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How to Choose Optical Modules for Servers
Time: 2019-02-28
We often receive inquiries from customers asking if we have optical modules compatible with certain servers; on such occasions, our sales or FAE colleagues will always follow up with a question: which manufacturer’s network adapter is used in the server? Some customers are confused about this—they want to buy optical modules for servers, so why ask about network adapters? Below we will explain the reason.
Those who are familiar with servers know this, and those who are not will learn from this article: unlike switches, servers are not equipped with ports for plugging in optical modules directly. Figure 1 below is an internal schematic diagram of the Lenovo SR650 server, where no ports for direct optical module insertion are visible.
Figure 1: Internal Schematic Diagram of Lenovo SR650 Server
So how are optical modules used on servers to achieve fiber interconnection with switches? Here we need to introduce another device—the network adapter, also known as a network interface card (NIC) in China. Figure 2 below is a physical picture of the Intel X520 series network adapter. As we can see, the network adapter is equipped with ports for inserting optical modules, and its gold finger end can be plugged into the PCIe slot of the server. In this way, the server can realize fiber interconnection with switches.
Figure 2: Intel X520 Series Network Adapter
From the above introduction, we know that the optical modules used on servers are plugged into network adapters. Therefore, when configuring optical modules for servers, it is necessary to select the type of optical modules and confirm their compatibility requirements based on the network adapters installed on the server. Network adapters from different manufacturers have different compatibility requirements for optical modules.
At present, the mainstream network adapter manufacturers on the market include Intel, Broadcom, Mellanox, QLogic, etc.
Moduletek is equipped with network adapters from all the above-mentioned manufacturers. Moreover, all our modules undergo compatibility testing on these network adapters before delivery and can only be shipped after passing the tests. Welcome to contact us for inquiries and orders.
If you have any questions about the above content, please contact us via email: sales@moduletek.com
