40G: A New Era for Ethernet

Ethernet: From 3Mbps to 40Gbps

Ethernet from 3Mbps to the current highest standard IEEE 802.3ba supports 40/100G speed, and the growth space is calculated by tens of thousands. Let’s ignore the various things in this process for the time being, and let’s take a look at the 40G network that has sprung up today. Now, 40G products have begun mass production, and the first users have begun to test these products, but a large number of deployments have not yet begun. 40G Ethernet will have far-reaching significance for users now and in the near future.

Ethernet has passed through various network transmission technologies all the way, and has not only become the mainstream but also has made great strides in speed. Watching the movies of the 1970s now, the technology mentioned in it is really unsatisfactory, but there are many initials of technology in it. Ethernet is among them. Although it was only 3Mbps when it was born, this speed seems like a snail crawling now, but at the time, although “this data transfer speed is slower than the computer accessing the main memory, it is enough”. Bob Metcalfe and other employees at Xerox’s Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) recalled.

From 3Mbps up to now, the highest standard IEEE 802.3ba supports 40/100G speed, and the growth space is calculated by tens of thousands. Let’s ignore the various things in this process for the time being, and let’s take a look at the 40G network that has sprung up today. Now, 40G products have begun mass production, and the first users have begun to test these products, but a large number of deployments have not yet begun. 40G Ethernet will have far-reaching significance for users now and in the near future. When the 10G Ethernet network card is integrated into the server, this timetable has been pulled to the front with infinite urgency. From the equipment point of view, high-density 40GE single boards (at least 20*40GE) for core switches have become the general trend, especially in the field of data center switches, where the 40GE era has arrived.

40G Ethernet Optical Module

The following list the most popular 40G transceivers:

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40GBASE-SR4 optical module: This module adopts an MPO connector, the working wavelength is 850nm, and the transmission distance can reach up to 100m when used with OM3 multimode fiber; when used with OM4 multimode fiber, the transmission distance can reach 150m. It is mainly used for Enables short-distance connections between network devices in the data center. 40G QSFP+ SR4 optical module can not only use MPO fiber jumper to realize the connection between two 40G network devices but also can be used with MPO-LC fiber branch jumper to realize the connection between 40G network equipment and 10G network equipment.

40GBASE-eSR4 optical module: This module adopts an MPO connector, the working wavelength is 850nm, and the transmission distance can reach up to 300m when used with OM3 multimode fiber; when used with OM4 multimode fiber, the transmission distance can reach 400m. It is mainly used for Enables short-distance connections between network devices in the data center.

40GBASE-PSM4 optical module: This module adopts an MPO connector, the working wavelength is 1310nm, and the transmission distance can be up to 2/10km when used with single-mode fiber OS2.

40GBASE-LR4 optical module: The module adopts the QSFP+ package, the working wavelength is 1271/1291/1311/1331nm, and the transmission distance can be up to 10km when used with single-mode fiber OS2. It is mainly used to realize the long-distance connections between data center network devices.

40GBASE-ER4 optical module: The module adopts QSFP+ package, the working wavelength is 1271/1291/1311/1331nm, and the transmission distance can be up to 40km when used with single-mode fiber OS2. It is mainly used to realize the medium-distance connection between data center network devices.