Corning is known for the sturdy Gorilla Glass that many people use in their mobile phones. But the company is synonymous with fiber optic cable. (Photo: Groman123, Flickr).
When describing optical fiber links, people use various terms to describe the link according to the type of connectors and the number of optical fibers they use in the link. Base-2 is the easiest to understand and visualize. Through Base-2 connection, our link is based on the increment of two fibers, such as the common LC duplex or SC duplex connection.
In contrast, Base-12 connections use links based on 12 increments, and 12 fiber optic connectors, such as MTP. Recently, Base-8 connectivity solutions have begun to appear. The Base-8 system still uses MTP connectors, but the link is constructed in increments of eight fibers, including eight fiber MTP connectors. For example, in the Base-8 system, we do not have 12-core trunk optical cables. We have 8-core trunk optical cables, 16-core trunk optical cables, 24-core trunk optical cables and 32-core trunk optical cables; all Base-8 trunk cables are augmented by the number 8. quantity. The difference between Base-12 and Base-8 is shown in the figure below.
The Base-12 connection was first introduced in the mid-1990s. A modular, high-density, structured cabling system developed by IBM and Corning, which can be quickly deployed in data centers while maximizing the port density in the rack space. Data centers have grown from only a few fiber connections to data centers with thousands or tens of thousands of fiber ports. Obviously, stringing two fiber jumpers in each corner of the data center will lead to unmanageable and unreliable chaos. Given that the TIA/EIA-568A fiber color coding standard is based on 12 fiber groups, it makes sense for high-density connections to be based on the number 12 increments. Therefore, 12 fiber MTP connectors and Base-12 connections were born.
Trunk cables based on 12-core optical fibers, up to 144-core optical fibers, will soon be available and deployed globally. Base-12 trunk cables are usually used in the backbone of the network, from the main cross-connect to the regional distribution areas, where the number of optical fibers is large and high density is required. In order to connect to ports on servers, switches, and storage units, most fiber ports are based on two optical fibers, so Base-12 to Base-2 branch modules and wiring harnesses are used to provide two fiber ports for two fiber ports. Since the number 12 can be divisible by the number 2, we can easily provide the dual-fiber interface to the network equipment and make full use of the optical fiber of the Base-12 backbone cable.
For nearly 20 years, Base-12 connections have served the data center industry well. As the deployment of 12-core MTP connectors has grown exponentially over the years, MTP has now become the de facto standard in many data center backbone networks. However, times are changing, and recently the demand for Base-8 connections has become apparent. This is due to the types of transceivers used by switch, server, and storage manufacturers in their equipment, as well as the transceiver roadmap that guides the industry from 10G Ethernet to 40G and 100G, and even up to 400G.
The technology of the transceiver field is changing rapidly, but anyone who has installed 40G circuits will know that one of the most common types of transceivers is the QSFP transceiver, which uses eight optical fibers. We can use Base-12 connections to connect to QSFP ports. In fact, many people who operate 40G circuits today have Base-12 connections in their backbones, but even the most basic mathematics students can understand how to connect 12 optical fibers. Inserting a transceiver that requires only eight fibers means that there are four fibers unused. There are some solutions on the market that can achieve 100% full utilization of the backbone fiber through the Base-12 to Base-8 conversion module or harness in this case, but this will add additional MTP connectors and additional insertions in the link loss. For cost and link performance reasons, this is usually not optimal, so the industry has determined that a better way forward is needed.
A better method is Base-8 connection. When talking with major transceiver, switch, server, and storage manufacturers, it is clear that the present, the near future, and the long-term future are full of transceiver types based on Base-2 or Base-8 connections. In other words, for Ethernet transmission from 40G to 400G, all roads lead to two-fiber and eight-fiber connection solutions.
