today. The CDFP form factor is already being used in proprietary interfaces to interconnect high performance servers and will soon be used to interconnect switch and router chassis. 400G CFP8 FR8/LR8 PAM4 and 400GBASE-SR16 modules had been displayed at OFC 2017. Finisar, Fujitsu, and oclaro, etc MSA member enterprises will introduce low profile 400G modules in a short period.
These proprietary chassis interconnects have always been massively parallel and will continue because they provide the massive bandwidth needed to interconnect equipment so that multiple chassis perform as one big chassis. While 16 lanes is a fairly wide interface, multiple applications need the maximum amount of bandwidth that can only be provided by many parallel lanes running at the fastest speed available. It seem that CFP8 with the same 16 MPO connectors has much potential than CDFP modules. fiber-mart.COM offers a large stock MSA-compliant optical transceivers, including 100G CFP/CFP2/CFP4 MSA, CXP, and QSFP28 transceiver modules. We will keep in path with the informative world, and provide the best services & telecom products to all of our customers.

Will CPAK 100G Transceiver Module Thrive in 2020?

Currently, prices on 100G optical transceivers have been dropping faster than those devices at 40G, which drives customers to migrate to 100G directly instead of turning to the intermediate 40G Ethernet. For example, QSFP-40G-SR-BD ($300) costs higher than QSFP-100G-SR4-S ($269) at fiber-mart.COM. It is the same case as other vendors. QSFP28 and CFP optical transceivers as the main transmission media of 100G network, dominate 100G hardware market.
CPAK, released right after CFP2 100G modules, is the Cisco proprietary form factor, which greatly effect the popularity of this module type. However, in 2017, many third party optical solution vendors like fiber-mart.COM announce to help market to cut down this pricing and save budgets for services providers and operators. So will it thrive in 2017? Today’s article will describe CPAK 100G module in detail attached with the positive analytics of the future of this module type.
CPAK 100GBASE optical module, designed as a smaller, low-cost alternative to CFP transceiver, can be plugged into the CPAK ports of Cisco switches and routers. Besides, CPAK module is the first 100G optical transceivers that use CMOS Photonics technology. This type of 100GBASE modules can work in the following Cisco networking equipment—ASR 9000 Series Router; CRS-X Carrier Routing System; NCS 2000, 4000, and 6000 Series Routers; the Nexus 7000 and 7700 Series Switches, and the Cisco ONS Transport Platform.
CPAK optical transceiver incorporates IEEE standard interfaces available in several different types: 100GBASE-SR10, 100GBASE-ER4L, 100GBASE-LR4, 10x10G-ERL, 10x10GBASE-LR, etc. CPAK transceivers can support 10X10Gbps and 4X25Gbps mode for an aggregate of 100Gbps data rate. It can also operate high-density 10G breakout with MPO-24 cables. CPAK-100G-SR10 is backward compatible with 10GBASE-SR. While CPAK 10X10G-LR is compatible with 10GBASE-LR optics. CPAK LR4 module is compatible with other 100GBASE-LR4 compliant modules such as CFP to support high-bandwidth 100Gb optical links over standard single-mode fiber terminated with SC connectors. Table 1 shows the existing Cisco 100G CPAK Modules.
CPAK Out-Competes CFP/CFP2 for Smaller Footprint & Energy Economy
Once the CPAK transceiver module had been released, it was marked as the smallest 100G footprint providing higher-port density and low power consumption for 100G networks. When comparing with CFP modules, CPAK transceivers are less than one third the size of CFP modules, and dissipate less than one third the power. In a comparison with CFP2 modules, CPAK optical transceivers are 20% smaller and consume 40% less power. In other word, if you use CPAK other than CFP2 modules in your data center switches, it can offer 20% greater port density and front-panel bandwidth.
To sum up, CPAK optical module has smaller footprint than CXP, CFP and CFP2, but bigger than CFP4 and QSFP28 optics. Besides, CPAK 100GBASE-LR4 consumes less than 5.5W, which is less than CFP LR4 (24W), CFP2 LR4 (12W), CFP4 (9W) and CXP LR4 optics (6W) but a little higher than QSFP28 (3.5W). CPAK represents a significant advancement in optical networking, providing dramatic space and power efficiency.
CPAK Vs. QSFP28
QSFP28 optical transceiver is regarded as the most promising 100G optical module due to its smallest form factor and lowest power consumption. For example, Cisco CPAK 100GBASE-LR4 module supports link lengths of up to 10 km over standard single-mode fiber with SC connector with a nominal power consumption of less than 5.5W. QSFP28 100GBASE-LR4 supports up to 10km and consumes nearly 3.5W. CPAK optics obviously don’t have a shot when competing with QSFP28 optical transceivers.
What About the Future of CPAK Modules?
In 2017, 100G technology and relevant optical transceivers gradually become mature. 100G optics like CXP, CFP/CFP2/CFP4, 100G QSFP28 in different standards offers a huge selection for customers. Of which QSFP28 100G modules, thanks to the smallest form factor and reliable performance, maintain large market share in 100G hardware market. In addition, some newly released 100G switches only have QSFP28 ports which in turn promotes the popularity of 100G QSFP28 transceivers.
In such a fierce market environment, it is hard to say whether CPAK will be a hot star in 100G hardware market or not. Anyhow—CPAK module is the first optical transceivers that use CMOS electronic technology. Furthermore, Cisco and several other vendors offer CFP2 to CPAK adapter to support the conversion between CPAK and CFP2 modules. Third party vendors like ourselves are also beginning to supply 100G CPAK modules in 2017. We will see if such industry development will take place!
Summary
CPAK module was launched just days after the certification of CFP2 optics. It is popular for the smaller footprint and energy economy. However, when competing with open source MSA compatible 100G products (CFP/CFP2/CFP4 and QSFP28), CPAK is not the ideal one for 100G high-density connectivity.

