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Français Standards map: who publishes what
A single 100G link touches a dozen documents from six organisations: the IEEE clause that defines the PMD, the SFF document for the module's memory, the OIF agreement for the electrical interface, the ITU-T recommendation for the fibre, the IEC standards for the connector and laser safety, an MSA for the form factor. This page maps the bodies, their document families and numbering, the IEEE 802.3 clauses by PMD, and the question each document answers — so "which spec says so?" has a quick answer.
The bodies
| Body | Scope for optics | Document style | Access |
|---|---|---|---|
| IEEE 802.3 (Ethernet Working Group) | PMDs, PCS, FEC, AN, AUIs, EPON | one standard (802.3-2022) built from amendments (802.3ba, bs, cd, cu, ck, db, df, dj…); content by clause | free PDFs 6 months after publication (IEEE GET program) |
| SNIA SFF TA TWG (ex SFF Committee) | module mechanics, cages, connectors, management memory (SFF-8472, 8636, 8024) | SFF-8xxx, SFF-TA-1xxx | free |
| OIF (Optical Internetworking Forum) | electrical interfaces (CEI), coherent pluggables (400ZR, 800ZR), CMIS 5.x, C-CMIS, co-packaging | Implementation Agreements (IA) | free |
| ITU-T SG15 | fibre types, WDM grids, DWDM/CWDM interfaces, OTN, PON (G-PON, XG(S)-PON, 50G-PON) | G.xxx recommendations | free |
| IEC TC 86 | fibre, cables, connectors, test methods, laser safety, transceiver test | IEC 6xxxx | paid |
| ISO/IEC JTC1 SC25 / TIA TR-42 | structured cabling, fibre grades OM/OS | ISO/IEC 11801, ANSI/TIA-568, TIA-492 | paid |
| INCITS T11 | Fibre Channel physical (FC-PI-x), framing, switching | FC-PI-6, FC-PI-7, FC-FS | drafts free, standards paid |
| IBTA (InfiniBand Trade Association) | IB architecture, physical layer, cable memory | IBTA Vol 1 / Vol 2 | registration |
| MSA groups | form factors and optical interfaces outside IEEE | QSFP-DD, OSFP, SFP-DD, COBO, CWDM4, PSM4, 100G Lambda, 4WDM, SWDM, 400G BiDi, OpenZR+, Open Eye, LPO, 800G Pluggable, OSFP-XD | free (MSA overview) |
| Ethernet Alliance / Ethernet Technology Consortium / UEC / UALink | interop plugfests, roadmap; 25G/50G consortium specs; AI transport | — | free |
| FSAN / Broadband Forum / IEEE 1904 | PON roadmaps, PON management (SIEPON) | TR-xxx, 1904.1 | mostly free |
| FDA CDRH / IEC | laser safety regulation | 21 CFR 1040.10; IEC 60825-1/-2 | — |
| O-RAN Alliance / CPRI | fronthaul interfaces and optics requirements | O-RAN WG4/WG9 specs | free |
IEEE 802.3 clause map
| Clause | Defines | Amendment |
|---|---|---|
| 36 / 37 | 1000BASE-X PCS/PMA; 1G auto-negotiation | 802.3z (1998) |
| 38 | 1000BASE-SX / LX PMD | 802.3z |
| 40 | 1000BASE-T | 802.3ab |
| 46 / 47 | XGMII; XAUI | 802.3ae |
| 49 | 10GBASE-R PCS (64b/66b) | 802.3ae |
| 52 | 10GBASE-SR / LR / ER PMD | 802.3ae |
| 55 | 10GBASE-T | 802.3an |
| 58 / 59 / 60 | 100BASE-LX10/BX10; 1000BASE-LX10/BX10; 1000BASE-PX (EPON) | 802.3ah |
| 68 | 10GBASE-LRM | 802.3aq |