As shown in the table, on the road to 400G, there will be some short-lived solutions, such as the first and second generations of OM3/OM4 parallel transmission, which are proposed as Base-32 and Base-16 solutions. However, from Corning’s discussions with well-known transceivers, switches, servers, and storage vendors, due to manufacturing costs and connector complexity (for example, do you really want to introduce 32-core fiber? Connect to your network? ). It is expected that the third-generation solution, the Base-8 solution, for 400G using OM3/OM4 optical fiber parallel transmission, will gain widespread market acceptance.
Since the number 8 is completely divisible by the number 2, the Base-8 backbone connection can be easily used in a dual fiber transceiver system, just like the Base-12 connection. However, Base-8 connections provide the most flexibility for the most common 40G, 100G, and 400G transceiver types, because Base-12 connections are not optimal for 8-fiber transceiver systems. Simply put, Base-8 connection provides the most forward-looking solution to meet 400G transmission requirements.
Well, yes and no. It depends on how you define the term “used together”. If you mean to mix the components directly and plug the Base-8 trunk into the 12-core module, then the answer is a clear “no”. The components are not designed to be directly plugged into each other. Therefore, the design of Base-12 and Base-8 MTP systems has a visual difference, so it is possible to avoid mixing Base-8 and Base-12 components in a single link. A key reason for the visual difference is Base-12 trunk cables usually have unpinned MTP connectors at both ends, and need to use pinned breakout modules. However, the emerging Base-8 trunk cable is manufactured with pin connectors at both ends. Therefore, plugging the Base-8 trunk cable into the Base-12 breakout module will never work, because it means trying to pair two pinned connectors together. The reason for this change in the trunk cable fixation scheme is that it provides an advantage to ensure that no matter where Base-8 MTP jumpers are used anywhere in the network, they can always have unfixed connectors at both ends. This simplifies network deployment and eliminates the need to store multiple pin configurations for MTP jumpers.
However, if “used together” means having both Base-8 and Base-12 connections in the same data center, then the answer is “yes”, although this “yes” has a warning. It should be noted that the Base-8 and Base-12 links must be maintained independently, because as mentioned earlier, the Base-8 and Base-12 components themselves are not interchangeable, and the Base-8 and Base-12 components cannot be inserted into the same link. . Therefore, care needs to be taken when managing the physical layer infrastructure of the data center to ensure that Base-8 and Base-12 components are not mixed in the same link.
Since the number 12 is significantly greater than the number 8, the Base-12 connection does provide the advantage of a higher fiber density in the connector compared to the Base-8, so a larger number of fibers can be installed faster when using the Base-12 connection . However, as more 40G and 100G circuits are deployed to use 8-core fiber optic transceivers, the benefits of matching the number of fibers in the MTP backbone connection with the number of fibers in the transceiver often exceed the density benefits of the Base-12 connection. In addition, when When using the MTP to LC duplex branch wiring harness to connect to the switch line card, the Base-8 wiring harness can be easily routed to all common port number line cards, because all common line cards contain many ports that are divisible by the number 4 (because Base-8 The wiring harness provides four LC duplex connections). In the case of Base-12 harnesses that provide six LC duplex connections, these harnesses are not so easy to route to line cards with 16 or 32 ports, because the numbers 16 and 32 are not completely divisible by the number 6. The following table describes the relative advantages when comparing Base-8 and Base-12 connections deployed in data centers.
Although the fiber density of each connector cannot be ignored, for most people, the decision will boil down to the speed at which they migrate to 40G and 100G network speeds. Anyone with a near-term migration plan to adopt 40G or 100G in their data center will benefit greatly from adopting Base-8 connections today.
Base-8 and Base-12 connections will continue to be used in data centers for many years to come. Both have their advantages, and both will have a place in the data center, where the use of 40 and 100G transmission is a key determining factor. If you are using a Base-12 connection in your data center today and you are satisfied with it, it is perfectly fine to continue using Base-12. Base-8 connection is just an additional option in the network designer’s toolkit to ensure that the data center has the most cost-effective, future-proof network available, and a migration path that can be easily expanded to 400G transmission.
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Post time: Dec-01-2021