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Types of transceiver modules and network cables....................................................................................6
Data rate...............................................................................................................................................7
The transceivers listed in this document represent the currently available and End of Sale products at the
time of this publication. Not all transceiver products are supported in every switch available from Aruba.
Consult the QuickSpecs for the applicable switch product for a list of supported transceiver products.
QuickSpecs can be found at http://www.hpe.com/networking/resourcender
Conventions
This section describes the conventions used in the documentation.
Note on product images
NOTE: Product images in this guide may dier from actual product.
Port numbering in examples
The port numbers in this document are for illustration only and might be unavailable on your device.
Symbols
Table 1: Symbols
ConventionDescription
An alert that calls attention to important information that if not
understood or followed can result in personal injury.
An alert that calls attention to important information that if not
understood or followed can result in data loss, data corruption, or
damage to hardware or software.
An alert that calls attention to essential information.
NOTE:An alert that contains additional or supplementary information.
An alert that provides helpful information.
Chapter 1 Overview5
Types of transceiver modules and network cables
Table 2: Types of transceiver modules and network cables
SFP+ DAC (copper cable for
interconnecting devices)
Small form-factor pluggable (SFP)
module (transceiver)
100-Megabit SFP optical
transceiver module
N/A
-
Optical cable permanently
attached
N/A
LC 2-strand
Table Continued
6ArubaOS-Switch and ArubaOS-CX Transceiver Guide
Transceiver module typeConnector head
Gigabit SFP optical transceiver
module
1G and 10G SFP copper
transceiver module
NOTE:
•The available transceiver modules and network cables vary by device models and are subject
to change over time. For the most up-to-date list of transceiver modules and network cables,
contact your Aruba sales representative or technical support engineer.
•For information about the transceiver modules and network cables available for each device
model, see the Datasheets or QuickSpecs for the applicable switch product. Refer to the
tables within this guide for the specic switch model.
RJ-45
(1G requires Cat5e. 10G requires
Cat6A for maximum supported
distances.)
Data rate
Data rate is the number of bits transmitted per second. The unit of measure for data rate is Megabits per
second (Mbps) or Gigabits per second (Gbps). Optical transceiver modules available for products provide the
following levels of data rates:
•100 Gbps
•40 Gbps
•25 Gbps
•10 Gbps
•1000 Mbps (also known as Gigabit)
•100 Mbps
Transmission distance
The transmission distance of optical transceiver modules is divided into short and long-range types. A
distance of 2 km (1.24 miles) and below is considered a short-range type. A distance of 10 km (6.21 miles) is
considered a long-range type. Transmission distances provided by optical transceiver modules are limited by
certain loss and dispersion suered during the transmission of ber signals over bers.
•Loss is the optical energy loss due to the absorption, dispersion, and leakage over the media when light
travels through optical bers. This loss increases in direct ratio to transmission distance.
•Dispersion occurs mainly because light waves of dierent wavelengths travel at dierent rates over the
same medium. This causes dierent wave components of optical signals to reach the receiving end early
or late as the transmission distance increases causing impulse broadening. Impulse broadening makes
the signal values indistinguishable (data loss). Dierent wavelengths traveling down the same ber are
called modes, and this data loss is known as intermodal dispersion.
Chapter 1 Overview7
To meet dierent transmission distance requirements, choose suitable optical transceiver modules
according to actual networking conditions.
Central wavelength
Central wavelength (wl) represents the wave band used for optical signal transmission. The following central
wavelengths are available for common optical transceiver modules representing three wavebands:
•850 nm waveband: Used for short-reach transmission.
•1310 nm and 1550 nm waveband: Used for middle-reach and long-haul transmission.
Fiber
Fiber types
Fibers are
•Multimode bers
Multimode bers (MMFs) have thicker ber cores and can transport light in multiple modes. However, the
intermodal dispersion is greater and worsens as the transmission distance increases.
