As high-speed data transmission becomes the norm in enterprise networks, AI data centers, cloud computing, SaaS, and hyperscale operations, organizations increasingly rely on advanced transceivers and high-performance cabling. Fiber breakout cables complement these technologies by enabling more flexible, efficient, and scalable connectivity.
What Is a Fiber Breakout Cable?
Fiber breakout cables are multi-fiber optical cables that map the multiple optical lanes of a parallel transceiver into individual connectors. This allows for breaking a high-speed connection into many lower-speed connections. One side of a breakout cable has a single connector, and the other side fans out into 4, 8, 16, 24, or more cables.
The number of fibers in breakout cables depends on the total data transmission speed of the network. With eight fibers, it’s possible to divide a 100G port into 4x25G connections. Breakout cables with 16 fibers can support 200G to 2x100G, 200G to 4x50G, and other configurations.
What Is the Purpose of Fiber Breakout Cables?
There are several reasons why breakout cables are a mainstay of data center operations.
Port Connectivity
To keep infrastructure costs down and reduce e-waste, any facility improvements need to be backward-compatible with existing equipment. Fiber breakouts play a major part in making sure 800G hardware can support 200G, 100G, 40G, and lower data transmission rates.
For example, with a breakout cable, a 400G QSFP-DD DR4 transceiver can connect seamlessly to 4x100G QSFP28 FR. Workhorse 100G QSFP28 allows for 4x25G breakouts or 2x50G SFP56 configurations. Similarly, 40G QSFP+ can interface with 4x10G SFP+ optical lanes.
Bandwidth Utilization
Fiber breakout cables also help you use your network’s available bandwidth more strategically. Instead of allowing processing potential to go to waste, you eliminate bottlenecks and maximize the value of every connection.
It’s true that higher-capacity pluggable optics are compatible with lower-speed network hardware, but using 400G cables to connect one-to-one with 100G ports means an immense waste of bandwidth. The same applies to 100G connections for hardware that only supports 25G or 10G data transfer rates.
With breakout cables, you can distribute network resources efficiently. The 400G port splits into 100G hubs, fully utilizing bandwidth. Those 100G ports can break out into 2x50G or 4x25G as needed. The system works just as smoothly, but your total infrastructure investment is far lower.
Streamlined Operations
Managing a confusing tangle of network cables is hard for any IT technician. It can lead to user errors, add to maintenance times, and increase heat generation by reducing airflow.
Breakouts allow for the same flexibility in network design, but with far fewer cables. Instead of running four individual 25-meter connections, your team only needs one 25-meter cable and four breakouts. The differences are even more noticeable with fiber breakout cables that have 8, 12, or 24 connections.
What Are the Types of Fiber Breakout Cables?
Keep in mind that not all fiber-optic cables are compatible with breakouts. SFP+, SFP28, and SFP56 can’t split, and neither can simplex or single-core cables. Aside from that, data centers have a wide variety of options for fiber breakouts.
Single-Mode Fiber Breakout Cables
Single-mode fiber has a small core diameter and transmits data in just one wavelength at a time. This design reduces signal degradation and significantly extends data transmission distances. Instead of 25-meter connections, SMF cables support 2 km (1.24 miles) distances at 100G. This is ideal for distributed networks at universities, hyperscale data centers, or enterprise data centers that have a large footprint.
Multi-Mode Fiber Breakout Cables
Multi-mode fiber is more common for the majority of data center operations. The max distance of SMF vs. MMF cables changes, but the total bandwidth capacity scales higher. When combined with breakouts, this allows for extreme data transmission rates, powerful data processing capabilities, and excellent resource utilization.
AI data centers with MMF breakouts get more return on investment, both in terms of infrastructure costs and virtual resources. In other words, they scale smarter instead of harder.
AOC Cables
Active Optical Cables deliver enhanced energy efficiency compared to conventional fiber optics. AOCs use integrated electronics to enhance signal quality and boost transmission distance. AOC breakouts are currently compatible with 400G, 200G, 100G, and 40G data rates.
SC Connectors
Standard or Subscriber Connectors are a popular option for Gigabit Ethernet. These “stick and click” connections are still common in many enterprise data centers. They allow for fast, inexpensive, and easy deployment and provide excellent durability and precision. SC is commonly used with duplex cables.
SC interfaces have largely replaced the more complex and slower FC and ST connectors. That said, data centers with legacy equipment can still find SC to ST or SC to FC cables.
LC Connectors
Lucent Connectors are the natural evolution of SC technology. LC fiber breakout connectors are roughly half the size of SC-style connectors, reducing the difficulty of setting up transceivers, giving IT techs more space to work, and increasing available panel density. LC uses a latch connection instead of the push-pull operation of SC.
Multi-Fiber Push-On Connectors
MPO connectors are ideal for the high-density arrays and complex breakout needs of hyperscale or large-scale data center applications. For high-speed computing, MPO connectors with 8, 12, 16, or 24 fibers are practically a necessity. These connectors represent state-of-the-art pluggable optics, and they’re set to become the new standard as data center cabling hits 800G and progresses toward 1.6 Tb/s connections.
Why and Where Should You Use Fiber Breakout Cables?
The versatility of fiber breakout cables makes them a strong choice for data centers of any size, but especially for large-scale and high-speed applications.
Green Data Centers
Fiber breakouts can reduce cable infrastructure and streamline connection layouts. Improved airflow reduces facility cooling costs, energy consumption, and carbon generation.
Areas With High Cable Density
Patch cables have a place and time, but overcrowded ports reduce operational efficiency. High-density stacks are often better served with high-performance optics and cable breakouts.
Data Center Expansion Projects
Expansion projects provide the perfect opportunity to use data center resources more strategically. Careful planning with fiber-optic upgrades, MMF, MPO, and breakouts can potentially reduce total hardware investments, including servers and GPUs.
Discover the Right Fiber Breakout Cable Configurations for Every Application
Fiber optics and data centers go hand-in-hand. Fiber breakout cables allow for greater customization and efficiency in network engineering, but the performance of any network depends on the quality of its component. At Equal Optics, we combine high-speed innovation with uncompromising standards, delivering solutions built with premium Tier One components and backed by a lifetime warranty.
If you’re ready to strengthen your network with dependable, high-performance fiber optic cable, request a quote from Equal Optics today.
