GTAC-Sophia Publish time 2023-7-20 16:47:01

What are the scenarios where optical ports and electrical ports are used?

Introduction to Optical Ports and Electrical Ports:
Optical port is a physical interface used to connect fiber optic cables. After inserting the optical module, data is transmitted between the optical ports of the switch through optical fibers. Optical fibers are divided into single-mode and multi-mode. The connection distance of single-mode fiber can reach 10 kilometers, while the connection distance of multi-mode fiber is shorter, which is 300 meters or 500 meters.

The electrical port, also known as the twisted pair (Ethernet) interface, is the RJ45 port that we often refer to. Compared to the optical port, the switch's electrical port transmits data through Ethernet cables, with a transmission distance generally not exceeding 100 meters.

Application scenarios and problem solving:
In simple scenarios such as small hotels, small businesses, restaurants, and KTVs, data transmission can be achieved using Ethernet ports, which can basically meet the network requirements.
For example, in a small hotel with a three-story building, a 100-meter transmission distance of Ethernet cable can meet the requirements. However, for scenarios that require long-distance transmission, it is necessary to choose switches with optical ports for interconnection to complete the network. For example, in the security monitoring scenario of a residential area, since the cameras are scattered, the distance between the access switches and the core machine room for data transmission is relatively long, so optical ports are needed for interconnection.

The problem is how to solve it:
Due to the fact that the optical port transmits signals through optical fibers, the biggest advantage of optical fibers is that they transmit light signals and are not affected by external electromagnetic signals. The signal attenuation is very slow, so the transmission distance of the signal is much longer than that of various network cables used for transmitting electrical signals. Due to the optical reflection characteristics of optical fibers, multiple signals can be transmitted simultaneously within a single fiber, so the transmission speed of optical fibers can be very high.

Naming rules for our company's switch products' electrical and optical ports:
F/C-100M electrical port   
G-1G electrical port
SFP - Gigabit Port
XS - 10 Gigabit Port
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