An Eye on the Copper Patch Panels

Are you tired of messy network? As the world embraces the increasingly faster data-rate network, IT managers felt great stress over the inability to organize and create a neat rack mounted environment. Patch panels allows the easy management of patch cables and link the cabling distribution areas, which paves the way for a refreshing new approach to a neat optical network.
Patch panels are usually installed on enclosures or racks to provide an easy way to organize connections. Patch panels are available in many different variations. Key design variations include:
Jack module type
Patch panel material type
Unshielded patch panels vs. shielded patch panels
Flat patch panels vs. angled patch panels
Standard patch panels vs. high-density patch panels
Port labeling
Patch panels also allow several cable connectors to be used (LC for fiber and RJ45 for copper). Today’s article will be concentrated on the illustration of the copper patch panels, especially cat5e patch panels and cat6 patch panels.
Copper Patch Panels
The cat5e and cat6 shielded and unshielded patch panels are the commonly used copper patch panels on the market that are suitable for communication socket interconnection between equipment room, working area and crossover terminal connection. This patch panels use the copper patch cord to contains ports to connect and manage incoming and outgoing Ethernet cables. Besides the shielded and unshielded patch panels, copper patch panels include flat and angled types from appearance design.
Flat patch panels help horizontal cable managers to organize and route cables into vertical managers. Angled patch panels are easy for cable termination and can improve patch cord routing. They serve as alternatives for management that need no rack space for horizontal management. The angled design increases rack density, managing high-density applications in one-fourth the area needed for conventional cable management systems. But angled panels are not good for cabinet installation due to the front depth requirements.
Figure 1 shows the angled patch panels that allow cables to be mounted directly into the vertical cable manager. Angled patch panels do not need the additional cable manager to be installed above and below the patch panels, which makes them perfect for high-density areas. Next part will go on to talk about the cat5e and cat6 patch panels individually and specifically.
Cat5e Patch Panels
Cat5e patch panels allows fast and easy installation and cable management to copper Gigabit switches. It is compliant with TIA/EIA 568 industry specifications and features both T-568A and T-568B wiring configurations. Cat5e patch panels are ideal for Ethernet network applications. Figure 2 displays the 24 Ports Cat5e Feed-Through Patch Panel, UTP Unshielded, 1U Rack Mount.
This type of patch panel mount the patch panel using four rack screws. With the module design, feed-through module can easily achieve high density access. No punch down is required as well. Last but not the least, UTP network cable inserts directly, simple operation, to achieve seamless integration between cables.
Cat6 Patch Panels
Cat6 patch panels deliver a steady 250 MHz connection to copper Gigabit switches. Ideal for Ethernet, Fast Ethernet and Copper Gigabit Ethernet (1000Base-T) network applications. Backward compatible with Cat. 3, 4, 5, and 5e cabling. Cat6 patch panels also meet the TIA/EIA 568 industry specification. Each patch panel terminates with standard 110 termination tools on the rear, which allows quick installations. Cat6 patch panels are available in 6-port and 8-port module groupings, in 8, 12, 24, and 48-port sizes.
Conclusion
This article provided some detailed information about copper patch panels. When selecting between the cat5e and cat6 patch panels, you should consider the density supported (24 ports or 48 ports), shielded or unshielded and the compatibility with your racks. fiber-mart.COM provides the cost-effective cat5e and cat6 patch panels in 24 ports, 48 ports per 1U or 2U panel. If you have any interest, please contact us directly.

