QSFP28 and QSFP28+ are both form factors for high-speed transceivers used in data communication and networking applications. The main difference between the two lies in their performance capabilities.

QSPF28 Module

QSFP28 is capable of supporting data rates of up to 100Gbps per port, using four lanes of 25Gbps each. It is commonly used in data centers and telecommunications systems for high-speed data transmission.

On the other hand, QSFP28+ is an enhanced version of the QSFP28 standard, offering higher performance and capabilities. It supports data rates of up to 200Gbps per port, using four lanes of 50Gbps each. QSFP28+ is designed to meet the increasing demands for higher bandwidth and faster data transmission in emerging networking technologies.

QSFP+Module

QSFP+ vs QSFP28

QSFP+ and QSFP28 differs in “28” as the name says. QSFP28 is a hot-pluggable transceiver module designed for 100G data rate. QSFP28 integrates 4 transmit and 4 receiver channels. “28” means each lane carries up to 28G data rate. QSFP28 can do 4x25G breakout connection, 2x50G breakout, or 1x100G depending on the transceiver used. While QSFP+ supports the data rate of 40G, 4 channels for transmitting and 4 channels for receiving, each lane carrying 10G. QSFP+ can break out into 4x10G or 1x40G connection.

Usually QSFP28 modules can’t break out into 10G links. But it’s another case to insert a QSFP28 module into a QSFP+ port if switches support. At this situation, a QSFP28 can break out into 4x10G like a QSFP+ transceiver module. One thing to note is that you can’t put a QSFP+ transceiver into a QSFP28 port to avoid destroying your optics.

In summary, QSFP28 is capable of supporting data rates of up to 100Gbps, while QSFP28+ supports data rates of up to 200Gbps, making it the higher performance option of the two.