English 
Русский 
简体中文 
Español 
Deutsch 
Français 
Português 
Italiano 
日本語 
한국어 
Türkçe 
Polski 
Nederlands 
العربية 
हिन्दी 
Bahasa Indonesia 
Tiếng Việt 
ไทย 
বাংলা 
اردو 
Kiswahili 
Oʻzbekcha 
አማርኛ 
فارسی 
繁體中文 
Bahasa Melayu Optical interface MSAs: CWDM4, PSM4, 100G Lambda, ZR/ZR+
Đội ngũ của chúng tôi đang thực hiện bản dịch. Bài viết này tạm thời chưa có bản tiếng Việt và đang được hiển thị bằng tiếng Anh.
Three kinds of document define a pluggable module. Form-factor MSAs (SFP, QSFP-DD, OSFP) fix the mechanics and electrical pins; management specifications (SFF-8472, SFF-8636, CMIS) fix the memory map; and the optical interface — wavelengths, powers, reach, coding — comes either from a formal standard (IEEE 802.3 for Ethernet, T11 for Fibre Channel, IBTA for InfiniBand, ITU-T for transport) or from an interface MSA: a group of vendors agreeing on a PMD the standards bodies had not (yet) written. Many of the most common data-centre optics are MSA interfaces, and their names are on the label, in SFF-8024 codes and in CMIS applications.
Why interface MSAs exist
IEEE standardises a small set of reaches per rate (for 100G: SR4, LR4, ER4 and later DR, FR1, LR1). Operators wanted cheaper 2 km and 500 m options, duplex multimode, bidirectional fibre, and coherent DWDM in a pluggable — so vendors wrote MSAs in months rather than the years an IEEE project takes. Several were later adopted or superseded by IEEE clauses, but the MSA names stuck.
The catalogue
| MSA / group | Founded | Defines | Medium & reach | Codes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10x10 MSA | 2011 | 100G as 10 × 10G wavelengths (CFP) | SMF 2 / 10 / 40 km | legacy |
| 100G PSM4 | 2014 | 4 × 25G parallel single-mode, 1310 nm, MPO | SMF 500 m | Table 4-4 07h |
| 100G CWDM4 | 2014 | 4 × 25G on 1271–1331 nm CWDM, duplex LC | SMF 2 km | 06h |
| CLR4 Alliance | 2014 | CWDM4 variant intended to run without FEC | SMF 2 km | 17h |
| SWDM Alliance | 2015 | 40G/100G SWDM4: 4 wavelengths 850–940 nm on duplex MMF | OM4/OM5 100–150 m | 1Fh / 20h |
| 4WDM MSA | 2017 | 100G 4WDM-10 / -20 / -40 on LAN-WDM wavelengths | SMF 10 / 20 / 40 km | 22h–24h |
| 100G Lambda MSA | 2017 | 100G per wavelength PAM4: 100G-FR, 100G-LR, 400G-FR4, 400G-LR4-10, later 100G-ER1-30/40 | SMF 2 / 10 / 30–40 km | 26h, 27h, 48h, 49h |
| 400G BiDi MSA | 2018 | 400G-BD4.2 — 8 × 50G on 4 duplex MMF pairs, two wavelengths per fibre | MMF 70–150 m | became IEEE 400GBASE-SR4.2 |
| OIF 400ZR | IA 2020 | 400G coherent DWDM (16QAM, CFEC) in QSFP-DD/OSFP, amplified metro | SMF 80–120 km amplified | 4Ah (400GBASE-ZR in IEEE) |
| OpenZR+ MSA | 2020 | extends 400ZR: oFEC, 100–400G multi-rate, longer reach, QPSK/8QAM/16QAM | SMF regional | CMIS applications |
| OpenROADM MSA | 2016 | operator-driven coherent 100–400G plus open line-system YANG models | SMF long haul | CMIS applications |
| 800G Pluggable MSA | 2019 | 800G-FR4 (4 × 200G, 2 km) and 800G-PSM8 / DR8 (8 × 100G, 500 m) | SMF | 800G media IDs |
| OpenEye MSA | 2019 | analog (DSP-free) PAM4 optics for 50G–400G to cut power and latency | SMF / MMF | vendor-specific |
| COBO | 2015 | on-board optics form factor and management (uses CMIS) | — | identifiers 02h-class |
| CFP MSA | 2009 | CFP / CFP2 / CFP4 / CFP8 form factors for 40G–400G, incl. coherent CFP2-DCO/ACO | — | form factor |
| 25G / 50G Ethernet Consortia | 2014 / 2016 | single-lane 25G and 50G Ethernet ahead of IEEE 802.3by / 802.3cd | — | adopted by IEEE |
| QSFP-DD, OSFP, SFP-DD, DSFP MSAs | 2016–2018 | form factors and (with OIF) CMIS/MIS management | — | Form factors |
Years are the founding or first-release year of each group; exact dates and revisions are on the MSA sites.
MSA vs IEEE: interoperability traps
| Pairing | Interoperable? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 100G CWDM4 ↔ 100G CLR4 | usually | same wavelengths; CLR4 specifies FEC-free operation — host FEC settings must match |
| 100G CWDM4 ↔ 4WDM-10 | no | 4WDM uses LAN-WDM wavelengths (1295–1310 nm), not CWDM |
| 100G PSM4 ↔ 100GBASE-DR4 / 400G DR4 breakout | no | PSM4 is 4 × 25G NRZ; DR is 100G PAM4 per fibre |
| 100G-FR / 100G-LR (Lambda MSA) ↔ 100GBASE-FR1 / LR1 (IEEE) | yes | IEEE adopted the MSA parameters |
| 400G-FR4 (MSA) ↔ 400GBASE-FR4 (IEEE) | yes | same |
| 400ZR ↔ OpenZR+ | only in 400ZR mode | ZR+ modules usually support the 400ZR application too |
| 40G SWDM4 ↔ 40GBASE-SR4 | no | duplex MMF with 4 wavelengths vs parallel MPO |
Always read the module's compliance code rather than the marketing name: Compliance codes, Physical mismatches.
Where these optics appear
- Data-centre leaf/spine — PSM4 and CWDM4 dominated 100G; 400G-FR4/DR4 and 800G-DR8 follow the same pattern (Ethernet optical interfaces).
- Campus and enterprise MMF — SWDM4 and BiDi to reuse duplex OM3/OM4 for 40G/100G.
- Metro and DCI — 400ZR/ZR+ replace transponders with pluggables (Coherent & long haul).
- AI clusters — 800G DR8/2×FR4 per the 800G MSA and IEEE 802.3df (Optics in AI fabrics).
In CodingBox
CodingBox names MSA interfaces from their SFF-8024 codes and CMIS application IDs on Check transceiver — 100G CWDM4, 400G-FR4, 400ZR — so a module's real interface is visible regardless of what the label says.