Cabling Guide for Cisco Nexus 9508 Switch

Due to the the ever-expanding data center consolidation, virtualization and cloud technologies, network installers feel the urge to maintain a competitive advantage of their infrastructure. Except for the performance, bandwidth and latency in datacenter cabling, management and operational agility and simplicity have also elevated themselves to the top mind of data center architects and operator. Cisco Nexus 900 series represents a familiar starting point on the journey toward a new era in software-defined network, which is announced to be the most port dense and power efficient plus fastest packet forwarder and programmable data center modular switch in the industry. This article introduces basic information of Cisco Nexus 9000 series and the cabling solutions for Nexus 9508 switch.

 

Cisco Nexus 9000 Series Switch

 

According to Cisco’s announcement, the Nexus 9000 Series switch is the foundation of the Cisco next generation data center solution. The Cisco Nexus 9000 Series switch contains two main branches including the Nexus 9300 series fixed switches and Nexus 9500 series modular switches. Of particular interest is the Nexus 9508 of 9500 series, which is impressive in terms of performance, power efficiency, 10/40GbE and future 100GbE port density, programming environment and orchestration attributes. The following image shows the inner structure of the Cisco Nexus 9508 switch.

 

Cisco Nexus 9508 can offer up to 8 line cards slots with a comprehensive selection of modular line cards in a 13RU space. There are totally three line card options available: 48 port 1/10GbE SFP+ with four 40GbE QSFP+, 48 port 1/10GBASE-T with four 40GbE QSFP+ and 36 port 40GbE QSFP+ full line rate. The 1/10GbE line cards provide 640 Gbps of line rate capacity. And the 40GbE line card is based on QSFP+ form factor. From a network design perspective, the Cisco Nexus 9508 switch can be configurable with up to 1152 10 Gigabit Ethernet or 288 40 Gigabit Ethernet ports, which is very helpful for 10GbE & 40GbE migration.

 

Main Features of Cisco Nexus 9508 Switch

 

The Cisco Nexus 9508 is a versatile data center switching platform that can host 10, 40, and future 100 Gigabit Ethernet interfaces. Other than this, the switch also has other unique features:

 

Predictable high performance—The switch delivers 30 Tbps of non-blocking performance with latency of less than 5 microseconds, enabling data center customers to build a robust network fabric that can scale from as few as 200 10 Gigabit Ethernet server ports to more than 200,000 10 Gigabit Ethernet server ports.

 

Nonblocking, high-density 1 to 10 & 10 to 40 Gigabit Ethernet transition—The Cisco Nexus 9500 platform helps organizations transition from existing 1 Gigabit Ethernet Cisco Catalyst®6500 series switches server access designs to 10 Gigabit Ethernet server access designs with the same port density. And it can also helps organizations transition from 1 and 10 Gigabit Ethernet infrastructure to 10 and 40 Gigabit Ethernet infrastructure to support the increased bandwidth demands.

 

Advanced optics—This switch can directly use the pluggable 40 Gigabit Ethernet QSFP+ bidirectional transceiver that enables customers to use existing 10 Gigabit Ethernet data center cabling to support 40 Gigabit Ethernet connectivity.

 

Highly available, scalable, and robust solution—All major components are redundant, including supervisors, system controllers, power supplies, and fan trays. The switch line cards use a mix of merchant and Cisco application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) to produce a low-complexity, low-cost design. All buffer memory is integrated into the forwarding ASICs, avoiding the need for a large number of external memory modules.

 

All transceivers are pluggable to support the highest possible mean time between failure (MTBF) for the switch. What’s more, the flexible and efficient chassis design has 100% headroom for future expansion with the capability to support more bandwidth and cooling and twice the number of power supplies needed to support today’s maximum configuration.

 

Power efficiency—The Cisco Nexus 9500 platform is the first switch chassis designed without a midplane. Line cards and fabric modules connect directly. This design approach provides optimal front-to-back airflow and helps the switch operate using less power. In addition, all Cisco Nexus 9000 series power supplies are 80 Plus Platinum rated. The typical power consumption per 10 Gigabit Ethernet port is less than 3.5 watts (W). The typical power consumption of each 40 Gigabit Ethernet port is less than 14W.

 

QSFP+ Direct Attach Copper Cabling

 

As we all know, direct attach cables (DACs) are often used to connect two or more switches which are in the same rack or in the adjacent rack. This is done to reduce the cabling cost for which DACs are much cheaper than transceivers and fiber patch cords. The following figure shows a wiring option for a Cisco Nexus 9396 to Cisco Nexus 93128 using 40G QSFP+ to 40G QSFP+ DAC cabling assemblies.

 

40G QSFP+ to 4 x 10 SFP+ Interconnection

 

The Cisco Nexus 9508 switch can also be operated in 4×10 Gigabit Ethernet mode. If the interface is logically configured as a 4×10 Gigabit Ethernet port, then each port becomes four 10Gbqs port. This will be accomplished by using copper twinax, hydras or breakout cables. This scenario can be achieved by connecting a Cisco Nexus 9000 Series Switch to a Cisco Nexus 2232 using a QSFP+ to four SFP+ copper hydra cable assembly.