Multimode
bandwidth. For more information, see Table 2. The modal bandwidth of a multimode ber is determined
by the expression of the maximum modulation frequency pulse that can pass a ber × the ber length.
The modal bandwidth is a comprehensive index reecting the optical characteristics of a multimode
ber.
International Telecommunication Union (ITU) denes multimode ber types in its G series standards. The
commonly used multimode ber is dened in the ITU G.651 standard. The G.651-compliant ber
transmits light at the wavelength range 800 nm to 900 nm or 1200 nm to 1350 nm.
classied as multimode bers and single-mode bers.
bers can be classied into multiple grades according to their diameters and modal
Table 3: Multimode ber grades
Fiber modeFiber gradeFiber diameter (μm)Modal bandwidth at 850
nm (MHz*km)
Multimode berOM162.5/125200
OM250/125500
OM350/1252000
OM450/1254700
Other factors that inuence the transmission distance of multimode bers include interface type, central
wavelength, and ber grade. The modal bandwidth values shown above are for the ber grades listed.
There are multimode bers that have dierent modal bandwidth characteristics and do not necessarily
match the OM1 - OM4 grades.
8ArubaOS-Switch and ArubaOS-CX Transceiver Guide
Table 4: Multimode berspecications
Interface typesCentral wavelength
Fiber gradeTransmission distance
(nm)
1000BASE-SX850OM1< 275 m (902.23 ft)
OM2< 550 m (1804.46 ft)
10GBASE-SR850OM1< 33 m (108.27 ft)
OM2< 82 m (269.03 ft)
OM3< 300 m (984.25 ft)
OM4< 400m (1312.34 ft)
10GBASE-LRM
1
1310OM1< 220 m (721.78 ft)
OM2< 220 m (721.78 ft)
OM3< 220 m (721.78 ft)
OM4< 220 m (721.78 ft)
SMF<300m (987.25 ft)
1
LRM technology requires a PHY behind the SFP port. Not all 10G SFP (or higher) can support the use of a 10G LRM
transceiver. Check the compatibility chart for your switch series to see if 10G LRM is supported.
•Single-mode bers
Single-mode bers (SMFs) have a small core size, typically 9 μm or 10 μm, and can transmit light in only
one mode. Single-mode berssuer little intermodal dispersion and are suitable for long-haul
communication. Single-mode bers transmit light at the central wavelength of 1310 nm or 1550 nm.
Telecommunication Industries Alliance (TIA)/Electronic Industries Alliance (EIA) denes that single-mode
bers use yellow outer jackets with the mark "SM".
ITU denes single-mode ber types in its G series standards. The most commonly used single-mode
bers are dened in ITU G.652 and G.655 standards. The following table describes features of the G.652
and G.655-compliant bers.
Table 5: Features of G.652- and G.655-compliant bers
Single-mode ber
type
G.652-compliant
ber (standard
single-mode ber)
G.655-compliant
ber (non-zero
dispersion shifted
ber)
Wavelength (nm)FeaturesApplications
1260 to 1360
Zero dispersion at 1310 nmConnecting transceiver
modules with a central
1530 to 1565
wavelength of 1310 nm or
1550 nm.
1530 to 1565Near-zero dispersion
around 1550 nm
For 1550 nm wavelengthdivision multiplexing (WDM)
transmissions.
Chapter 1 Overview9
Fiber diameter
Fiber diameter is expressed as core diameter/cladding diameter, in μm. For example, 9/125 μm means that
the ber core diameter is 9 μm and the ber cladding diameter is 125 μm.
For the HPE devices, the following ber diameters are recommended:
•G.652 standard single-mode ber: 9/125 μm
•G.655 non zero dispersion shifted single-mode ber: 9/125 μm
•G.651 standard multimode ber: 50/125 μm or 62.5/125 μm
Connector
CAUTION: Cover the connector with a dust cap when it is not connected to any optical bers.
