10Gb fiber cable with 1Gb SFP

[Chad Campbell]

Hello,

I have 10Gb fiber cable that we do not need, I was curious to know if I could use a 1Gb SFP module instead of 10GB module?

We do not want to have to pull new fiber, or pay for an additional 10Gb module if we do not have to.

Thanks,

Chad

[Marvin Rhoads · Accepted solution]

Cables (or other layer 1 media) don't have a speed. Cables have physical properties (singlemode, multimode, length, termination type etc.) that make them generally suitable for certain applications (1 Gbps Ethernet, 10 Gbps Ethernet etc.).

Both 1 Gbps Ethernet and 10 Gbps Ethernet can operate over multimode and singlemode cabling, given the right transceivers and optical properties.

Tell us what kind of cable and transceiver and we can answer your original question better.

[Chad Campbell]

10Gb Multimode fiber and 10Gb multimode connector, if that what you are asking.

[Marvin Rhoads]

Multimode fiber that's rated for 10 Gbps transmission speeds is typically OM3 or OM4 specification. It's usually terminated at patch panels with either SC or LC type connectors.

If you have 1 Gbps transceivers compatible with your switches, they should operate fine over OM3 fiber cables as the transmission medium.