 

40GE QSFP SR4/CSR4 Optics Cabling Options

 

Multimode fiber cabling is generally preferred when the distance between Cisco Nexus 9508 switch and other switches is less than 400 meters. In this circumstance, 40G QSFP+ SR4/CSR4 transceivers and MPO interconnect cable assemblies are often used. The following scenario shows how the Cisco Nexus 9508 switch is connected to Cisco Nexus 93128 switches with 40G QSFP+ SR4/CSR4 optics and MPO cable assemblies.

 

40GbE Connectivity With 40G BiDi Optics

 

As noted before, Cisco 40G SR-BiDi QSFP can be used in Cisco Nexus 9508 switch for 40G connectivity. The 40G BiDi QSFP multiplexes two 10GbE signals into one 20GbE stream and runs two 20GbE wavelengths on the optics side, and delivers a QSFP pluggable MSA compliant electric signal to the switch module, thereby only requiring the termination of a dual LC connector as used in 10GbE optical infrastructure. The SR-BiDi QSFP enables the re-use of existing 10GbE multimode fiber cable infrastructure plus patch cables as it supports the same LC connector. The SR-BiDi QSFP eliminates the cable infrastructure upgrade requirement of today’s 40GbE, which can lower capex of cabling and switch hardware. The following image shows the Cisco Nexus 9508 switch using 40G BiDi transceiver providing a zero-cost fiber cabling upgrade path for 10GbE to 40GbE.

 

Cisco is offering a practical way to transition to higher speed data center networking through favorable economics. With the use of Cisco Nexus 9508 switch, designers will embrace a new programmable network platform ready for the age of software-defined networking. fiber-mart.COM provides various 40G QSFP+ transceivers and fiber optic cable for the 40G connection of Cisco Nexus 9508 switch. 10G SFP+ transceivers and MPO/MTP-LC harness fiber patch cables for the 10G SFP+ to 40G QSFP+ direct connection are also provided. 

Fiber Optic Fusion Splicing – Arc Checking and Maintenance

Working with fiber optics takes a delicate hand and some patience. One of the most used pieces of equipment is a fusion splicer. A fusion splicer uses an electric arc to fuse two pieces of optical fiber (glass) together so that light can pass through with no scatter of light or light reflected back (backscatter) by the splice. Fusion splicing helps to reduce loss in your network. Typical loss through a fusion splice is .01dB to .05dB. When using these machines there are some important things that you need to do, as well as steps to maintain them. There are a few different types of splicers, as well as a couple of different concepts of splicing. We will discuss these and some other key points about splicing.

 

Different Types of Fusion Splicers

 

There are several different types of splicers. We have V-Groove splicers. These splicers typically only have one camera and align the fiber using the grooves that help to make sure that the cladding of both sides is matched up. These tend to be the low cost splicers which do not have sophisticated motors in them.

 

Then there is the active cladding alignment splicer. This type does have motors that move on the X and Y axis but it is still aligning the fibers by the cladding and not the core. These tend to be priced about a couple thousand higher than the V-Groove splicers.

 

Finally, you have a core alignment splicer that uses more than one camera to align your glass fibers by the core or center of your fiber. These were the first splicers that were on the market. This was due to early fiber having very poor concentricity of the core of fiber. These machines are also the most expensive of the splicers because of the advanced technology that is needed to align the fibers up by the cores.

 

Arc Checks

 

When you are splicing, there are certain things that need to be done every time before you start splicing your fibers together. The main thing is known as an arc check. This process is to make sure that your splicer is ready and able to help you complete your job without any hiccups. Arc checking will help to make sure a fusion splicer is tuned up for environmental conditions as well as that your machine settings are ideal for you to splice. One thing that is always brought up when performing this operation, is that when doing an arc check, single mode fiber should always be used whether you are splicing multimode or single mode that splicing session. Go to your splicer’s menu and click on the “Arc Check” setting. While doing this the splicer is looking at several different factors that can play a role that affects the splicer’s performance. Weather is a big part of this. It looks at the humidity, temperature and overall performance of the machine to have the perfect formula for the conditions at your job site. This process may need to be repeated several times before your machine is ready to splice. I have heard as many as fifteen times before it was ready, but usually one or two works. So - one thing most people don’t realize is, when splicing throughout the day - as the temperature changes another arc check may need to be performed later in the day. So you start splicing at ten in the morning and it is 65 degrees. You take a break for lunch around noon. When you get back the temperature is now 75 degrees and it has become more humid. Before you start splicing, an arc check should be performed as the temperature and humidity difference will cause your splicer to not be properly ready to splice in the different conditions.

