Cisco Cisco DWDM Transceiver Modules White Paper

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Cisco QSFP BiDi Monitor Module

The Cisco QSFP BiDi Monitor module complements the Cisco QSFP BiDi to allow network monitoring equipment

to tap into the 40-Gbps single-fiber traffic for processing and analysis. The transmitter/laser is removed so there is

no interference with the existing 20-Gbps transmit signal already in the single fiber. The Cisco QSFP BiDi Monitor

works with any network monitoring hardware, thereby allowing the customer the flexibility to choose the network

monitoring equipment vendor.

If the customer prefers to maintain an all Cisco solution in their Cisco Nexus network, Cisco offers the Cisco Nexus

Data Broker, a dedicated piece of hardware that integrates with one or more OpenFlow-enabled Cisco Nexus

switches. The traffic is tapped into this bank of switches in the same manner as in a traditional matrix network.

However, with Cisco Nexus Data Broker, you can interconnect these Cisco Nexus switches to build a scalable

tap/Switched Port Analyzer (SPAN) aggregation infrastructure.

QSFP BiDi Reach with Tap

Like all optical links, the QSFP BiDi link distance is limited by the insertion loss in the optical path. Consider a

typical case in which the QSFP BiDi link contains multiple patch panels and a passive optical tap. Table 1 shows

the allowable connector loss for links that contain a BiDi passive optical tap.

Table 1.

Allowable Connector Loss for BiDi Passive Optical Tap

Allowable Connector Loss

Distance (m)

OM3

OM4

1.5

1.0

1.2

1.0

The following assumptions apply:

1. The tap insertion loss is 3.5 dB.

2. Ethernet operation requires bit error rate (BER) of 10

-12

3. Fiber loss at maximum distance is 0.4 dB.

4. All fiber and transceiver penalties are taken into account.

For more information on both the Cisco QSFP BiDi Monitor and the Cisco QSFP BiDi, visit

For more information on the Cisco Nexus Data Broker, visit