| 72 / 73 / 74 | 10GBASE-KR; backplane/copper auto-negotiation; BASE-R FEC | 802.3ap |
| 75 | 10G-EPON PMDs | 802.3av |
| 82 / 83 | 40G/100G PCS; PMA | 802.3ba |
| 84 / 85 | 40GBASE-KR4; 40GBASE-CR4 / 100GBASE-CR10 | 802.3ba |
| 86 | 40GBASE-SR4 / 100GBASE-SR10 | 802.3ba |
| 87 / 88 | 40GBASE-LR4 (ER4: 802.3bm); 100GBASE-LR4 / ER4 | 802.3ba |
| 89 | 40GBASE-FR | 802.3bg |
| 91 | RS-FEC (528,514) for 100G | 802.3bj |
| 92 / 93 / 94 | 100GBASE-CR4; KR4; KP4 (RS 544,514) | 802.3bj |
| 95 | 100GBASE-SR4 | 802.3bm |
| Annex 83D / 83E | CAUI-4 chip-to-chip / chip-to-module | 802.3bm |
| 107 / 108 / 109 | 25GBASE-R PCS; RS-FEC; PMA | 802.3by |
| 110 / 111 / 112 | 25GBASE-CR / CR-S; KR; SR | 802.3by |
| 113 | 25GBASE-T / 40GBASE-T | 802.3bq |
| 114 | 25GBASE-LR / ER | 802.3cc |
| 119 / 120 | 200G/400G PCS; PMA | 802.3bs |
| 121 / 122 | 200GBASE-DR4; 200GBASE-FR4/LR4, 400GBASE-FR8/LR8 (ER4/ER8: 802.3cn) | 802.3bs |
| 123 / 124 | 400GBASE-SR16; 400GBASE-DR4 | 802.3bs |
| Annex 120C / 120D / 120E | 200GAUI-8/400GAUI-16 C2C; C2M; 400GAUI-8 C2M | 802.3bs |
| 126 | 2.5G/5GBASE-T | 802.3bz |
| 133 / 134 / 135 | 50GBASE-R PCS; RS-FEC; PMA | 802.3cd |
| 136 / 137 | 50GBASE-KR/100GBASE-KR2/200GBASE-KR4; 50GBASE-CR/100GBASE-CR2/200GBASE-CR4 | 802.3cd |
| 138 | 50GBASE-SR, 100GBASE-SR2, 200GBASE-SR4; 400GBASE-SR8 (802.3cm) | 802.3cd / cm |
| 139 | 50GBASE-FR / LR (ER: 802.3cn) | 802.3cd |
| 140 | 100GBASE-DR; 100GBASE-FR1 / LR1 (802.3cu) | 802.3cd / cu |
| 141–144 | 25G/50G-EPON | 802.3ca |
| 150 | 400GBASE-SR4.2 (BiDi) | 802.3cm |
| 151 | 400GBASE-FR4 / LR4-6 | 802.3cu |
| 154 | 100GBASE-ZR | 802.3ct |
| 156 | 400GBASE-ZR | 802.3cw |
| 162 / 163 | 100G/lane backplane (KR1/KR2/KR4); copper (CR1/CR2/CR4) | 802.3ck |
| Annex 120F / 120G | 100GAUI-1, 200GAUI-2, 400GAUI-4 C2C / C2M | 802.3ck |
| 167 | 100GBASE-VR1/SR1, 200GBASE-VR2/SR2, 400GBASE-VR4/SR4 (100G/lane MMF) | 802.3db |
| 800GBASE clauses | 800GBASE-R PCS, CR8/KR8, VR8/SR8, DR8/DR8-2 | 802.3df (2024) |
| 1.6TBASE / 200G-per-lane | 200G electrical lanes, 1.6TBASE-DR8, 800GBASE-DR4 | 802.3dj (in progress) |
Full PMD list with reaches: PMD reference, Reach tables.
SFF / SNIA documents most used
| Document | Subject |
|---|---|
| SFF-8472 | SFP family management interface (A0h/A2h, DDM) |
| SFF-8636 | QSFP family management interface |
| SFF-8024 | shared code tables (identifiers, connectors, encodings) |
| SFF-8079 / SFF-8089 | SFP rate select |
| SFF-8418 / SFF-8419 | SFP+ high-speed electrical; power and low-speed electrical |
| SFF-8431 | SFP+ (SFI) electrical and management |
| SFF-8432 / SFF-8433 | SFP+ mechanical; ganged cages |
| SFF-8661 / 8662 / 8663 / 8679 | QSFP28 module, connector, cage; QSFP+ 4-lane electrical/pinout |
| SFF-8665 | QSFP28 "solution" (power classes, rate) |
| SFF-8690 | tunable SFP+ memory map |
| SFF-8071 / 8081 | SFP+ 1x 10 Gb/s / 28 Gb/s (SFP28) pluggable solution |
| SFF-TA-1004 | tunable QSFP? (check catalog) |
| INF-8074i / INF-8077i | SFP MSA (original); XFP MSA |
Complete list with groups: MSA specification catalog.
