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Choosing a suitable fiber optic transceiver is not easy. It requires your due diligence performing and acquainting with which transceiver works best in different applications. Also, you should be aware of the basic facilities requirements for your application to work optimally. Only in this way can you select the most cost-efficient and suitable transceiver. Here are some tips for your reference.
1. Half-Duplex or Full-Duplex
Some chips are only capable of supporting the half-duplex environment. Selecting the full-duplex may cause significant loss and conflict. Similarly, if the chip is allowed to use full-duplex configuration, choosing the half-duplex transceiver will have an exactly opposite effect. Thus, you have to select the one by the chips within your device.
2. Single Mode or Multimode
Single mode fiber optic cable has a small diametral core that allows only one mode of light to spread. However, the multimode fiber will allow each signal to travel on more than one pathway at a time. The most important thing to consider is the distance requirement. Within a data center, it's typical to use multimode which can get you 300-400 meters. If you have very long runs or are connecting over longer distance, single mode can get you 10km, 40km, 80km, and even farther - you just need to use the appropriate optic for the distance required. Below pictures are the two modes.
Cisco compatible SFP+ 10G SR multimode SFP transceiver.
Cisco compatible SFP-10GE-LR Single mode SFP transceiver.
3. Choosing Safety Device to Prevent Packet Loss
Some vendors offer a safety device which has a maximum guarantee of safety and loss prevention. But other manufacturers may skip the safety device to reduce costs, which is not preferable and can lead to an inferior design. So in some cases, it is better to increase costs to select a safety device to prevent packet loss than to remove the device to save money.
4. Taking Optical Transceiver Connection Test
Fiber optic transceiver may need a connection test as not all of them can pass the test. If the optic transceiver has a sustained transfer times, the test may produce loss. Tests for such kind of transceivers will be failed. If these transceivers are still utilized in the design, it will bring negative effects for the company when the devices fail and crash time and again.
5. Considering Temperature Adaptability
Fiber optic transceivers should be operated properly, otherwise, it can produce high temperatures and the transceivers may break down prematurely. So it’s important to know how well a transceiver can adapt to heat. The higher the threshold for your device, the more flexible the device will be in various applications. Temperature adaptability is one of the properties that need to be considered for best performance.
6. Knowing the Construction of the Fiber
There are four basic types of internal construction. Choosing the one which works best for your application is meaningful. The first and most common type of construction is the distribution or tight pack. The second type is the breakout or fanout design, which offers every buffered fiber its own individual jacket. It is a more durable design. The third type is zip cord or assembly. For this construction, one or two buffered fibers in individual jackets should be considered. The fourth type is loose tube. Non-buffered fibers are threaded through a tube along with a water repellent gel compound. The last but not the least, the level of flame resistance should be examined. General, special and high are the three different grades. The level of flame resistance can be measured through a variety of tests including those determining smoke density values and flame propagation.
Conclusion
In all, it is not easy to select the most suitable fiber transceiver. What needs to be considered includes the internal construction, fiber mode, fiber cable jackets, and the level of flame resistance, etc. The proper type of fiber transceiver could be found after due diligence was completed.