Compatible Test of Cisco QSFP-40G-SR4 Optics

When purchasing the third party optics, customers usually suffer from the poor quality and compatibility issue, which is the major obstacle of OEM market. Just as a saying goes, what is good is not cheap. However, this article will prove that the cost-effective OEM optics from fiber-mart.COM are well worth the penny.
fiber-mart.COM, as a professional and reliable manufacturer and supplier of compatible optical transceiver, provides a series of self-developed products which can be highly compatible with many major brands, such as Cisco, HPE, Juniper, Brocade, Arista, etc. In this blog, we are going to present a compatibility testing of our hot-selling Cisco compatible QSFP-40G-SR4 optics on Cisco Nexus 9396PX.
Before we come to the major part, let’s have a brief overview of the 40G QSFP-40G-SR4 and the Cisco Nexus 9396PX switch. Cisco QSFP-40G-SR4 Compatible 40GBASE-SR4 QSFP+ transceiver is a short-range transceiver for 40 Gigabit Ethernet. It supports link lengths of 100m and 150m on laser-optimized OM3 and OM4 multimode fiber, respectively. Cisco QSFP-40G-SR4 enables high bandwidth 40G optical links over 12-fiber parallel fiber terminated with MPO/MTP multifiber connectors, which is also optimized to guarantee interoperability with any IEEE 40GBase-SR4 and 10GBase-SR.
Our Cisco compatible QSFP-40G-SR4 optics is fully tested with most Cisco platforms to ensure compatibility and compliance. Thus, it can be supported on a wide range of Cisco equipment, such as Cisco ASR 9000 series, Nexus 9000 series, Nexus 6000 series, and so on.
Cisco Nexus 9396PX Switch
Cisco Nexus 9396PX belongs to the Cisco Nexus 9000 series. It delivers a comprehensive line-rate layer 2 and layer 3 featuring in a two-rack-unit form factor. It can support 1/10/40 Gbps of switching capacity with forty-eight 1/10 Gigabit Ethernet SFP+ port and twelve 40 GE QSFP+ nonblocking ports. The main advantage of this switch is that you can reuse the existing 10 Gigabit Ethernet multimode cabling for 40 Gigabit Ethernet by connecting the 40Gb bidirectional transceiver. Figure 1 shows the Cisco Nexus 9396PX switch.
The Testing Procedure of the Cisco QSFP-40G-SR4 on Cisco Nexus 9396PX Switch
In fiber-mart.COM’s test center, we care of every detail from staff to facilities to ensure our customers to receive the optics with superior quality. Just take our hot-selling Cisco QSFP-40G-SR4 optics as an example, the procedure can be quite simple that can be concluded in three steps:
1. Plug the Cisco QSFP-40G-SR4 compatible QSFP+ into the 40-Gbps ports of the Nexus 9396PX
2. Plug the cleaned MTP patch cord into the optical ports of the transceivers
3. View the state of LED light and more information in the CLI.
Besides the above procedures, we also have a testing demo of QSFP-40G-SR4 Cisco compatible module testing on Nexus 9396PX.
Conclusion
At the end of the article, you must know the reason why fiber-mart.COM is the number one choice of compatible optical transceivers. Not only the Cisco QSFP-40G-SR4 optics, but other reliable compatible fiber optic transceivers from fiber-mart.COM are the best-seller products over the past years. If you are the major brand user like Cisco, HPE or Juniper, and want to cut down your budget this time, you might want to have a look at our cost-effective compatible fiber optic transceiver.

