The μQSFP transceiver is being presented as a potential future interface by the Ethernet Alliance. This is a very challenging technical concept for a 100GBASE-SR4 transceiver with MPO connector interface having the outer dimensions of the SFP+ form factor.
μQSFP transceiver with MPO connector interface
With the μQSFP form-factor it becomes possible to keep the usual density of 48 ports in a 1U tall switch. This gives a mathematical performance of 48 x 100G = 4.8 Terabit/s for such a 1U switch which is needed to solve the ever increasing need for data bandwidth.
Features:
- 33% increase in density over QSFP (based on 48 microQSFP ports vs. 36 QSFP ports in 365mm)
- Same 4 channel electrical interface as QSFP
- Same 3.5+W power capability as QSFP+
- Will support 25G and 50G (PAM4) electrical data rates
Benefits:
- Functionality of QSFP in SFP density
- Significantly improved thermal management
- Accommodates multiple electrical interface generations (4 channels, to 2 channels, to 1 channel), while supporting a long life optical interface WITHOUT changing form factor
- Enables up to 72 ports per 1RU line card
Summary:
- Enables a second generation line card with higher port density than a QSFP based line card
- Enables the same IO density as SFP with improved thermal management and increased bandwidth density