Connectors connect transceiver modules to the corresponding transmission media. The transceiver
modules available for Aruba products use the following types of connectors:
•Lucent connector or local connector (LC).
Single LC connectors (also known as Simplex) are typically used for 1G & 10G BiDi (Bidirectional) optics.
Dual LC connectors (Duplex) are typically used in normal optical types.
NOTE: 40G BiDi uses only Duplex ber versus MPO (see below) for 40G SR4 applications.
Figure 1: LC connector (a simplex connector is shown)
•Multiber Push On (MPO) connector.
Figure 2: MPO connector
The 40G QSFP+ MPO transceiver modules use only female MPO connectors, which have guide holes in
the end face of the MPO connector (the transceiver has guide pins within the MPO receptacle).
MPO connectors are classied as the following types based on the polish type:
◦Physical contact (PC): End face polished at.
◦Angle-polished contact (APC): End face polished with an angle, typically 8°.
10ArubaOS-Switch and ArubaOS-CX Transceiver Guide
MPO connectors are available with 12 bers or 24 bers:
12-ber MPO connector (40G, SR4, eSR4, and 100G SR4 transceivers use 8 of the available 12 bers. Thefour center bers are unused. )
Figure 3: End face of a 12-ber connector and channel assignment
MPO transceivers typically use four channels to communicate. These channels are assigned using the
outer eight bers (the center four are unused).
Transmit channels are one set of four bers, and the receive channels are on the other set of four bers.
Because of this, the cables used and ber cable connections from endpoint to endpoint eectively create
a crossover connection.
Be aware that using two crossover cables in series cancels this eect and no connection will be
established. An odd number of crossovers combined with straight-thru ber connections will eect a
crossover connection.
The channel layout indicates that the left four bers are Transmit, and must reach the opposite
transceiver Receive channels (and in proper channel order).
Optical parameters
This guide provides average transmit and receive power ranges for transceiver modules.
Transmit power
Transmit power is the power at which the transmitter of an optical transceiver module transmits optical
signals, in dBm.
Receive power
Receive power is the power at which the receiver of an optical transceiver module receives optical signals, in
dBm.
Use of attenuators
Transceivers are designed to transmit light pulses at a power level that accounts for loss in the ber optic
cabling, and meets the receiver input thresholds of the link partner optical transceiver.
If you are using a ber cable with less light loss than expected (for example, in a test environment and you
do not have a 40km spool of SMF available), use attenuators to aect the transmit level to within the receive
sensitivity of the other transceiver -- you will need to condition both bers (sends in both directions). If not
done, you risk overdriving the Receive end and permanently damaging the transceiver. For example, a 40G
ER4 has a highest transmit level of 4.5dBm, but the Receive Sensitivity can be no higher than -4.5dBm. That
means there must be at least a 9dBm loss on the light level to be within the standards (4.5 - (-4.5) = 9dBm
required).
Chapter 1 Overview11
Copper transceiver modules
Copper transceiver modules transmit signals over Category-5, -5e, -6, and -6a unshielded twisted pair (UTP).
UTP transmission cover shorter distances than ber transmission and can be used in small-sized networks
only. 10G over twisted pair requires the use of Category 6 and 6a.
Copper transceivers are supported in 1G SFP and 10G SFP+ ports where listed in the compatibility tables.
Transmission distance
Through UTP cables, signals can be transmitted over a distance of 100 m (328.08 ft.) only. This behavior
occurs because signals attenuate during transmission through the UTP cables.
Attenuation refers to the dissipation of the power of a transmitted signal as it travels over a cable.
Attenuation occurs because signal transmission suers certain resistance from the cable, which weakens
the signals as they travel over the cable. When signals are transmitted over a long distance, signal strength
decreases signicantly, causing the signal-to-noise ratio to drop below the accepted level. This decrease
makes it impossible to distinguish between signals and noise, which results in data loss.
