Literally easy to understand, the main difference between Gigabit and 10Gbps optical modules is that the transmission rate is different, the transmission rate of Gigabit optical module is 1000Mbps, while the transmission rate of 10Gbps optical module is 10Gbps.In addition to the difference in the transmission rate, Gigabit and 10Gbps optical modules are more specific differences in what?

Gigabit Optical Module

As you can know from the naming, Gigabit Optical Module is an optical module with a transmission rate of 1000Mbps, which is usually denoted by FE. And the gigabit optical module generally has two kinds of gigabit SFP optical module and GBIC optical module, and the transmission distance can reach between 80m and 160km. Generally speaking, Gigabit optical modules can be recognized from the specification details of the product itself, as well as the naming rules of optical modules provided by different companies.

In terms of encapsulation, Gigabit optical modules include 1000Base SFP optical modules, BIDI SFP optical modules, CWDM SFP optical modules, DWDM SFP optical modules, SONET/SDH SFP optical modules, and GBIC optical modules.

10 Gigabit Optical Module

10Gbps optical module is the optical module with 10G transmission rate, also known as 10G optical module, usually in the form of SFP+ or XFP. 10Gbps optical modules are standardized in IEEE 802.3ae, IEEE 802.3ak, and IEEE 802.3an, and when we choose 10Gbps optical modules, we can consider the price, power consumption, and space occupation.

In terms of packaging, 10G optical modules include 10G SFP+, BIDI SFP+, CWDM SFP+, DWDM SFP+, 10G XFP, BIDI XFP, CWDM XFP, DWDM XFP, and 10G X2 optical modules.

Gigabit optical modules are used in Gigabit Ethernet, Synchronous Optical Networks (SONET) with dual channel and bidirectional transmission, while 10G optical modules are used in 10G Ethernet, Synchronous Optical Networks (SONET) with STM-64 and OC-192 rate standards, and 10G Fibre Channel.

Whether you should choose a Gigabit or 10GbE module depends on the type of network you are working with. For example, if your network is Gigabit Ethernet, you should use a Gigabit optical module, and for 10GbE, you should use a 10GbE optical module.