10G SR vs 10 LR vs 10G LRM, Similarities and Differences
With the popularization of 10 Gigabit Ethernet, 10G SFP+ fiber optic transceivers have exploded in popularity, especially 10GBASE-SR and 10GBASE-LR, which are the two of the most popular transceiver model. Except for 10G SR and 10G LR, there are also some derivative products including SFP-10G-SR-S, SFP-10G-LR-S, and SFP-10G-LRM. If you are confused about them, this article will help you distinguish them all.
What are SFP-10G-SR and SFP-10G-SR-S?
SFP-10G-SR
SFP-10G-SR, also known as 10GBASE-SR, is designed for 10 Gigabit short-range distance fiber optic transmission, which is the highest-selling 10G SFP+ optics. 10GBASE-SR allows a short distance link of 300 meters over OM3 multimode fiber (MMF) and 400 meters over OM4 multimode fiber. The centra wavelength of 10GBASE SR SFP+ module is 850nm.
SFP-10G-SR Datasheet
| Speed | 10.3125 Gbps |
| Distance | 300m(OM3), 400m(OM4) |
| Connector Type | LC Duplex |
| Weight | 20 g (0.7 oz) |
| Fiber Cable Type | MMF |
| Wavelength | 850nm |
| Temperature | COM (0 to 70°C) EXT (-5 to 85°C) IND (-40 to 85°C) |
| FCoE Support | Yes |
| OTN Support | Yes |
| WAN-PHY Support | Yes |
SFP-10G-SR-S
SFP-10G-SR-S is a derivative model of SFP-10G-SR, which can be considered an enterprise-class version of 10GBASE-SR. It was first introduced by Cisco and classified as Cisco S-class optics. So here comes the question: What the differences are between SFP-10G-SR-S and SFP-10G-SR, and how to choose between them. The following will tell.
SFP-10G-SR-S Datasheet
| Speed | 10.3125 Gbps |
| Distance | 300m(OM3), 400m(OM4) |
| Connector Type | LC Duplex |
| Weight | 20 g (0.7 oz) |
| Fiber Cable Type | MMF |
| Wavelength | 850nm |
| Temperature | COM (0 to 70°C) |
| FCoE Support | No |
| OTN Support | No |
| WAN-PHY Support | No |
SFP-10G-SR-S vs SFP-10G-SR
Similarities
From the physical appearance aspect, SFP-10G-SR-S and SFP-10G-SR look exactly the same. They have common in dimensions and form factors, both of them feature the SFP+ form factor. From the specification aspect, they are also almost the same, both of them allow transmission distances up to 300m over OM3(400m over OM4).
Differences
The major differences between SFP-1OG-SR-S and SFP-10G-SR are working temperature and cost. SFP-10G-SR-S S-class only allows a commercial temperature range from 0 to 70°C (32 to 158°F), whereas SFP-10G-SR supports an extended temperature range from -5 to 85°C (23 to 185°F), and an industrial temperature range from -40 to 85°C (-40 to 185°F).
Since the SFP-10G-SR support a wider operation temperature range than SFP-1OG-SR-S, SFP-10G-SR costs more than SFP-1OG-SR-S. And SFP-1OG-SR-S is more popular in enterprise networks and campus networks because these application scenarios have much less strict requirements in the operating temperature and also save a lot.
The other differences are that SFP-10G-SR-S doesn’t support FCoE(Fiber Channel over Ethernet), OTN (optical transport network), and WAN-PHY. Moreover, SFP-10G-SR is under TAA compliance while SFP-10G-SR-S is not.
How to Choose Between SFP-10G-SR-S and SFP-10G-SR
If you're hesitating about buying SFP-10G-SR-S or SFP-10G-SR, the following buy guide can help you. The following lists the features and functions that only SFP-10G-SR supports. If you have any requirements for these, you should choose SFP-10G-SR-S, otherwise, SFP-10G-SR-S is also a good and cost-saving choice.
- Support FCoE, OTN, or WAN-PHY.
- TAA compliance.
- Strict operating temperature requirement. EXT (-5 to 85°) or IND (-40 to 85°C).
- Optics deployed in non-temperature controlled environments, such as rugged/ industrial (RGD).
What are 10G LR, LRM and LR-S?
10GBASE-LR
10G LR (long reach) is designed for long-distance optical transmission, which is much longer than SR optics distance. It supports 10km over OS2 single-mode fiber (SMF). The centra wavelength of 10GBASE LR is 1310nm.
SFP-10G-LR Datasheet
| Speed | 10.3125 Gbps |
| Distance | 10km |
| Connector Type | LC Duplex |
| Weight | 20 g (0.7 oz) |
| Fiber Cable Type | SMF |
| Wavelength | 1310nm |
| Temperature | COM (0 to 70°C) EXT (-5 to 85°C) IND (-40 to 85°C) |
| FCoE Support | Yes |
| OTN Support | Yes |
| WAN-PHY Support | Yes |
10GBASE-LRM
10G LRM can work on both single-mode fiber and multimode fiber, which supports link lengths up to 220m over OM1, and also supports 300 meters over OS1/OS2. Since the most previously 1000M short-range applications used OM1 multimode fiber optic cables, 10G LRM module becomes an ideal solution for networking upgrading from 1G to 10G. It should be noticed that a mode conditioning patch cord is required for OM1/OM2 multimode fiber to reach a 220m distance.
SFP-10G-LRM Datasheet
| Speed | 10.3125 Gbps |
| Distance | 220m(OM1/OM2/OM3/OM4) 300m(OS1/OS2) |
| Connector Type | LC Duplex |
| Weight | 20 g (0.7 oz) |
| Fiber Cable Type | MMF/SMF |
| Wavelength | 1310nm |
| Temperature | COM (0 to 70°C) EXT (-5 to 85°C) IND (-40 to 85°C) |
| FCoE Support | Yes |
| OTN Support | Yes |
| WAN-PHY Support | Yes |
SFP-10G-LR-S
SFP-10G-LR-S is also a derivative model of SFP-10G-LR and belongs to the Cisco S-class family. Similar to SFP-10G-SR-S, SFP-10G-LR-S also supports commercial temperature range only, which is suitable for those applications that require no strict limitations to operating temperature.
SFP-10G-LR-S Datasheet
| Speed | 10.3125 Gbps |
| Distance | 10km |
| Connector Type | LC Duplex |
| Weight | 20 g (0.7 oz) |
| Fiber Cable Type | SMF |
| Wavelength | 1310nm |
| Temperature | COM (0 to 70°C) |
| FCoE Support | No |
| OTN Support | No |
| WAN-PHY Support | No |
Conclusion: 10G SR vs LR vs LRM vs SR-S vs LR-S
The major similarities and differences of 10GBASE SR, LR, LRM, SFP-10G-SR-S and SFP-10G-LR-S SFP+ transceivers can be concluded as follows.
| Part Number | SFP-10G-SR | SFP-10G-SR-S | SFP-10G-LR | SFP-10G-LR-S | SFP-10G-LRM |
| Wavelength | 850nm | 850nm | 1310nm | 1310nm | 1310nm |
| Distance | 300m(OM3)400m(OM4) | 300m(OM3)400m(OM4) | 10km | 10km | 220m(MMF) 300m(SMF) |
| Fiber Cable | MMF | MMF | SMF | SMF | MMF/SMF |
| Temperature | COM EXT IND | COM | COM EXT IND | COM | COM EXT IND |
| FCoE Support | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| OTN Support | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| WAN-PHY Support | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes |
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