Up on Optics

The private sector takes another giant leap into space with Laser Light Communication’s plan to launch a new OSS (optical satellite system).  The new satellite network is expected to be up and fully operational by the middle of 2017.  Laser Light believes its network to be amongst the first of its kind, a system compromised entirely on optical wave technology independent of the need to communicate with the use of radio waves.  The company stated that it wishes to link its system with the global fiber network enabling them to have a coalesced fiber network.  This network would allow for unseen levels of coverage surpassing any system of its kind.

UTEL is planning to release a new product that will revolutionize the way problems are solved in passive optical networks.  The UK based research and development lab dubbed its new product Fast Light, the hope is that this new technology would allow service providers to detect and repair any problems that may arise within its systems both rapidly and efficiently as Lightwave indicates.  Not only does Fast Light have the ability to detect problems within a system, the product also runs tests and fixes issues within the network before customers even have an indication of a problem arising.

Earlier this week Google announced they were ready to move forward with their plans to bring Kansas City to the forefront of internet services.  Google Fiber, as it was deemed, seeks to bring the internet to as many people as possible as its primary goal.  This being Google of course, it hopes to outdo the competition by providing internet that is up to 100 times faster than the average broadband services available today.  So fervent are Google’s ambitions to bring internet for the masses that they are evening offering packages for free internet services at the mere cost of a construction fee.  They’ve also been setting up events for locals in Kansas City as a means of educating those less inclined to venture into the online world on the advantages a service like this could provide for them and the relevancy of the internet in today’s world.  Such an ostentatious plan might seem overwhelming to some, but Google’s track record speaks for itself.  Let’s just hope their foray into the world of ISPs isn’t a repeat of their foray into the social media department.

Affordable high powered internet in every home, self repairing fiber optic cables, and a satellite network enabling a greater connection for millions; we live in the future.

-The Approved Optics Team

Cisco’s WARNING – Error Message Shows Customer is Protected

The Cisco Customer’s Chassis and Smart Net service level is protected by the anti-Monopolistic Magnusson-Moss Act when 3^rd party optics are installed (as is the case with all platforms, not just Cisco).  Let’s look closer at what their legal department carefully conveys when a non-Cisco optic is detected in the chassis.  (It is important to know that this below message does not come up when our optics are installed because Approved Optics are plug and no error message).
The below ‘warning” unsupported-transceiver message shows that Cisco is VERY AWARE of the Magnusson-Moss Act protection on the chassis, and they are careful not to deny service based on a working 3^rd party Transceiver or they can be sued!

 Warning: When Cisco determines that a fault or defect can be traced to
 the use of third-party transceivers installed by a customer or reseller,
 then, at Cisco’s discretion, Cisco may withhold support under warranty or
 a Cisco support program. In the course of providing support for a Cisco
 networking product Cisco may require that the end user install Cisco
 transceivers if Cisco determines that removing third-party parts will
 assist Cisco in diagnosing the cause of a support issue.

The above language is used to confuse and intimidate an engineer who is not clear on their warranty rights.   As you can see, Cisco is claiming they will require a Cisco transceiver or “may” withhold support ONLY when it is determined that a fault or defect can be traced to the 3rd party transceiver.  This means that the transceiver MUST BE FAULTY (and they must prove it), otherwise they CANNOT lower their service level on any part of the chassis or OS if there is a working 3^rd party optic in the port.   They can ONLY suggest original replacement if the part is NOT FUNCTIONING.  What most engineers realize is that the antidote to a non-functioning 3^rd party optic is the same antidote to a non-functioning original Cisco optic, simply pop another one in.
So to summarize, in a TAC scenario, if the customer has an original Cisco transceiver installed and it degrades or falters, the Cisco support professional will suggest that the customer replace it.  If the same thing happens with a 3^rd party optic, and they can determine that the optic is faltering, they ‘may’ require the end user to replace the part.  Again, this is the same thing they would do if it was a Cisco branded part.   When the customer simply replaces the faltering optic with a working optic, CISCO CANNOT DENY ANY SOFTWARE OR HARDWARE SERVICE OR THEY ARE LEGALLY LIABLE.
What our customers have realized is that the lowest common denominator to saving 10’s of $1000’s of dollars on optics, comes down to the fact that if an optic is failing, whether it’s Cisco or 3^rd, the antidote to insuring TAC service on the chassis is to simply replace the failed optic with a spare.  Customers have been doing this for years.  It is the exact same process and nothing has to be changed.
You will also find that although Cisco Sales Reps and Engineers will verbally warn someone from saving money on optics and sight the ‘smartnet risk’ with doing so, they will never put it in writing, otherwise Cisco could be sued.  You will also find that Cisco support professionals will never mandate the replacement of 3^rd party optic in writing when they are not absolutely sure it’s the optic, because this also opens them up for liability.  If the optic is bad, Cisco original or 3^rd, the antidote is the same, simply replace it.  Most of our customers don’t bother keeping a Cisco original spare around.  The Magnusson-Moss covers the spar that is used as well.

