Nowadays, CWDM technology is very popularly used as a easy and economical way to extend the network capacity by carrying several signals with different wavelengths through a signal fiber. If your network capacity is not enough for your daily use, deploying a CWDM system is an ideal choice for you. As the CWDM Mux Demux should be finally linked with the switches in a completed CWDM system, the fiber patch cable and 10G CWDM SFP+ transceiver are required to finish the whole CWDM link. Hence, this paper will mainly introduce the CWDM Mux Demux and choose the right CWDM SFP+ transceivers for the CWDM Mux Demux, which may be helpful for you to fast build a CWDM system.
CWDM Mux Demux–Key Component for CWDM System
CWDM Mux Demux is a key component for CWDM system, which should work in pairs. As an optical module, it can act as a multiplexer or demultiplexer at either end of the fiber cable. This kind of optical Mux Demux is much easier to use than the DWDM Mux Demux, but can not support the network as long as that of the DWDM Mux Demux. In general, it can offers several kinds of wavelengths, usually from 1270nm to 1610nm (20nm spacing), to support the signal transmission at lengths up to 80 km. Meanwhile, the CWDM Mux Demux can be designed with 4 channels, 8 channels, 9 channels, 16 channels and 18 channels for transmitting different amount of signals. To better know how does this kind of WDM Mux work, the following figure offers a reliable 4 channel CWDM Mux Demux duplex transmission design.
From the figure above, we can learn that two CWDM Mux Demux are connected by a length of duplex patch cable, and they are designed with four channels multiplexing the 1470nm, 1490nm, 1510nm and 1530nm over the same fiber. To complete the transmission link, four pairs of CWDM SFP+ transceivers with 1470nm, 1490nm, 1510nm and 1530nm TX and RX should be separately inserted into the ports of these two WDM Mux Demux. When the CWDM system works, the four different signals from the left to the right will be multiplexed in the CWDM Mux, transmitted over the duplex fiber and demultiplexed in the CWDM Demux, and vice versa for the signals from the right to the left.
How to Choose the CWDM SFP+ Transceivers for CWDM Mux Demux?
As mentioned above, the CWDM SFP+ transceivers are required for building a CWDM system which should be correctly inserted into the SFP+ ports of the CWDM Mux Demux. Thereby, here offers three factors that should be taken into consideration when choosing the CWDM SFP+ transceivers for the CWDM Mux Demux.
The first factor is the working wavelengths of the CWDM SFP+ transceivers. In order to ensure the CWDM system performance, the SFP+ transceiver working wavelengths should be the same to the SFP+ ports of the CWDM Mux Demux. Just like the first figure, when the working wavelengths of the first pair of CWDM SFP+ transceivers are 1470 nm, the first ports of the two CWDM Mux Demux should be also 1470 nm, so that the signal with 1470 nm can be successfully transmitted in the CWDM system. As the CWDM working wavelengths are available from 1270 nm to 1610 nm and the channel spacing is 20 nm, there are 18 kinds of working wavelengths for CWDM SFP+ transceivers, as shown in the following figure.
The second factor is the compatibility of the CWDM SFP+ transceivers. As the third party transceivers are more cost effective than the original one, the former kinds are always the choices for most users. However, the users are always unassured about the quality and compatibility of the third party transceivers for their low price. Here FS.COM is recommendable who offers the CWDM SFP+ transceivers fully tested on most famous original brand switches like Cisco, Brocade, Juniper and Arista. FS.COM CWDM SFP+ transceivers are less expensive but can perform as well as the original branded transceivers, without the compatible issue.
The third factor is the transmission distance the CWDM SFP+ transceivers can support. Although the CWDM system can not support the transmission as long as the DWDM one, it still can reach the lengths 80 km. At present, 10G CWDM SFP+ transceiver can be available at lengths of 20km, 40km, 60km, 80km or even longer on the market. Hence, you can also choose the CWDM SFP+ transceivers according to the transmission distance you system needs.
Conclusion
Building a CWDM system for carrying more data signals is a good choice if the existing network has insufficient capacity. To ensure the performance of the whole CWDM link, it is necessasry to choose the right CWDM SFP+ transceivers for the CWDM Mux Demux. From this paper, it can be concluded that there are mainly three factors, the working wavelength, the compatible issue and the transmission distance the CWDM SFP+ supports, should be taken into account when making the decision about which kind of CWDM SFP+ should be selected for the CWDM Mux Demux.