Before explaining the difference between the copper module and optical module, ETU-LINK takes you to know what the copper module and the optical module are. In fact, the copper module is a module that converts the optical port into the electrical port. Its function is to convert the optical signal into the electrical signal. Its interface type is RJ45.

The copper module has the characteristics of low power consumption, high performance and compact design. According to the different speed of copper module, it can be divided into 100 MB copper module, Gigabit copper module, 10Gigabit copper module and adaptive copper module. Among them, Gigabit copper module and 10Gigabitcopper module are the most widely used.

Ordinary optical modules are optical devices that can transmit and receive analog signals. The function is to transform the electrical signal into the optical signal through the transmitting end of the optical module, and then convert the optical signal into the electrical signal through the receiving end, so as to realize the photoelectric conversion. According to the different packaging forms, optical modules can be divided into SFP, SFP+, QSFP+ and QSFP28.

Next, ETU-LINK will list the differences between some copper module and optical modules.

1、Different interface: the interface of the copper module is RJ45, while the interface of the optical module is mainly LC, in addition to SC and MPO.

2、Different collocation: the copper module is usually used with category 5, category 6, super category 6 or category 7 network cable, while the optical module is generally connected with the optical patch cord.

3、Different parameters: the copper module has no wavelength, while the optical module has (such as 850nm, 1310nm, 1550nm).

4、Different devices: the devices of the copper module and the optical module are different, especially the copper module does not have the core device of the optical module——laser.

5、Different transmission distance: the transmission distance of the copper module is short, the farthest is only 100m, and the transmission distance of the optical module can reach 100m to 160km according to the type of optical fiber used.

The above is the difference between the copper module and the optical module. In the actual network scenario application, the copper module is more widely used in the copper cabling architecture, and the optical module in the optical cabling architecture can meet the transmission needs of different scenarios.