The step for higher capacity and throughput in data centers has never stopped and the 100G/120G Ethernet network has been widely applied. However, it is not an easy job to upgrade existing 10G/40G equipment to meet the requirement of 100G/120G Ethernet network. Is there any cabling solution for smooth migration from 10G/40G to 100G/120G? Of course, there is. This article will take multimode 100G CFP/120G CXP transceiver for example and introduce some cabling solutions to you.
We know that 100G CFP/120G CXP transceiver is designed with 24 fiber MTP/MPO connector interface (10 Tx and 10 Rx with each lane providing 10Gbps, leaving 4 channels unused). Therefore, it is usually used with 24 fiber MTP/MPO cable. The following figure shows that two 100G CFP/120G CXP transceivers are separately plugged into 100G port on two 100G switches. And then the two 100G CFP/120G CXP transceivers can be directly connected by a 24 fiber MTP/MPO trunk cable. This the simplest cabling solution for 100G/120G to 100G/120G connectivity.
By using the 24 fiber MPO to 12 LC duplex harness cable, the 100G/120G to 10G connection can be achieved. However, for the optical link completed by 100G CFP transceiver and ten SFP+ transceivers, there are two LC duplex legs are not used; for 120G to 10G connection, one 120G CXP transceiver and twelve 10G SFP+ transceivers are connected which realize 100% fiber utilization. In this cabling solution, three 10G switch may be needed to satisfied the requirement of at least twelve 10G SFP+ ports. As the following figures shows, 100G CFP/120G CXP transceiver is plugged into 100G port on 100G switch on one side, while ten or twelve 10G SFP+ transceivers are plugged into 10G ports on 10G switches on the other side. Then the 100G CFP/120G CXP transceiver and ten or twelve 10G SFP+ transceivers can be connected by the 24 fiber MPO to 12 LC duplex harness cable. This is also the simplest cabling solution for 100G/120G to 10G connectivity.
With the use of MTP/MPO fiber optic patch panel, 100G to 10G connection can also be reachable. From the figure below we can see that one end of 24 fiber MTP/MPO trunk cable is plugged into 100G CFP transceiver on the 100G switch, while the other end is plugged into MTP ports on the rear of the MTP/MPO fiber optic patch panel. Then the one end of ten LC duplex patch cables are plugged into the LC ports on the front of the MTP/MPO fiber optic patch panel and the other end of cables are connected with ten 10G SFP+ transceivers which are plugged into 10G ports on 10G switches. This cabling solution offers ultimate flexibility in allowing connectivity to any row, rack or shelf. In addition, the MTP/MPO fiber optic patch panel can support up to eight groups of this 100G to 10x10G transmission.
There is a hybrid link for 120G CXP transceiver, 40G QSFP+ transceiver and 10G SFP+ transceiver. We can use the 1×3 MTP/MPO conversion harness cable to connect 120G CXP transceiver on 100G switch and three 40G QSFP+ transceivers on 40G switches. Then another three 40G QSFP+ transceivers on the 40G switches can be connected with the twelve 10G SFP+ transceivers on 10G switches by three 12fiber MTP-LC fanout cables.
As 100G/120G Ethernet network has becomes more and more popular, various types of 100G CFP/120G CXP transceivers are available on the market. This article has illustrated some cabling solutions for migration from 10G/40G to 100G/120G and it is not difficult to find that MTP components are commonly used in these cabling solutions. I hope after reading this article, you can learn something useful.