Resource Center
Technical guides & reference materials
Selection guides, specification tables and deployment references to help you choose and maintain optical transceivers across ISP, data center and system integrator environments.
Selection Guide
Optical Transceiver Selection Guide for ISPs
A concise, field-tested guide to choosing SFP/SFP+/QSFP28 optics for small and regional ISP networks. Start from the link type — access, aggregation or edge — then narrow down by speed, distance, fiber type and platform compatibility.
Identify the layer
Access, aggregation or broadband edge
Measure speed & distance
1G / 10G / 100G × 0.5–80 km
Check fiber & platform
SM/MM, connector type, device model
Quick Reference
Common optics at a glance
A fast lookup for the most-deployed optical transceiver form factors, typical reach and fiber type.
| Form Factor | Speed | Typical Reach | Fiber | Common Use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SFP | 1G | 550 m – 120 km | MM / SM | Access switches, OLT uplinks |
| SFP+ | 10G | 300 m – 80 km | MM / SM | Server, aggregation, metro rings |
| SFP28 | 25G | 100 m – 10 km | MM / SM | Data center server ports |
| QSFP+ | 40G | 150 m – 40 km | MM / SM | Spine-leaf, core uplinks |
| QSFP28 | 100G | 100 m – 80 km | MM / SM | DC fabric, metro backbone |
| DAC / AOC | 10G–100G | 0.5 – 30 m | Copper / OM3 | In-rack, short row links |
Reference
Fiber & connector quick guide
Common fiber types and connector standards you’ll encounter when specifying optical transceivers.
Fiber Types
Common Connectors
Need Help?
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