Grey Transceiver vs. Color Transceiver, What is the Difference?

If you are a network maintenance engineer or technician, you should know the term optical transceiver. But have you ever heard of gray and color optical transceivers? Do you know what they mean? And what are the differences between them? Now we are going to talk about this topic.

First, let’s start with a grey transceiver.

What is a grey transceiver?

A grey transceiver is an optical transceiver that only uses one or two wavelengths of light to transmit and receive data. The grey transceiver is not color-coded because it only uses one wavelength of light. The most common wavelengths used by grey transceivers are 850nm, 1310nm, and 1550nm.

In these terms, “grey” is a euphemism for an optical transceiver that is regular, simple to obtain, reasonably priced, and implies “uncolored”. So, in most cases, a grey transceiver is a standard transceiver.

For example, the most popular 1000BASE-SX, LX, EX, and ZX SFP transceivers are the typical grey transceivers; they all transmit and receive data at 850nm, 1310nm, or 1550nm.

What is a color transceiver?

A color transceiver is an optical transceiver that uses multiple wavelengths of light to transmit and receive data. Color transceivers are color-coded because they use multiple wavelengths of light.

Like the CWDM and DWDM transceivers, they are typical color transceivers that transmit and receive data at multiplane wavelengths.

Another example is the 40G QSFP+ LR4, which features four different wavelengths and then multiplex the different wavelengths in one fiber. In other words, it also utilizes CWDM technology. So, in this case, the QSFP+ LR4 is also a color transceiver.

The color in this concept refers mainly to the wavelength; you should not be confused with the “color” of the latch. The color of the pull ring is just for easy identification, even though it is also related to the wavelength. The two “colors” are different things. Please don’t mix them up.

For example, the 1310nm SFP transceiver usually with blue latch, but it is not a color transceiver optics; it is still a standard grey transceiver.

Gray vs. Color Optical Transceiver, what is the difference?

Now let us compare grey transceivers with color transceivers. The below table lists their similarities and differences.

Comparison	Grey Transceiver	Color Transceiver
Wavelength	850nm, 1310nm, 1550nm or BiDi Wavelength	CWDM Wavelength (1270~1610nm), DWDM Wavelength (C1~C80)
Media Type	SMF or MMF	SMF
Application Scenarios	Ideal for customer-side short-distance transmission	Ideal for line side long-distance transmission
Category	Standard SFP, SFP+, SFP28, QSFP+, QSFP28 Transceiver	CWDM and DWDM Transceiver
Protocols	ITU-T G.957, ITU-T G.959.1, IEEE 802.3	ITU-T G.694.1 (DWDM), ITU-T G694.2(CWD)
Pros	Lower Power and Lower Cost	High bandwidth and Save Fiber
Cons	Low bandwidth scalability	High cost
Pricing	Typical Lower	Typical Higher

Optcore Grey transceiver and Color transceiver solution

If you want to buy a grey transceiver or color transceiver, look no further than Optcore. Optcore supplies various kinds of grey and color transceivers for your one-stop buying need.

Below is a table listing our grey transceiver and color transceiver categories.

Grey Transceiver	Color Transceiver
1G SFP Transceiver	1G CWDM SFP Transeiver
2.5G SFP Transceiver	1G DWDM SFP Transeiver
10G SFP+ Transceiver	2.5G CWDM SFP Transeiver
25G SFP28 Transceiver	2.5G DWDM SFP Transeiver
40G QSFP+ Transceiver	10G CWDM SFP+ Transeiver
100G QSFP+ Transceiver	10G DWDM SFP+ Transeiver
1G BiDi SFP Transceiver	25G CWDM SFP28 Transeiver
10G BiDi SFP+ Transceiver	25G DWDM SFP28 Transeiver
25G BiDi SFP28 Transceiver

Final Words

After reading this article, I hope you can have a clear understanding of the grey transceiver and color transceiver. And you should know grey transceivers are standard transceivers that transmit and receive data at one or two wavelengths, while color transceivers are those that send and receive data at multiple wavelengths.

If you want to purchase a grey or color transceiver, please don’t hesitate to contact Optcore. We will be delighted to help you find the ideal transceiver for your requirements.

Read more:

• Do You Know the CWDM Transceiver Color Code?
• CWDM Wavelength ITU Channels List: A Complete Guide
• DWDM Wavelength ITU Channels Chart: A Complete Guide
• OPTCORE Best 10G CWDM SFP+ Transceiver Solution