SFP+ (10 Gbps)
Direct Answer
Enhanced Small Form-Factor Pluggable (SFP+) is a standardized 10 Gbps transceiver form factor defined by SFF-8431 and SFF-8432. Retaining the physical dimensions of standard SFP, it supports 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10GbE), 8G/16G Fibre Channel, and OTU2 over a single 10.3125 Gbps serial electrical lane.
Source: SFF Committee SFF-8431 / SFF-8432 / IEEE 802.3ae
Specs
| Standard / MSA | SFF-8431 / SFF-8432 |
| Form Factor | SFP+ (Enhanced SFP) |
| Electrical Channels | 1-lane (10.3125 Gbps NRZ) |
| Max Data Rate (Ethernet) | 10.3125 Gbps |
| Max Data Rate (Fibre Channel) | 16 Gbps |
| Optical Connector | Duplex LC |
| Direct Attach Copper (DAC) | Supported (Twinax up to 7m passive) |
| Digital Optical Monitoring (DOM) | SFF-8472 standard |
| Backward Compatibility | Accepts 1G SFP in dual-rate ports |
Design and Power Optimization
SFP+ succeeded the larger XFP, X2, and XENPAK form factors by moving clock and data recovery (CDR) and electronic dispersion compensation (EDC) circuitry from the transceiver module directly onto the host switch motherboard. This reduced module power consumption to under 1.5W per port, enabling ultra-dense 48-port 10GbE switch faceplates.
Common Variants and DAC
Prominent optical types include 10GBASE-SR (850nm OM3/OM4 up to 300m/400m), 10GBASE-LR (1310nm SMF up to 10km), and 10GBASE-ER (1550nm SMF up to 40km). SFP+ also standardized Direct Attach Copper (DAC) twinax cables for cost-effective 1m to 7m intra-rack server connections.