Difference between stacked cable optical module and ordinary optical module

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Stacked cables yes DAC Another name for high-speed cable , The connectors used at both ends of the stacked cable are the same as those of the optical module , But compared with ordinary optical modules , The connector modules above the stacked cables do not have expensive optical lasers and other electronic components , Thus, the cost and power consumption are greatly saved in short-distance applications , As a low-cost and high-efficiency high-speed data communication solution to replace optical modules , You can connect a switch to a router or server , On the storage area network 、 Widely used in data centers and high-performance computer connections . So what is the difference between it and ordinary optical modules ？

1、 Stack the... Above the cable “ Optical module ” Are not really optical modules , They are without components , It can only transmit electrical signals , So stacked cables are cheaper than other ordinary optics , Even if the same port is used as the optical module interface , Stacking cables in short distance applications , Can also effectively save costs , Reduce power consumption , This is why people choose to stack cables .

2、SFP Optical modules are small pluggable optical modules , Support multiple protocols and applications , Such as 100m and Gigabit Ethernet 、 Fibre channel 、 Synchronous optical fiber network with dual channel and bidirectional transmission .sfp The transmission medium of the optical module is single-mode optical fiber 、 Multimode fiber and copper cables are optional . among , Multimode fiber can support 1GbE In the application of 1000BASE-SX Port type .

and SFP Stacked cable is a cable assembly used for interconnection between network cards （ Including interface modules at both ends ）, Applied to Ethernet 10G Stack connections of switches 、TOR Switches and servers are interconnected 、 Fibre channel device interconnection 、InfiniBand Equipment interconnection and servers / Interconnection between storage devices .

3、 Stacked cables are usually purchased in fixed lengths 、 Cable assemblies with fixed connectors at both ends . Both ends are connected to the switch or server , Realize short distance transmission , Stacked cables can be divided into passive stacked cables and active stacked cables , The active stack cable only has one more driver chip than the passive stack cable .

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