An Eye on the Copper Patch Panels

by http://www.fiber-mart.com

Are you tired of messy network? As the world embraces the increasingly faster data-rate network, IT managers felt great stress over the inability to organize and create a neat rack mounted environment. Patch panels allows the easy management of patch cables and link the cabling distribution areas, which paves the way for a refreshing new approach to a neat optical network.
Patch panels are usually installed on enclosures or racks to provide an easy way to organize connections. Patch panels are available in many different variations. Key design variations include:
Jack module type
Patch panel material type
Unshielded patch panels vs. shielded patch panels
Flat patch panels vs. angled patch panels
Standard patch panels vs. high-density patch panels
Port labeling
Patch panels also allow several cable connectors to be used (LC for fiber and RJ45 for copper). Today’s article will be concentrated on the illustration of the copper patch panels, especially cat5e patch panels and cat6 patch panels.
Copper Patch Panels
The cat5e and cat6 shielded and unshielded patch panels are the commonly used copper patch panels on the market that are suitable for communication socket interconnection between equipment room, working area and crossover terminal connection. This patch panels use the copper patch cord to contains ports to connect and manage incoming and outgoing Ethernet cables. Besides the shielded and unshielded patch panels, copper patch panels include flat and angled types from appearance design.
Flat patch panels help horizontal cable managers to organize and route cables into vertical managers. Angled patch panels are easy for cable termination and can improve patch cord routing. They serve as alternatives for management that need no rack space for horizontal management. The angled design increases rack density, managing high-density applications in one-fourth the area needed for conventional cable management systems. But angled panels are not good for cabinet installation due to the front depth requirements.
Figure 1 shows the angled patch panels that allow cables to be mounted directly into the vertical cable manager. Angled patch panels do not need the additional cable manager to be installed above and below the patch panels, which makes them perfect for high-density areas. Next part will go on to talk about the cat5e and cat6 patch panels individually and specifically.
Cat5e Patch Panels
Cat5e patch panels allows fast and easy installation and cable management to copper Gigabit switches. It is compliant with TIA/EIA 568 industry specifications and features both T-568A and T-568B wiring configurations. Cat5e patch panels are ideal for Ethernet network applications. Figure 2 displays the 24 Ports Cat5e Feed-Through Patch Panel, UTP Unshielded, 1U Rack Mount.
This type of patch panel mount the patch panel using four rack screws. With the module design, feed-through module can easily achieve high density access. No punch down is required as well. Last but not the least, UTP network cable inserts directly, simple operation, to achieve seamless integration between cables.
Cat6 Patch Panels
Cat6 patch panels deliver a steady 250 MHz connection to copper Gigabit switches. Ideal for Ethernet, Fast Ethernet and Copper Gigabit Ethernet (1000Base-T) network applications. Backward compatible with Cat. 3, 4, 5, and 5e cabling. Cat6 patch panels also meet the TIA/EIA 568 industry specification. Each patch panel terminates with standard 110 termination tools on the rear, which allows quick installations. Cat6 patch panels are available in 6-port and 8-port module groupings, in 8, 12, 24, and 48-port sizes.
Conclusion
This article provided some detailed information about copper patch panels. When selecting between the cat5e and cat6 patch panels, you should consider the density supported (24 ports or 48 ports), shielded or unshielded and the compatibility with your racks. fiber-mart.COM provides the cost-effective cat5e and cat6 patch panels in 24 ports, 48 ports per 1U or 2U panel. If you have any interest, please contact us directly.

