High speed fibre connectivity

#mikrotik introduction of high speed fibre interfaces in their routers & switches was a necessity as well as an inevitable path to the future of data networking. We now have 100G, 40G,25G,10G & 1G capability on almost all routers & switches being shipped.

These new fibre interfaces open a whole new world of opportunity but with them comes some complexity in inter-connectivity. When connecting these devices on a network we must understand the concept. When #mikrotik introduced the 100G interface they mentioned QSFP28 interface. This interface name means that 4 different streams of 25G make up the 100G

The 40G QSFP+ is also similarly built by 4 x 10G streams. Therefore although the routers & switch on higher OSI layers can handle connectivity between any 2 speed interfaces; however when connecting a 100G interface to 40G the lower OSI layers can face problems. It is therefore essential to make sure your fibre modules & DACs (direct attach cables) are built to handle these issues. One sure way to do this is use #mikrotik DACs

Fibre is the future. The single lambda fibre interface opens the door to 4 x 100G stream & we will soon see a single lambda 100G equipment but until then, let's keep networking with the speed of light.