The Distances of your Approved Cisco Optics

The Distances of your Approved Cisco Optics:
GLC-SX-MM, SFP-GE-S, GLC-SX-MMD, GLC-SX-MM-RGD
GLC-LH-SM, SFP-GE-L, GLC-LH-SMD, GLC-LH-SM-RGD

We have been getting a lot of questions recently about the true maximum distances of our optics and wanted to spend some time going over the technical details. It seems some vendors have been touting a 1 km distance on their Multi-Mode Optics, but that is not always the case.

Technically, and like some our competitors would suggest, our 1GB Multi-Mode Optics (Like a GLC-SX-MM, SFP-GE-S, GLC-SX-MMD, GLC-SX-MM-RGD) can achieve a distance of 1 km. However, it depends entirely on the quality of your fiber. To reach 1 km you would need to use laser-optimized 50 µM multimode fiber cabling. Which, as many of our data centers would attest to is more than rare; most people aren't running a mile of laser-optimized multimode fiber. If you are, then by all means our 1GB Multi-mode products for Cisco and even Juniper, Brocade, etc are for you. But more often than not, the following information will be more accurate:
"The 1000BASE-SX SFP, compatible with the IEEE 802.3z 1000BASE-SX standard, operates on legacy 50 μm multimode fiber links up to 550 m and on 62.5 μm Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI)-grade multimode fibers up to 220 m."
For the LH (GLC-LH-SM, SFP-GE-L, GLC-LH-SMD, GLC-LH-SM-RGD):
"The 1000BASE-LX/LH SFP, compatible with the IEEE 802.3z 1000BASE-LX standard, operates on standard single-mode fiber-optic link spans of up to 10 km and up to 550 m on any multimode fibers. When used over legacy multimode fiber type, the transmitter should be coupled through a mode conditioning patch cable."
That being said, most transceivers will operate effectively at 10-12% further distances than stated in our data sheets...but that will always be contingent on the quality of your cabling.

For questions, please don't hesitate to call us. We are always available: 800.590.9535.

OEM, Approved Optics and Internet Brokers

There are many differences between OEM, Approved Optics and Internet “Manufacturers” of optical transceivers. As one of the oldest third party distributors of optical transceivers, the three areas our clients always focus on are: price, availability and compatibility. At Approved Optics we believe quality is the backbone of our success and that quality permeates evenly between price, compatibility and availability.

The truth is Price is always an issue; whether  you are buying a car or skateboard price is always on the forefront of your buying decision. So why is there such a price difference between the OEM (Cisco, Juniper, HP, IBM), Approved Optics and other Internet Distributors?

Lets look at Approved Optics in comparison to the OEMs. Lets take Cisco for this discussion. By purchasing Approved Optics part number: GLC-SX-MM-A compared to Cisco’s GLC-SX-MM you would save 90% off of Cisco’s Best Customer Pricing. Why is that? Is Cisco’s manufacturing process that much different than Approved Optics? Well no, actually Approved Optics doesn’t manufacturer optical transceivers, never has…. but neither does Cisco. The truth is Cisco has never built its own Optical Transceivers (Or memory or cables either). A designated Contract Manufacturer builds the transceivers for Cisco. Cisco purchases the transceivers preprogrammed with their code on them and ships for fulfillment, sometimes straight from these factories.

Approved Optics has a unique relationship with the exact same Contract Manufacturers that build for the OEM’s such as Cisco. We purchase the same MSA Spec, OEM quality optical transceivers that Cisco does. So why the price difference if both Approved Optics and Cisco are buying from Contract Manufacturers? Is it because of testing? No (and we will get into that a little later). Are we buying them that much Cheaper? No, We actually purchase our product for much more than a huge OEM like Cisco does. So, why? It is quite simple.

Cisco charges 1000% more because it can. The ridiculous amount Cisco charges for its optical transceivers are well documented (read: Cisco Secret Franchise). Cisco’s profit margin and stock price are directly related to a product accessory they did not design, develop or manufacture. In a sense, there’s nothing truly wrong with this, they have done an excellent job of taking their strong Ethernet position and extracting value out of what is a commodity device. They threaten with the loss of SmartNet (Illegal – because of the Magnuson-Moss Act) and even go so far as putting anti-competitive coding on standard transceivers (Illegal – see Your Rights) in what has been an incredible retention of their margins.

So now we know Approved Optics’ transceiver line carries the highest level of quality in discrete hardware, algorithm/firmware, serial number sequence, packet integrity, and light strength… for all intensive purposes the same exact product as the OEM at a fraction of the cost. What separates Approved from the other online “manufacturers” out there? Everything.

