Cisco Cisco DWDM Transceiver Modules White Paper

 

 

© 2014 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. This document is Cisco Public Information. 

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The Cisco QSFP BiDi transceiver has two 20-Gbps channels, each transmitted and received simultaneously over 

two wavelengths on a single MMF strand. The result is an aggregated duplex 40-Gbps link over a MMF duplex LC-

terminated fiber cable. The connection can reach 100 meters on OM3 MMF or 150 meters on OM4 MMF, which is 

the same as 40-Gbps SR4. Figure 3 shows the technology concept of the Cisco QSFP BiDi transceiver. 

Most Cisco switching and routing products that support 40 Gigabit Ethernet interfaces support the Cisco QSFP 

BiDi transceiver. For a complete list of supporting products, refer to the Cisco 40 Gigabit Optical Transceiver 

product page at 

. 

Figure 3.    Concept of Cisco QSFP BiDi Transceiver 

 

Savings with Cisco QSFP BiDi When Migrating from 10 Gbps to 40 Gbps 

This section presents two case studies that demonstrate the savings achieved by using Cisco QSFP BiDi 

technology for 40-Gbps connectivity in data center networks. The case studies show how Cisco QSFP BiDi 

technology can remove the cost barriers for migrating and expanding the existing 10-Gbps cabling footprint to 40-

Gbps infrastructure to provide the higher data rate in the data center network. 

In an unstructured cabling system, devices are connected directly with fiber cables. This direct-attachment design 

can be used to connect devices within short distances in a data center network. As shown in Figure 4, direct 

connection between two 40-Gbps devices can be provided by MMF cables with either QSFP SR4 or QSFP BiDi 

transceivers at two ends. 

Figure 4.    Direct 40-Gbps Connections