Patch panel and punch down blocks also aect attenuation; that is, they can be a source of issues resulting
in shorter distances or data loss.
10GBASE-T connections require Category 6a as a minimum for proper 10G speeds up to the 100m distance
dictated by the IEEE 802.3ae standard for a xed 10GBASE-T port. The JL563A transceiver has a limit of 30m
max distance due to limited power available to the transceiver (vs a xed 10GBASE-T port). Anything less
(Cat 6, 5e, 5) will compromise the distance that 10G over copper can achieve.
Shielded Twisted Pair (STP) Cat 6a cable is required for full support when using the 10GBase-T transceiver
(JL563A) supported only on the 8400, 8320, and 8325 switch models. Use of STP prevents EMI events from
aecting data trac carried on the wire - known as Crosstalk or Alien Crosstalk. Large EMI events from
electronically noisy environments may be coupled onto unshielded cabling and cause temporary packet
errors. Fixed 10G ports have designs to counteract these types of bit error conditions, that the 10GBASE-T
transceiver cannot counteract consistently. Using STP Cat6a cables mitigate the errors signicantly. All
packet loss errors observed in extensive testing are considered recoverable by the host system with the
JL563A transceiver.
Connector
Registered Jack-45 (RJ-45) twisted-pair connectors are used as connectors for copper transceiver modules.
Figure 4: RJ-45 connector
12ArubaOS-Switch and ArubaOS-CX Transceiver Guide
Table 6: RJ-45 GE connector pin assignment for Gigabit connections
PinSignalFunction
1MX_0+Data transmit/receive
2MX_0-Data transmit/receive
3MX_1+Data transmit/receive
4MX_2+Data transmit/receive
5MX_2-Data transmit/receive
6MX_1-Data transmit/receive
7MX_3+Data transmit/receive
8MX_3-Data transmit/receive
Identication of 4x4 part numbers
A SKU# (also called a Product Number or Part Number) may be fullled by two or more vendor parts
providing similar functionality. A 4x4 part number is of the form nnnn-nnnn and is printed on the transceiver,
DAC, or AOC label. For example, JL309A can have a 1990-4680 or 1990-4678 4x4 part number.
4x4 part numbers are referenced in the:
•specication tables, to identify parts that support DOM (Digital Optical Monitoring) capabilities. (Some
older vendor parts do not support DOM.)
•compatibility tables, where necessary, to identify supported combinations of switch or module with the
identied transceiver, along with the minimum software version required.
In December 2017, Aruba introduced Revision D versions of 100M, 1G, and 10G products. Revision D
products are structured to be specic alternative vendors as sources for the SKU#. Earlier Revision A, B, or C
product may have alternative vendors that Aruba no longer actively ships, but remains as fully supported in
specic switches.
Some switch products will specify Revision D transceivers for full support, while other products may support
earlier (older) revision transceivers – and some with specic 4x4 part numbers.
To cross-reference the Transceiver/DAC product against the switch product to identify the minimum
software required for transceiver support, always refer to the Datasheet or QuickSpecs for the switch
product to see the current list of supported transceivers. Refer to the compatibility tables within this
document .
To use CLI commands to display data for an installed transceiver, see the following examples.
switch# show interfaces transceiver f2 detail
Transceiver in F2
Interface Index : 162
Type : QSFP+SR4
Model : JH231A
Connector Type : MPO
Wavelength : 850nm
Transfer Distance : 100m (50um OM3), 150m (50um OM4)
Diagnostic Support : DOM
Serial Number : XX57nnnnnn
Status
Temperature : 33.332C
Voltage : 3.3208V
Tx Bias Rx Power Tx Power
Channel# (mA) (mW/dbM) (mW/dbM)
--------- -------- -------------- --------------
1 6.904 0.5622, -2.501 0.5822, -2.349
2 6.706 0.5922, -2.275 0.5856, -2.324
3 6.894 0.6321, -1.992 0.5813, -2.356
4 6.792 0.5111, -2.915 0.5651, -2.479
Current Alarms:
Channel 1 :
Tx bias low alarm
Rx power low warning
Channel 2 :
Tx bias low alarm
Rx power low warning
Current Errors:
Channel 1 :
Rx Loss of Signal
Channel 2 :
Rx Loss of Signal
Channel 3 :
Rx Loss of Signal
Channel 4 :
Rx Loss of Signal
14ArubaOS-Switch and ArubaOS-CX Transceiver Guide
Chapter 2
QSFP28 modules
QSFP28 optical transceiver modules that use MPO
connectors
See Chapter 1, "Overview", for information regarding MPO connectors and cable requirements.