Approved Optics is unique in our industry, we are priced affordably but program and test our product more extensively than the actual OEM’s (Remember: They purchase pre-programmed from their Contract Manufacturer) and certainly more than online resellers, refurb broker or memory manufacturers that have added the line to their offerings. No company has the extensive programming experience and test facilities like we do at Approved.

Why is programming so important? As we mentioned before, it is because Cisco and other manufacturers have placed specific attributes and firmware on the EEProm of the transceivers for it to function properly in their particular switch platform. It’s part of their margin retention efforts! They take a standard MSA Spec part and code it so they can charge 10x’s more than a part by a third party supplier. It’s great for them and bad for you! What Approved does is engineer the unique, independent code to work within their unique platforms. It’s engineering and it’s what we do! No other transceiver vendor does this to the extent of our capabilities, not the CM’s, they can’t; they are under contract with the Network OEM’s that they build for.

Being a programmer of transceivers leads us to the most important part in Approved’s Quality Process: testing. Since Approved purchases transceivers from Tier One Contract Manufacturers then programs them in-house, the only way to make sure they are 100% compatible in the platform they are intended for is to test them in the actual switch or router they are intended for. What this means, is that Approved has one of the largest multi-environmental testing labs that facilitates the testing and operation of hundreds of switches and routers spanning over 40 Network Equipment Manufactures, including: Cisco, Juniper, Force 10, IBM, HP, Brocade and on. It’s a huge expenditure for us and an incredible benefit for you. Purchasing an Approved Optical transceiver means you are purchasing a product that is Guaranteed Compatible in the system you intend to use it in. We aren’t a middleman like most of the other suppliers out there who depend on overseas distribution from China for programming and testing. We are an engineering and test house - it’s what we do! It’s why we are the fastest growing transceiver vendor in the industry, and why we might not be as cheap as some of the Internet Brokers but offer Tier One Quality Transceivers at a fraction of the cost of the OEMs.

Lastly, and for many of our high-end Telco and Data Center Engineers who have purchased and evaluated our product over the years, most importantly is availability. Approved carries a huge amount of inventory. Since we program in-house, we must stock a large amount of product; this means we can offer same day shipping on almost our entire product line, as well as offer expedited shipments for constrained DWDM and CWDM transceivers that take the OEM sometimes 12 weeks to ship. We ship in days what many OEMs ship in months.

Quality. Compatibility. Availability. Price. They are the cornerstone of what have made us successful. Although we would never call ourselves smart, we sure make the Data Centers/Telco Engineers and Purchasing Departments that use us look smart. After all, that is our goal. Give us a call; we are more than just a pretty site. Approved Optics, For the Smart Data Center!

Did you know?

Dense wavelength-division multiplexing (DWDM) revolutionized data transmission technology by increasing the capacity signal of embedded fiber.  This increase means that the incoming optical signals are assigned to specific wavelengths within a designated frequency band, then multiplexed onto one fiber. This process allows for multiple video, audio, and data channels to be transmitted over one fiber while maintaining system performance and enhancing transport systems. This technology responds to the growing need for efficient and capable data transmission by working with different formats, such as SONET/SDH, while increasing bandwidth. The fiber optic amplifier component of the DWDM system provides a cost efficient method of taking in and amplifying optical signals without converting them into electrical signals. In addition, DWDM amplifies a broad range of wavelengths in the 1550 nm region. For example, with a DWDM system multiplexing 16 wavelengths on a single optical fiber, carriers can decrease the number of amplifiers by a factor of 16 at each regenerator site. Using fewer regenerators in long-distance networks results in fewer interruptions and enhanced efficiency.

What is DWDM Channel Spacing?

DWDM channel spacing governs system performance; 100 GHz is the most commonly used and reliable channel spacing. This spacing allows for several channel schemes without imposing limitations on available fiber amplifiers. However, channel spacing depends on the system's components. Channel spacing is the minimum frequency separation between two multiplexed signals. An inverse proportion of frequency versus wavelength of operation calls for different wavelengths to be introduced at each signal. The optical amplifiers bandwidth and receivers ability to identify two close wavelengths, sets the channel spacing.

Red and Blue Bands

The ITU approved DWDM band extends from 1528.77 nm to 1563.86 nm, and divides into the red band and the blue band.  The red band encompasses the longer wavelengths of 1546.12 nm and higher.  The blue band wavelengths fall below 1546.12 nm.  This division has a practical value because useful gain region of the lowest cast EDFAs corresponds to the red band wavelengths.  Thus, if a system only requires a limited number of DWDM wavelengths using the red band wavelength yields the lowest overall system cost.