All form factors
QSFP28100G·since 2014 (IEEE 802.3bm)
QSFP28, The current 100G data-center fabric standard.
Quad SFP28, SFF-8665. Four 25.78 Gbps NRZ lanes in one module; the dominant 100G transceiver in production data centers as of 2026. Breakout to 4×25G SFP28 is supported on most platforms and is the standard topology for high-density ToR designs.
Specifications
MSA references
SFF-8665 (mechanical) · SFF-8636 (management)
Electrical interface
4 lanes × 25.78125 Gbps NRZ SerDes
Power consumption
2.5 W – 5 W per module (up to 6 W for coherent 100ZR)
Signalling
Per-lane 64B/66B NRZ
FEC
RS-FEC (528,514) required and on by default
Connector types
MPO-12 (SR4, PSM4) · LC duplex (LR4, ER4, CWDM4, 100ZR)
Available SKUs
| Part number | Spec | Wavelength | Fiber | Reach | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
NAP-QSFP28-SR4 | 100GBASE-SR4 | 850 nm | MM OM3/4 | 70 / 100 m | MPO-12 |
NAP-QSFP28-LR4 | 100GBASE-LR4 | 1295–1310 nm LAN-WDM | SM | 10 km | LC duplex |
NAP-QSFP28-ER4 | 100GBASE-ER4 | 1295–1310 nm LAN-WDM | SM | 40 km | SOA-based |
NAP-QSFP28-CWDM4 | 100G CWDM4 MSA | 1271/91/11/31 nm | SM | 2 km | Lower-cost LR4 alternative |
NAP-QSFP28-PSM4 | 100G PSM4 MSA | 1310 nm | SM parallel | 500 m – 2 km | MPO-12, 4 parallel SM |
NAP-QSFP28-DR | 100GBASE-DR (single lane) | 1310 nm | SM parallel | 500 m | Single λ PAM4 |
NAP-QSFP28-100ZR | 100G coherent ZR | C-band | SM | 80–120 km | DSP-based, OIF 400ZR-Light |
NAP-QSFP28-DAC-1M…5M | 100G DAC | — | Twinax | 1–5 m | Passive |
NAP-QSFP28-BREAKOUT-3M | 100G → 4×25G DAC | — | Twinax | 3 m | ToR breakout |
In production with
QSFP28 modules are deployed across these platforms today. Full coding details are on the compatibility matrix.
- Cisco Nexus 9300-FX/FX2/FX3/GX, Catalyst 9500/9600
- Juniper QFX5120/5130/5200/5220, QFX10K, MX10K
- Arista 7050X3, 7060X2/X4/X5, 7280R3, 7500R/R3, 7800R
- Dell S5232F/S5248F, Z9264F/Z9332F
- Aruba CX 8400/9300/10000
- NVIDIA Spectrum-2/3/4
Operational notes
CWDM4 (MSA, 2 km) and LR4 (IEEE 802.3bm, 10 km) are not interoperable, different wavelength plans. Always match the standard, not just the reach.
Coherent 100ZR is increasingly the default for metro DCI, better impairment tolerance than direct-detect ZR4, and now competitively priced.
Recommended for
- Spine-leaf interconnects in modern data centers
- AI/ML training fabric (100G RoCE)
- Metro DCI on dark fiber (coherent ZR variants)
- High-density 25G ToR via 4×25G breakout