Will CPAK 100G Transceiver Module Thrive in 2020?

by http://www.fiber-mart.com

Currently, prices on 100G optical transceivers have been dropping faster than those devices at 40G, which drives customers to migrate to 100G directly instead of turning to the intermediate 40G Ethernet. For example, QSFP-40G-SR-BD ($300) costs higher than QSFP-100G-SR4-S ($269) at fiber-mart.COM. It is the same case as other vendors. QSFP28 and CFP optical transceivers as the main transmission media of 100G network, dominate 100G hardware market.
CPAK, released right after CFP2 100G modules, is the Cisco proprietary form factor, which greatly effect the popularity of this module type. However, in 2017, many third party optical solution vendors like fiber-mart.COM announce to help market to cut down this pricing and save budgets for services providers and operators. So will it thrive in 2017? Today’s article will describe CPAK 100G module in detail attached with the positive analytics of the future of this module type.
CPAK 100GBASE optical module, designed as a smaller, low-cost alternative to CFP transceiver, can be plugged into the CPAK ports of Cisco switches and routers. Besides, CPAK module is the first 100G optical transceivers that use CMOS Photonics technology. This type of 100GBASE modules can work in the following Cisco networking equipment—ASR 9000 Series Router; CRS-X Carrier Routing System; NCS 2000, 4000, and 6000 Series Routers; the Nexus 7000 and 7700 Series Switches, and the Cisco ONS Transport Platform.
CPAK optical transceiver incorporates IEEE standard interfaces available in several different types: 100GBASE-SR10, 100GBASE-ER4L, 100GBASE-LR4, 10x10G-ERL, 10x10GBASE-LR, etc. CPAK transceivers can support 10X10Gbps and 4X25Gbps mode for an aggregate of 100Gbps data rate. It can also operate high-density 10G breakout with MPO-24 cables. CPAK-100G-SR10 is backward compatible with 10GBASE-SR. While CPAK 10X10G-LR is compatible with 10GBASE-LR optics. CPAK LR4 module is compatible with other 100GBASE-LR4 compliant modules such as CFP to support high-bandwidth 100Gb optical links over standard single-mode fiber terminated with SC connectors. Table 1 shows the existing Cisco 100G CPAK Modules.
CPAK Out-Competes CFP/CFP2 for Smaller Footprint & Energy Economy
Once the CPAK transceiver module had been released, it was marked as the smallest 100G footprint providing higher-port density and low power consumption for 100G networks. When comparing with CFP modules, CPAK transceivers are less than one third the size of CFP modules, and dissipate less than one third the power. In a comparison with CFP2 modules, CPAK optical transceivers are 20% smaller and consume 40% less power. In other word, if you use CPAK other than CFP2 modules in your data center switches, it can offer 20% greater port density and front-panel bandwidth.
To sum up, CPAK optical module has smaller footprint than CXP, CFP and CFP2, but bigger than CFP4 and QSFP28 optics. Besides, CPAK 100GBASE-LR4 consumes less than 5.5W, which is less than CFP LR4 (24W), CFP2 LR4 (12W), CFP4 (9W) and CXP LR4 optics (6W) but a little higher than QSFP28 (3.5W). CPAK represents a significant advancement in optical networking, providing dramatic space and power efficiency.
CPAK Vs. QSFP28
QSFP28 optical transceiver is regarded as the most promising 100G optical module due to its smallest form factor and lowest power consumption. For example, Cisco CPAK 100GBASE-LR4 module supports link lengths of up to 10 km over standard single-mode fiber with SC connector with a nominal power consumption of less than 5.5W. QSFP28 100GBASE-LR4 supports up to 10km and consumes nearly 3.5W. CPAK optics obviously don’t have a shot when competing with QSFP28 optical transceivers.
What About the Future of CPAK Modules?
In 2017, 100G technology and relevant optical transceivers gradually become mature. 100G optics like CXP, CFP/CFP2/CFP4, 100G QSFP28 in different standards offers a huge selection for customers. Of which QSFP28 100G modules, thanks to the smallest form factor and reliable performance, maintain large market share in 100G hardware market. In addition, some newly released 100G switches only have QSFP28 ports which in turn promotes the popularity of 100G QSFP28 transceivers.
In such a fierce market environment, it is hard to say whether CPAK will be a hot star in 100G hardware market or not. Anyhow—CPAK module is the first optical transceivers that use CMOS electronic technology. Furthermore, Cisco and several other vendors offer CFP2 to CPAK adapter to support the conversion between CPAK and CFP2 modules. Third party vendors like ourselves are also beginning to supply 100G CPAK modules in 2017. We will see if such industry development will take place!
Summary
CPAK module was launched just days after the certification of CFP2 optics. It is popular for the smaller footprint and energy economy. However, when competing with open source MSA compatible 100G products (CFP/CFP2/CFP4 and QSFP28), CPAK is not the ideal one for 100G high-density connectivity.