ITU-T recommendations
| Recommendation | Subject |
|---|---|
| G.651.1 | 50/125 µm multi-mode fibre |
| G.652 (A–D) | standard single-mode fibre; G.652.D = low water peak, the default |
| G.653 / G.654 / G.655 / G.656 | dispersion-shifted; cut-off shifted low-loss (submarine, long-haul); NZ-DSF; wideband NZ-DSF |
| G.657 (A1/A2/B3) | bend-insensitive single-mode |
| G.694.1 / G.694.2 | DWDM frequency grid; CWDM wavelength grid (Wavelength bands) |
| G.695 | CWDM application interfaces |
| G.698.1 / G.698.2 | DWDM single-channel interfaces (black-link) |
| G.959.1 | OTN physical layer interfaces |
| G.709 / G.798 | OTN frame structure; OTN equipment |
| G.975 / G.975.1 | FEC for submarine/OTN |
| G.671 | passive optical components |
| G.984.x / G.987.x / G.9807.1 / G.989.x / G.9804.x | GPON; XG-PON; XGS-PON; NG-PON2; 50G-PON (PON standards) |
| G.8262 / G.8275 | SyncE; PTP telecom profiles |
IEC, ISO/IEC, TIA
| Standard | Subject |
|---|---|
| IEC 60793 / 60794 | optical fibres; optical cables |
| IEC 61754-4 / -7 / -20 | SC; MPO; LC connector interfaces |
| IEC 61755 | connector optical interfaces (grades) |
| IEC 61300-3-35 | endface inspection criteria (the pass/fail scratches and defects) |
| IEC 61280-4-1 / -4-2 | attenuation measurement MMF; SMF |
| IEC 60825-1 / 60825-2 | laser safety classes; fibre communication systems (Labels) |
| IEC 62150-x | fibre optic active components test methods |
| ISO/IEC 11801 | generic cabling; OM1–OM5, OS1a/OS2 definitions |
| ANSI/TIA-568.3 | optical fibre cabling components |
| TIA-492AAAA…AAAE | OM1, OM2, OM3, OM4, OM5 fibre specifications |
| TIA-604-x (FOCIS) | connector intermateability (FOCIS-10 LC, FOCIS-5 MPO) |
| TIA-598 | fibre colour coding |
| ANSI/TIA-942 | data-centre infrastructure |
Fibre Channel, InfiniBand, OIF
| Document | Subject |
|---|---|
| FC-PI-2 / -4 / -5 / -6 / -6P / -7 / -8 | 4 / 8 / 16 / 32 / 128 (parallel) / 64 / 128 (serial) GFC physical (FC speeds) |
| FC-FS-x / FC-SW-x | framing and signalling; switch fabric |
| IBTA Vol 1 | InfiniBand architecture, transport |
| IBTA Vol 2 | physical layer: electrical, optical, cable EEPROM and identity (IB cables) |
| OIF CEI-28G / -56G / -112G / -224G | electrical lane interfaces (VSR, MR, LR, XSR) |
| OIF 400ZR / 800ZR IA | coherent pluggable interoperability (Coherent) |
| OIF CMIS 5.x, C-CMIS | management for QSFP-DD/OSFP; coherent extensions (CMIS) |
| OIF ELSFP, co-packaging IAs | external laser sources, CPO |
Which document answers which question
| Question | Look in |
|---|---|
| Reach, wavelength, Tx/Rx limits of a PMD | IEEE 802.3 clause (Ethernet), FC-PI-x, IBTA Vol 2, MSA spec |
| What the EEPROM bytes mean | SFF-8472 / SFF-8636 / CMIS / INF-8077i (Memory map) |
| Code tables (identifier, connector, encoding) | SFF-8024 |
| Module mechanics, cage, pinout | SFF-8432/8433, SFF-8661…8663, QSFP-DD/OSFP MSA hardware specs |
| Electrical interface to the host | SFF-8431 (SFI), IEEE AUI annexes, OIF CEI |
| Fibre attenuation and dispersion | ITU-T G.652/G.657; ISO/IEC 11801 for OM/OS grades |
| Connector loss, cleanliness pass/fail | IEC 61755, IEC 61300-3-35 |
| Whether the module is eye-safe | IEC 60825-1, label |
| WDM channel frequencies | ITU-T G.694.1 / G.694.2 |
| PON power budgets and wavelengths | ITU-T G.984 / G.9807; IEEE 802.3 Cl. 60/75/141 |
| FEC type required | IEEE clause of the PMD (Cl. 74, 91, 108, 134) |
In CodingBox
CodingBox implements the SFF-8472, SFF-8636, SFF-8024, CMIS and INF-8077i documents for reading and editing memory, and names the IEEE/FC/IB codes it decodes from the compliance bytes — the specifications section holds the byte-level detail (MSA & standards, Spec revisions).