When evaluating optical transceiver providers, you may come across the terms “carrier-grade” and “enterprise-grade” in their product descriptions. While these descriptors may just seem like buzzwords, the underlying characteristics of these two categories can have serious implications for the performance of your network. In this article, we’ll explore the key differences between carrier and enterprise grade.
- Guaranteed New. Unlike the used or refurbished transceivers that are occasionally sold as enterprise-grade, all carrier-grade transceivers are brand new.
- Design & Performance Standards. All carrier-grade (but only some enterprise-grade) transceivers are manufactured in accordance with applicable IEEE standards and multi-source agreements (MSAs).
- High-Quality Components. Carrier-grade build quality goes beyond fundamental standards compliance. While many lower-quality manufacturers may be “MSA compliant,” they may cut corners by using less reliable components. For example, using inferior lasers will lower the cost to build, but will burn out much faster, thereby increasing your operational cost overall. Circuit board and solder quality, ribbon cable and connector quality, and optical alignment also play an important role in reliability.
- Additional Features. Carrier-grade transceivers boast advanced features like digital diagnostic monitoring (DDM) or digital optical monitoring (DOM), and are commonly available in extended temperature ranges. These benefits are only occasionally offered in enterprise-grade products.
- Maximum Uptime Availability. The difference between “carrier-grade” and “enterprise-grade” products is often measured in mean times between failure (MTBF). While MTBF can vary widely among specific products, but the MTBF of carrier-grade transceivers is frequently in the millions of hours, while comparable enterprise-grade optics may only be in the tens of thousands.
- EEPROM Expertise. EEPROMs are the key to compatibility between the switch or router and transceiver. You can expect to see more consistency in the EEPROM programming of carrier-grade optics, resulting in guaranteed platform compatibility.
- Trusted in Key Applications. As the name implies, carrier-grade transceivers are often deployed in mission-critical applications in core telecom networks, as well as leading hospital networks and high-performance computing applications. A provider of carrier-grade transceivers will have a long track record in these network environments.
Champion ONE offers only carrier-grade transceivers. For more information on how these optics can help your network, contact us today.
