Small Form-Factor Pluggable

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What Does Small Form-Factor Pluggable Mean?

Small form-factor pluggable (SFP) transceivers can be used with small form-factor connectors for a compact and efficient design. These are often used in modern telecommunications and data-handling systems.

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Techopedia Explains Small Form-Factor Pluggable

Small form-factor pluggable connections are often included in different types of network components like routers, firewalls and network interface cards, as well as in Ethernet connectors. They may also be part of a fiber channel storage setup or other storage service. By designing a printed circuit board that complements connectors in the host systems, a small form-factor pluggable design can provide versatility for data networking.

Part of the utility of small form-factor pluggable connections is to serve various communication standards such as particular gigabit Ethernet speeds, as well as fiber channel capability. Another protocol called Synchronous Optical Networking (SONET) uses optical fiber and laser technology to stream signals. These types of resources help provide high-performance telecommunication services in distributed communications networking.

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Margaret Rouse
Technology expert
Margaret Rouse
Technology expert

Margaret is an award-winning writer and educator known for her ability to explain complex technical topics to a non-technical business audience. Over the past twenty years, her IT definitions have been published by Que in an encyclopedia of technology terms and cited in articles in the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine, and Discovery Magazine. She joined Techopedia in 2011. Margaret’s idea of ​​a fun day is to help IT and business professionals to learn to speak each other’s highly specialized languages.