Common Types of QSFP+ Cables

A quad small form-factor pluggable plus (QSFP+) cable is a fiber optic cable capped at either end with the QSFP+ transceiver, which is designed for data rates up to 40Gb/s supporting Fibre Channel, Ethernet, Infiniband standards and so on. It is a solution with high density, high bandwidth and relatively low cost. In the market, there are now several common types of QSFP+ cables: QSFP+ copper cable, QSFP+ active optical cable (AOC), QSFP+ to 4×SFP+ breakout cable, QSFP+ to CX4 copper cable and QSFP+ to 4×XFP cable. This article will introduce these types of QSFP+ cables respectively.

QSFP+ Copper Cables

QSFP+ copper cables include QSFP+ active copper cables and QSFP+ passive copper cables. Both QSFP+ active copper cables and QSFP+ passive cables are high performance, cost effective I/O solutions for 40G LAN, HPC and SAN applications. QSFP+ active copper cables are suitable for very short distances and offer a highly cost-effective way to establish a 40-Gigabit link between QSFP+ ports of QSFP+ switches within racks and across adjacent racks. And they meet and exceed Gigabit Ethernet, InfiniBand and Fibre Channel commercial temperature requirements for performance and reliability. QSFP+ active copper cables are compliant with InfiniBand Architecture, SFF-8436 specifications and provide connectivity between devices using QSFP ports. QSFP+ passive cables are compliant with SFF-8436, QSFP+ MSA and IEEE P802.3ba 40GBASE-CR4. QSFP+ passive copper cable offers low power consumption, short reach interconnect applications. Each lane of a QSFP+ passive cable is capable of transmitting data at rates up to 10Gbit/s, providing an aggregated rate of 40Gbit/s.

QSFP+ Active Optical Cables

QSFP+ AOC is a high performance, low power consumption integrated cable for short-range multi-lane data communication and interconnect applications, supporting 40G Ethernet, Fibre Channel and peripheral component interface express (PCIE). It is compliant with QSFP MSA and IEEE P802.3ba 40GBASE-SR4. A QSFP+ AOC integrates four data lanes in each direction with 40Gbit/s aggregate bandwidth. Each lane is capable of transmitting data at rates up to 10Gbit/s with lengths up to 100 m. The following picture shows a Cisco QSFP-H40G-AOC3M compatible QSFP+ to QSFP+ active optical cable.

QSFP+ to 4 SFP+ Breakout Cables

QSFP+ to 4 SFP+ hybrid splitter cables are a great cost-effective interconnect solution by providing space for data centers and cost cuts. These cables allow users to connect QSFP+ and SFP+ switches and network cards without upgrading the entire data center or storage array. Each QSFP+ to SFP+ breakout cable features a single QSFP+ connector rated for 40Gbit/s on one end and 4 SFP+ connectors, each rated for 10Gbit/s, on the other end. They can be used for QDR InfiniBand, 40 Gigabit Ethernet and 10 Gigabit applications. The following picture shows a Cisco QSFP-4SFP10G-CU3M compatible QSFP+ to 4SFP+ breakout cable.

QSFP+ to CX4 Copper Cables

QSFP+ to CX4 copper cable has a QSFP+ connector on one end and a CX4 connector on the other end, permitting auto-negotiation between the two connected devices for optimal network throughput. With the cutting edge technology, QSFP+ to CX4 copper cables provide an excellent hybrid cable solution for CX4 InfiniBand and QSFP rated switches, network adapters, and storage arrays.

QSFP+ to 4×XFP Cables

QSFP+ to 4×XFP cable also features a single QSFP+ connector rated for 40Gbit/s on one end and 4 XFP connectors on the other end, each rated for 10Gbit/s. QSFP+ to 4×XFP cable can merge 40G QSFP and 10G XFP enabled host adapters, switches and servers, which allows users to install it between a QSFP port on their 40Gbit/s rated switch and four upstream 10Gbit/s XFP switches.

Fiberstore is a professional fiber optic products supplier and manufacturer, which provides a wide variety of fiber optic products with high quality. We offer various 40G QSFP+ cables, and also other types direct attach cables. You can find what you need from us.