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Introduction to Horizontal and Vertical Cable Manager

For many IT manager or data center professionals, one of the most difficult task is to keep cables in proper order. Image that you walk into a sever room to troubleshoot cables because of the bad cable management, you see the cable here, cable there, cable everywhere. Can you walking through this without crying?
Now that you have looked at the horrible cable management, it is time for you to do something to avoid joining the terrible cable management hall.
From the above image, we can see that there are bunches of cables in one sever room, which includes power cables, network cables, and in some cases, keyboard or mouse cables. In this situation, proper rack cable management is absolutely essential. Without it, you will need to trace out every cable in the rack anytime, this, of course, can be very time consuming and difficult.
Fortunately, there are many excellent products available on the market, such as cable manager, wire duct, patch panel, cable ties and so on, which can help make cable management in rack environments much faster, easier and more effective. Whether you handle running cables for a massive corporate data center or for a small business, learning more about cable management can be very helpful. This article will have a brief introduction to the vertical and horizontal cable managers.
Vertical & Horizontal Cable Manager
Good cable management is essential. When installing cables in a sever rack, you will undoubtedly have to run them both vertically and horizontally. The best solution for this cabling is to run all the cables horizontally from the sever directly to the vertical cable management rack. In this case, you would need the cable managers to hold the cables smugly and safely. This vertical and horizontal cable manager provides plenty of room for all the cables.
Vertical cable manager just as seen in the below image, utilizes the additional space to manage the slack from patch cords, and make sure that they can easily route the largest cable diameter in your plan. For static environments, you can consider installing another vertical cable manager behind the racks, which does not block access to components in the space between the racks. Vertical racks can be also installed under a desk or against a wall and accommodate networking equipment up to 4 RU.
Horizontal cable managers allow neat and proper routing of the patch cables from equipment in racks and protect cables from damage. If you are using flat-faced patch panels or network switches that cable from above or below, horizontal cable manager will complete the support pathway for patch cords between the cabling section and the exact connection point (port) on the patch panel or switch. Alternately, horizontal management can be used to create rack-to-rack pathways for patch cords. The following image shows the 2u horizontal cable manager panel.
Select a style of horizontal cable management that complements the cabling section (vertical manager). Generally, it is good practice to plan 1U of horizontal cable management for every 2U of connectivity. Cable fill should equal at minimum, half of the ports supported by the cable manager. This method assumes that patch cords enter from both sides of the rack. Capacity should equal port density when cables enter from one side of the rack only.
In some case, vertical cable manager and horizontal cable manager are often used together. The vertical cable manager guides cables to the floor and horizontal cable management draws away from equipment.
fiber-mart.COM Cable Manager
fiber-mart.COM cable management provides an engineered solution for managing high-density cabling applications, delivering increased performance to match the demands of data center applications. Use fiber-mart.COM Vertical and Horizontal Cable Managers on the sides of racks to manage premise cables, patch cords and jumper cords.
Features include:
Four styles: Finger duct, D-rings, Brushed, Telephone Line
Structure: Single-sided, Double-sided
Available in a variety of heights, depths and widths (rack up to 45 U)
Material: plastic, metal, semimetal
Vertical manager door opens to right or left with single knob; horizontal manager has snap-on cover
Rigid vertical manager trough minimizes movement when installed on the end of a row or racks; full rectangular base supports heavy cable bundles
Vertical cable managers feature panels that support various optional cable management accessories to divide the interior space and manage cable slack
The panel on dual-sided vertical managers are movable and allow for flexibility in the volume of cable management space
Wide variety of accessories include cable ties, cable management rings, cable lacing bars, J-hook and wire loom.
Conclusion
If you have picked the right rack cable manager (whether the vertical cable manager or the horizontal cable manager), the next important thing you should do is make sure you make a good preparation before deploying. Plan out every detail of the installation will help to ensure the cable management activities perform as quickly and easily as possible.