Network interfaces

Question 1

what is a transceiver?

Answer 1

A component responsible for physically connecting a host to the transmission medium.

Question 2

What is a EUI?

Answer 2

Extended unique identifier.
An identifier defined by the IEEE to uniquely identify hardware devices or network interfaces.
Can also be referred to as Ethernet address (EA)
(Ethernet MAC)

Question 3

What is a module transceiver?

Answer 3

A hot swappable device
converts electrical signals to optical/ copper signals and vice versa.

Question 4

Tell me about SFP/SFP+

Answer 4

Small form factor pluggable
a transceiver that uses LC connectors and support Gigabit Ethernet data rates.
SFP+ is a updated specification to support 10 GbE/

Question 5

What is the purpose of MSA?

Answer 5

multi source agreement
intended to ensure that a transceiver from one vendor is compatible with the switch/router module of another vendor.

Question 6

Tell me about QSFP/QSFP+

Answer 6

Quad small form factor pluggable.
a transceiver form factor that supports 4 x 1 Gbps links to be aggregated to a single 4 Gbps channel.
QSFP+ is designed to support 40 GbE by using 4 x 10 Gbps links, typically used with MPO (multi fiber push on) and parallel fiber termination and WDM (Wavelength Division multiplexing) ethernet standards.

Question 7

What is a optical link budget?

Answer 7

assessment of allowable signal loss over a fiber optic link.
AKA loss budget
Calculated using the following parameters:
Attenuation
Connectors
Splices
Typically calculated when planning the link.
must be less than than the power budget

Question 8

What are the 3 main ways to deploy fiber?

Answer 8

Duplex- uses 2 strands to transmit Tx and receive Rx
Parallel- uses multiple strands (typically 20 or 8) to implement Rx and Tx channels.
Wavelength Division Multiplexing- uses a single bidirectional strand or a dual unidirectional strand to implement multiple channels, distinguished by wavelengths.