Overview

This article describes the common types of fiber optic cable used for data transmission. Ubiquiti also provides branded optic SFP/SFP+ modules (tranceivers) that are fully compatible with all of our devices. See the SFP/SFP+ Modules and Cabling page for more information.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. Multi-Mode Fiber
3. Single-Mode Fiber
4. SFP/SFP+ Module Types
5. Related Articles

Introduction

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Fiber optic cabling is an alternative to copper cabling for data transmission. Instead of using electrical pulses to transport information, fiber optic cable transports pulses of light that are sent and received by transceivers on each end of the cable. By using pulses of light, the distance over which signals can be sent is far greater than Ethernet (copper) cabling.

Fiber optic cable comes in various shapes and sizes which can be used for different types of deployments. Depending on the cost of goods, the distance of the run, and throughput requirements one type of fiber optic cable and transceiver may be more effective than another. See the tables and sections below for more information. 

Multi-Mode Fiber

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The key difference between Multi-Mode (MM) and Single-Mode (SM) fiber optic cable is the core diameter. The diameter of MM fiber optic cable is substantially larger allowing for wider wavelengths to pass down the cable. Multi-Mode fiber allows for the use of lower-cost LEDs instead of lasers in the optical transceiver, leading to a cost reduction. 

Fiber Type	Jacket Color	Connector Color	Core Diameter	Maximum Run Distance
OM1	Orange	Beige or Gray	62.5μm	275m @ 1Gbps (1000BASE-SX) 33m @ 10Gbps (10GBASE-SR)
OM2			50μm	550m @ 1Gbps (1000BASE-SX) 82m @ 10Gbps (10GBASE-SR)
OM3	Aqua			550m @ 1Gbps (1000BASE-SX) 300m @10Gbps (10GBASE-SR) 100m @ 40Gbps (40GBASE-SR4) 100m @ 100Gbps (100GBASE-SR10)
OM4	Aqua (Can be Purple)			550m @ 1Gbps (1000BASE-SX) 400m @ 10Gbps (10GBASE-SR) 150m @ 40Gbps (40GBASE-SR4) 150m @ 100Gbps (100GBASE-SR10)

Single-Mode Fiber

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Opposed to Multi-Mode fiber optic cabling, Single-Mode has a much smaller core diameter which limits the width of the wavelength. This leads to a very small chance of signal degradation which allows for very large data transport distances. 

Fiber Type	Jacket Color	Connector Color	Core Diameter	Maximum Run Distance
OS1/OS2	Yellow	Blue or Green*	8μm/9μm/10μm	5km @ 1Gbps (1000BASE-SX) (1310nm) 5km @ 1Gbps (1000BASE-LX) (1310nm) 40km @ 1Gbps (1000BASE-EX) (1310nm) 70km @ 1Gbps (1000BASE-ZX) (1550nm) 10km @ 10Gbps (10GBASE-LR) (1310nm) 10km @ 10Gbps (10GBASE-SR) (1310nm) 40km @ 10Gbps (10GBASE-ER) (1550nm) 80km @ 10Gbps (10GBASE-ZR) (1550nm) 10km @ 40Gbps (40GBASE-LR4) (1310nm) 40km @ 40Gbps (40GBASE-ER4) (1550nm) 10km @ 100Gbps (100GBASE-LR4) (1310nm) 40km @ 100Gbps (100GBASE-ER4) (1550nm)

 

SFP/SFP+ Module Types

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The SFP/SFP+ modules (transceiver) convert electrical signaling coming from a network switch into light signaling to send down the fiber optic medium. The table below shows the various fiber SFP/SFP+ modules that Ubiquiti offers.

Transceiver Type	Compatible With	Medium Type
UF-MM-1G / UF-MM-10G	UniFi Switch UniFi Security Gateway Edge Switch Edge Router	Multi-Mode fiber with LC connectors
UF-SM-1G / UF-SM-10G / UF-SM-10G-S		Single-Mode fiber with LC connectors
UF-GP-B+ / UF-GP-C+	UFiber OLT models	Single-Mode fiber with SC/UPC connectors

Related Articles

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EdgeRouter - SFP/SFP+ and DAC Compatibility List

EdgeSwitch - SFP/SFP+ and DAC Compatibility List

UFiber GPON - Supported SFP/SFP+ Modules for UFiber OLTs

UFiber - Enabling Ubiquiti SFP and SFP+ Modules on Third Party Devices