Checking that our transceivers will meet the required distance
Once we’ve identified the right SFP for your needs, our engineers can then demonstrate its ability to reach the desired distance for the use case. This real-time, hands-on approach means we’re able to apply a reassuring physical level of quality control to verify that our optics perform correctly.
How we prove the reach of our optical transceivers
We verify that the transceiver will reach the required distance in three ways.
Firstly, we measure optical power of the laser and the sensitivity of the receiver in order to ensure they each meet specified parameters. This confirms it has sufficient optical budget to deliver the distance. This is typically achieved using lab instruments such as a power meter and also a variable attenuator.
Secondly, we apply fibre spools of various lengths to confirm that the transceiver will function at the advertised distance. This test is used in conjunction with a pair of EXFO testing instruments in order to push an appropriate traffic signal into the router / switch / optical device and then transmit it to another device via the transceiver under test and over an appropriate length of fibre.
Thirdly, we document all of these processes and package them in an easy-to-read report for your records. In this way the stated distance can be absolutely proven and at the same time a transmission test such as a RFC2544 test can be run in order to confirm transceiver performance.