Figure 5: QSFP28 optical transceiver module that use MPO connectors
Models, specications, and compatibility
QSFP28 optical transceiver modules provide a transmission rate of 100 Gbps and use MPO connectors.
Table 7: Specications for QSFP28 optical transceiver modules that use MPO connectors (1)
NOTE: SR4 is not supported for use over MMF OM1 or OM2 ber. (The IEEE standard does not
state a specication.) Use MPO Female connectors (no pins) with MPO transceivers.
DOM - Digital
Optical
Monitoring
(4x4 part #)
YES
(1990-4680,
1990-4678)
Central
wl (nm)
850MMF50/1252000 (OM3)
Fiber
mode
Fiber
diameter
(µm)
Modal
bandwidth
(MHz*km)
4700 (OM4)
Transmission
distance
70 m (229.66 ft)
100 m (328.08 ft)
Chapter 2 QSFP28 modules15
Table 8: Specications for QSFP28 optical transceiver modules that use MPO connectors (2)
Product name (SKU)ConnectorOptical parameters (dBm)
QSFP+ optical transceiver modules that use MPO
connectors
See Chapter 1, " Overview", for information regarding MPO connectors and cable requirements.
Figure 8: QSFP+ optical transceiver module that uses MPO connectors
Models, specications, and compatibility
Chapter 3
QSFP+ optical transceiver modules provide a transmission rate of 40 Gbps and use Multiber Push On
(MPO) connectors.
NOTE: 40G SR4 and eSR4 are not supported for use over MMF OM1 or OM2 quality ber. (The
IEEE standard does not state a specication). Use MPO female connectors for use with the MPO
transceivers.
Table 15: Specications for QSFP+ optical transceiver modules that use MPO connectors (1)
Product name
(SKU)
HPE X142 40G
QSFP+ MPO SR4
Transceiver
(JH231A)
HPE X142 40G
QSFP+ MPO eSR4
300M XCVR
(JH233A)
DOM - Digital
Optical
Monitoring
(4x4 part #)
YES
(1990-4554)
YES
(1990-4555)
Central
wl (nm)
850MMF50/1252000 (OM3)
850MMF50/1252000 (OM3)
Fiber
mode
Fiber
diameter
(µm)
Modal
bandwidth
(MHz*km)
4700 (OM4)
4700 (OM4)
Transmission
distance
100 m (328.08 ft)
150 m (492.12 ft)
300 m (984.25 ft)
400 m (1312.33 ft)
20ArubaOS-Switch and ArubaOS-CX Transceiver Guide
Table 16: Specications for QSFP+ optical transceiver modules that use MPO connectors (2)
Product name (SKU)ConnectorOptical parameters (dBm)
Transmit powerReceive power
HPE X142 40G QSFP+ MPO SR4
Transceiver (JH231A)
HPE X142 40G QSFP+ MPO
eSR4 300M XCVR (JH233A)
MPO (PC polished, 12-ber)–7.6 to 0–9.5 to +2.4
MPO (PC polished, 12-ber)–7.6 to 0–9.9 to +2.4
Table 17: Compatibility for the QSFP+ optical transceiver modules that use MPO connectors
Product name (SKU)Minimum software requiredComments