The customer required a bidirectional SFP for use over a single strand fiber to span a long-haul distance of approximately 110km. The origin and destination switches, being Aruba CX 6300 series, do not natively support bidirectional 1G SFP. There is also no OEM solution for distances exceeding 70km, creating more of a predicament. The customer turned to GigaTech for a custom solution.
GigaTech to the rescue. Being that we specialize in transceivers, we can support SFP hardware capable of up to 120km distances. Using extended run testing fiber and HP switches in our lab, we were able to duplicate the end user’s scenario. Our engineers designed a unique coded solution to bridge the gap that HPE was not able to provide.
1G SFP LC BX-D 120km SMF XCVR HP
Aruba Compatible
1G SFP LC BX-U 120km SMF XCVR HP
Aruba Compatible
GigaTech is not like other transceiver suppliers. While other suppliers bring in their transceivers pre-coded, GigaTech does all coding in house. Inside of every transceiver is a chip called an EEPROM. This EEPROM holds the instructions that the host system reads in order to identify and understand the specifications of the transceiver. The EEPROM stores information such as transceiver type, laser wavelength, and transmit speed. The EEPROM also contains a vendor specific area. This vendor area is where OEMs can incorporate specific characters that their systems will look for to validate the transceiver. This information is not proprietary, but it is very important. Without this “coding”, the transceiver will not be properly recognized in the system, the port will not light up properly, and error messages may be seen. Through years of experience and extensive testing, GigaTech has developed the knowledge necessary to correctly program transceivers so that they are recognized and operate flawlessly in all intended environments.
Not all networks are the same. Some installations require longer distance runs. Some systems can only be connected using copper wiring. Some network wiring is too expensive to expand upon, so you need to maximize the lanes of traffic over existing wiring. GigaTech has become the industry leader in finding solutions where others only see problems.
As 100G has become more prevalent in hyperscale and carrier networks, the need to send data over long distances has become crucial. Through extensive coding development and testing, GigaTech released its first QSFP28 100G ZR4 transceiver in 2019, with compatibility for numerous different OEM systems. Most OEMs still do not offer this solution, and Arista and Cisco just released their solutions in 2021. Supporting crucial extended run transmissions has allowed GigaTech to become the go-to solution for major carrier networks in the US and Europe.
As networks expand, the need for more lanes of fiber increases. In certain situations, the cost to run fiber far exceeds the cost of the equipment used to send data over those fiber runs. Using simplex bidirectional SFPs allows for the doubling of data over existing duplex stranded fiber wiring. Most switches are programmed to accept these BiDi SFP options, but not all. In these instances, a custom solution must be used to maximize existing fiber. GigaTech, through an expansive testing lab and extensive coding knowledge, has engineered these solutions for Cisco, Arista, Extreme, HP and many other OEM switches where the OEM solutions do not exist. These GigaTech solutions allow users to save money and maximize existing infrastructure, extending the life of their networks.
All components in GigaTech Products optics are manufactured under the same roof and represent the gold standard for reliability and consistency in performance. This vertical manufacture chain allows GigaTech to avoid unnecessary variance in transceiver casing or laser quality often found with online resellers who source their components from an ever-changing vendor list. The transceiver is guaranteed to be built from A-Stock never used components overseen by GigaTech Products,
The quality and standards of our hardware is one the base foundations of GigaTech Products. All of our components comply with MSA (Multi-Source Agreement) output standards and, in many cases, excel beyond those certification standards. Every transceiver we produce is tested on active network devices to ensure they comply with OEM equipment and are verified to be plug-and-play and do not require work arounds.