 

Maintenance of the Splicer

 

There are a couple of things that can be done with your splicer to make sure it is well maintained and running to help complete important jobs. One of the most important pieces of your splicer is the heart of your fusion splicer. That piece being the electrodes. The electrodes are a pair of conductors that electricity flows through and this is what fuses your two pieces of fiber together. The electrical arc does wear them down over a period of arcs. The recommended number of arcs before these should be changed is typically a thousand. Now, there are some others out there that are trying to extend this amount by three times this. In this case, just keep an eye on your splice losses to determine when to change the electrodes. As the splice loss estimates get higher, your machine is closer to needing the electrodes to be changed. Another key part of splicing that needs to be maintained is your precision cleaver. A cleaver is the tool that you will use to score and cut the fiber so it can make a good splice. A cleaver has a wheel that rotates - this is known as the blade. This blade wears down and also needs to be managed with a certain number of good cleaves per position on the blade. Without good maintenance of your electrodes and cleaver your equipment can shut down a job or cause problems with your splicer.

 

Different Methods of Splicing

 

When splicing, there are a couple of different reasons why you do optical fiber splicing. In the end, it is all the same concept but there are different reasons to splice. The first one is to extend a fiber cable. This is where you will splice two different lengths together. This happens when a break occurs and you will use some of the excess fiber cable originally pulled to put your link back together. This can also be in a new deployment when you need to go a greater distance over what is the max length of fiber optic cabling that can be placed on a spool. When doing the long haul applications the core alignment splicer is the recommended machine.

 

The next two are the same concept just a different approach. This concept is to terminate the ends of your fiber. The first one is splicing on pigtails. Pigtails are a piece of fiber that is blunt on one side and has a factory polished connector on the other end. So you are splicing fiber to fiber and putting a splice protection sleeve (a heat shrinkable tube that contains a ceramic or stainless steel strength member) on to protect the splice. These will typically require a splice tray to put your splices in to protect them. The other concept is a splice on connector. This is also a pigtail but it is a lot shorter and uses a holder that is placed in the splicer. This allows your splice protection sleeve to be covered by the connector boot and does not require any splice trays.

 

So remember, always arc check using single mode fiber before beginning any splicing session, whether you are splicing single mode fiber or multimode fiber that day. Maintain your fusion splicer and your precision cleaver on a regular basis and your jobs will go much smoother. A fusion splicing machine can be a tech's best friend, or his worst nightmare!

What is 100G CFP?

With the continuous development of 5G communication technology, 100G modules are gradually becoming popular. We know that there are many kinds of packages for 100G optical modules. From 2000 to now, the optical module package types have been rapidly developed. Its main package types are: GBIC, SFP, XENPAK, SNAP12, X2, XFP, SFP+, QSFP/QSFP+, CFP, CXP. In the fast-developing network era, some 100G optical modules avoid the risk of being eliminated, and upgraded and revised with the wave of the Internet, such as 100G CFP optical modules.


100G CFP
CFP optical module package is one of the recommended optical module packaging methods in the industry. It is a hot-swappable optical module that can be applied to 40G and 100G Ethernet, OC-768/STM-256, OTU3, OTU4, etc.

Classification of 100G CFP
Currently, 100G CFP series optical modules are mainly available in three different sizes: CFP, CFP2 and CFP4.Among them, the CFP optical module has the largest size, the CFP2 optical module is one-half of the CFP, and the CFP4 optical module is one-half of the CFP2. The size of the CFP optical module is smaller than that of the first generation because the current 100G CFP2 optical module is often used as a 100G Ethernet interconnection link. The transmission efficiency is higher than that of the CFP optical module, and the smaller size makes it suitable for higher density wiring.
In addition, the 100G CFP4 optical module MSA protocol supports the same rate as CFP and CFP2, and the transmission efficiency is significantly improved, but the power consumption is greatly reduced, only about half of the original, and the system cost is lower than CFP2.

Advantages of CFP4 optical modules
Compared with the traditional CFP and CFP2 series, the CFP4 optical module has obvious advantages.
1. Smaller size: The CFP4 optical module is one-half the size of CFP2 and is one-fourth of CFP. It is the smallest optical module in CFP series optical modules.
2. The transmission efficiency is higher: the early 100G CFP optical module adopts the 10*10 mode and reaches the transmission rate of 100G through 10 10G channels. Now the 100G CFP4 optical module adopts the 4*25 mode and passes. Four 25G channels for 100G transmission. It has higher transmission efficiency and stronger stability.
3. Module integration is higher: CFP2 is twice as integrated as CFP, and CFP4 is four times more integrated than CFP.
4. Lower power consumption and cost: The CFP4 optical module is compatible with the MSA protocol, and supports the same rate as CFP2 and CFP2s. The transmission efficiency is significantly improved, but the power consumption is greatly reduced, which is only about half of the original. And the system cost is also lower than CFP2.

Through the above analysis, have you learned more about 100G CFP optical modules ? At present, Fiberland Co., Ltd. is selling the above different specifications of 100G CFP optical modules ,such as GBIC, SFP, XENPAK, SNAP12, X2, XFP, SFP+, QSFP/QSFP+, CFP, CXP.If you are interested, please feel free to contact us.THANK YOU.