10GBASE-LX4 Application Overview

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10GBASE-SR
10GBASE-LX4: 10 Gb/s wavelength‑division multiplexed (WDM) serial transmission over 2 multimode optical fibers, with reach up to at least 300 m

10GBASE-LX4 supports four long wavelength WDM serial transmission over duplex (2‑fiber) multimode optical fiber cabling. The application’s equivalent symbol rate is 12.5 GBd per lane and the supported distance varies according to the type of multimode cable used. For legacy OM1 and OM2 installations, mode conditioning launch cords are required at each transceiver end to prevent signal jitter from differential mode delay (DMD). Network equipment interface connections include duplex optical fiber connectors and standard sockets into which physical (PHY) layer transceiver modules may be plugged.

  • Connector type: SC, LC
  • Transceiver module: XENPAK, X2
  • Defined in clause 53 of the IEEE 802.3 Standard for Ethernet
  • Initially published as IEEE Std 802.3ae™: Media Access Control Parameters, Physical Layers and Management Parameters for 10 Gb/s Operation in 2002

Optical Fiber Cabling (Channel) Characteristics:

10GBASE-LX4
Parameter OM31 OM41 OM51 Unit
Operating wavelengths: 1275.7, 1300.2, 1324.7, and 1349.2 nm
Specification wavelength: 1300 nm
Modal bandwidth (min): 2,000 4,700 MHz∙km
Operating range: 2 to 300 m
Insertion loss (max): 2.0 dB
1 Use of mode conditioning launch cords is not required for OM3, OM4, or OM5.

Key Application Capabilities:

  • Defines a 10 Gb/s PHY using four WDM lanes for operation over at least 300 m of MMF
  • Supports full-duplex operation only
  • Preserves the 802.3 Ethernet frame format utilizing the Ethernet MAC
  • Preserves minimum and maximum FrameSize of current 802.3 Standard for Ethernet
  • Provides appropriate support for optical transport networks (OTNs)
  • Supports a BER of better than or equal to 10-12 at the MAC/PLS service interface

Related Applications:

The IEEE P802.3ae Task Force also specified the following 10 Gb/s Ethernet applications:

Application    Operating    Wavelength Media Operating Range1
10GBASE-ER 1550 nm Single-mode up to 40 km3
10GBASE-LR 1310 nm Single-mode up to 10 km
10GBASE-LX4 four WDM2 Single-mode up to 10 km
10GBASE-SR4 850 nm Multi-mode up to 400 m
1 Supported distance varies according to the type of optical fiber cable used.
2 1275.7 nm, 1300.2 nm, 1324.7 nm, and 1349.2 nm
3 Links longer than 30 km for the same link power budget are considered engineered links and must not exceed specified insertion loss.

Back to TIA FOTC IEEE 802.3 Multimode Optical Fiber Ethernet Standards Explorer