100G QSFP28 Optical Transceiver: A high-speed engine driving future data communications

In today's rapidly developing information technology era, the bandwidth requirements of data communication networks continue to rise. As a core component for high-speed data transmission, 100G QSFP28 (Quad Small Form-factor Pluggable Plus 28) optical modules are gradually becoming the preferred solution in data centers, telecommunications networks, and high-performance computing environments.

The 100G QSFP28 Optical Transceiver is a high-speed interface designed for data communication and network applications. The "QSFP" in its name stands for quad-channel small form-factor pluggable, and the "28" refers to the maximum transmission rate of each channel reaching 28Gbps. This design enables the QSFP28 optical module to provide a total transmission rate of up to 100Gbps in a four-channel parallel manner. This feature enables it to excel in supporting the rapid exchange of large amounts of data over short and long distances, and is widely used in various environments with high bandwidth requirements.

From a technical perspective, the standards for 100G QSFP28 Optical Transceivers are mainly defined by two organizations: IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) and Multi-Source Agreement (MSA). IEEE defines specifications such as QSFP28 SR4, QSFP28 LR4, and QSFP28 ER4, where "SR" stands for short distance (100 meters), "LR" stands for long distance (10 kilometers), and "ER" stands for extended distance (40 kilometers). These optical modules not only meet the needs of different transmission distances, but also achieve efficient and stable data transmission by adopting advanced laser technologies such as VCSEL, FP, DFB, DML, and EML.

In practical applications, QSFP28 optical modules are favored for their compact size, low power consumption, and wide compatibility. They not only support Ethernet protocols, but are also suitable for high-performance computing environments such as InfiniBand. Within the data center, QSFP28 optical modules are widely used for high-speed interconnection between switches, routers, and servers, effectively improving the data processing capabilities of cloud computing, storage, and virtualization environments. In addition, they are also suitable for enterprise networks, telecommunications networks, and service provider networks, providing strong support for high-speed data transmission and network aggregation.

With the continuous expansion of data center scale and the extension of transmission distance, the types of QSFP28 optical modules are also constantly enriched. In addition to the common SR4, LR4 and ER4, MSA has also launched mid-end connection solutions such as QSFP28 PSM4 and CWDM4. These new optical modules not only meet the needs of long-distance transmission, but also pay more attention to cost-effectiveness and competitiveness. For example, for a transmission distance of 2 kilometers, the QSFP28 CWDM4 solution has a more cost advantage than LR4 because it only uses two single-mode optical fibers for bidirectional transmission.

The 100G QSFP28 optical module also supports interconnection with optical modules of other rates. For example, through branching optical fiber lines, the 100G QSFP28 module can be connected with 25G or 10G optical modules to form a flexible and scalable network architecture. This compatibility not only simplifies the network design and deployment process, but also reduces the cost of network upgrades and maintenance.