How Much Do You Know About MTP-8 Solution?

It is not difficult to find that MTP components are widely used for high density application in data centers. As 40G and 100G network has been utilized by many data centers, two common types of cabling solutions are popular among data center managers—MTP-12 solution and MTP-24 solution, which use links based on increments of 12 and 24, such as 12-fiber MTP trunk cable and 24-fiber MTP trunk cable. In addition to MTP-12 solution and MTP-24 solution, there is another MTP solution—MTP-8. So how much do you know about MTP-8 solution? This article will guide you to learn about MTP-8 solution.

Overview of MTP-12 Solution and MTP-24 Solution

Before we come to MTP-8 solution, let's have a brief overview of MTP-12 solution and MTP-24 solution. In 40G networking applications, a 12-fiber MTP fiber connector is used: 10G is sent along each channel or fiber strand in a transmit and receive direction, and 8 of the 12 fibers are used to provide 40G parallel transmission. In 100G network applications, a 24-fiber MTP fiber connector is used: 10G is sent along each channel or fiber strand in a transmit and receive direction, and 20 of the 24 fibers are used to provide 100G parallel transmission. Here are two figures for you to have a better understanding of this.

MTP-12 Solution

MTP-24 Solution

Overview of MTP-8 Solution

In a MTP-8 solution or Base-8 solution, 8-fiber MTP MTP trunk cable, 24-fiber or 32-fiber MTP MTP trunk cable can be used to transmit data. In brief, MTP-8 solution uses cable links based on increments of the number "eight". Since MTP-12 solution and MTP-24 solution have been using in the data center for years, you may ask is t necessary to use MTP-8 solution? From the figure below, we can find that in fiber optic industry, optical transceiver roadmap changes rapidly from 10G to 40G, 100G and even up to 400G. With faster speeds spreading out into data center racks and SANs, there is a need for a more manageable grouping. For 40G network applications and above, optical signals are usually carried over eight fibers, and terminated at the switch in a MTP-8 QSFP transceiver which combines eight fibers.

From the figure, we can also learn that for Ethernet transmission ranging from 40G to 400G, all roads lead to 2-fiber and 8-fiber solution. For 40G/100G and future 400G applications, the use of 12-fiber MTP solution would result in 33% of the optical fibers unused. Thus it is expected that for 400G application, MTP-8 will gain widespread market acceptance.

Advantages of MTP-8 Solution

There are two primary advantages of MTP-8 solution—flexibility and 100% fiber utilization. Being wholly divisible by number “2”, MTP-8 solution can be easily used for two-fiber transceiver systems, just as MTP-12 solution can be. And for those who have deployed 12-fiber or 24-fiber MTP MTP trunk cable, how to ensure the 100% fiber utilization? MTP-8 solution can. You can use conversion cords or modules to transition two 12-fiber or one 24-fiber trunk from backbone cabling into three 8-fiber MTP for 40G/100G equipment connection. But in this process, conversion modules will introduce additional insertion loss into the channel and conversion cords. Thus deploying MTP-8 solution directly can ensure 100% fiber utilization without the additional cost and insertion loss of MTP-12 to MTP-8 conversion devices. In a word, for the most common 40G/100G/400G transceiver types, MTP-8 solution offers the most flexibility and uses the fibers to the fullest.

Conclusion

MTP-8 solution is considered as the most cost-effective connectivity solution for supporting the current and future 8-fiber applications. Anyone with a near-tern migration plan to adopt 40G or 100G in the data center will benefit a lot from adopting MTP-8 solution.