Cisco QSFP-400G-FR4 Full Official Product Description
1. Part Number & Naming Definition
Official Full Name
Cisco 400GBASE-FR4 QSFP112 CWDM Single-Mode Optical Transceiver Module with Digital Diagnostic Monitoring Support
SKU:QSFP-400G-FR4
Naming Breakdown
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QSFP112: Quad Small Form-factor Pluggable 112 hot‑swappable transceiver complying with QSFP112 MSA and CMIS standard
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400G: Aggregate 425 Gbps raw bandwidth (4 × 106.25 GBd PAM4 electrical lanes for 400 Gigabit Ethernet payload)
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FR4: Medium-reach four-channel CWDM optical standard defined under IEEE 802.3cu 400GBASE-FR4
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No suffix: Standard commercial temperature-grade variant (0°C ~ +70°C operating range)
Core Architecture
Four independent 106.25 GBd PAM4 optical lanes utilizing CWDM wavelength grid: 1271 nm, 1291 nm, 1311 nm, 1331 nm. Built-in optical multiplexer and demultiplexer aggregates four optical signals onto a single duplex pair of single-mode fiber. Equipped with uncooled EML transmitters and PIN receiver arrays.
Mandatory requirement: Host-side KP4 RS-FEC must be enabled for stable full-reach transmission.
Critical restriction:No electrical breakout capability. Operates only as native aggregated 400G link.
Core Product Positioning
The Cisco QSFP-400G-FR4 is a commercial-grade hot‑swappable QSFP112 optical transceiver designed for medium-reach 400 Gigabit Ethernet interconnections. It operates over duplex LC single-mode fiber infrastructure, requiring only two fiber strands instead of multi-fiber parallel cabling. Widely deployed for leaf-spine fabric uplinks, intra-data-center pod interconnections, campus building-to-building links and short-distance data center interconnect (DCI). Integrated digital diagnostics enable continuous real-time monitoring of optical operating parameters to simplify routine maintenance and accelerate fault troubleshooting.
2. Hardware & Software Compatibility
Supported Host Platforms
Cisco Nexus 9000 Series QSFP112-enabled Switches; high-density Catalyst switching platforms; UCS servers and other hardware platforms equipped with QSFP112 ports supporting 400 Gigabit Ethernet.
Verify Cisco official transceiver compatibility matrix and minimum required firmware release prior to deployment.
Supported Operating Systems
NX-OS releases supporting QSFP112 MSA, CMIS Rev4.1 and digital diagnostic interfaces.
Supported Fiber Media
Single‑Mode Fiber (SMF) G.652 (OS2, 9/125μm) only; incompatible with multi-mode fiber.
Connector Type
Duplex LC UPC optical connector
3. Physical & Optical Performance Specifications
Form Factor
Hot‑swappable QSFP112, compliant with QSFP112 MSA and CMIS Rev4.1
Optical Interface
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CWDM Wavelength Grid: 1271 nm, 1291 nm, 1311 nm, 1331 nm
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Electrical Interface: 400GAUI‑4, 4 × 106.25 GBd PAM4
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Modulation Scheme: PAM4
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Transmitter: Uncooled EML array; Receiver: PIN photodiode array
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Mandatory Function: Host KP4 RS‑FEC activation
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Operating Mode: Native 400G only; breakout function disabled
Maximum Transmission Distance
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Up to2 kmover standard G.652 OS2 single-mode fiber (RS‑FEC enabled)
Optical Power Budget
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Average Transmit Optical Power: −3.2 dBm ~ +4.4 dBm
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Minimum Receiver Sensitivity (OMA): −6.0 dBm
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Maximum Allowable Received Optical Power: +4.4 dBm
Digital Diagnostics
DOM / DDM (Digital Diagnostic Monitoring) Supported
Monitors internal module temperature, supply voltage, laser bias current, transmit optical power and received optical power via I2C CMIS interface.
Environmental Specifications (Commercial Grade)
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Operating Temperature:0°C ~ +70°C (32°F ~ 158°F)
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Storage Temperature: −40°C ~ +85°C (−40°F ~ 185°F)
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Relative Humidity: 5% – 95%, non‑condensing
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Maximum Operating Altitude: 3,000 meters
Typical Power Consumption
4. Supported Functional Capabilities
Ethernet Transport
Wire-speed full-duplex 400GBASE-FR4 PAM4 Ethernet; requires host KP4 RS-FEC; no electrical breakout capability.
Layer 2 Protocol Support
802.1Q VLAN trunking, IEEE 802.3x pause frame flow control, LACP, STP/RSTP/MSTP, EtherChannel link aggregation
Interface Diagnostics
Link status detection, error statistics, DOM real-time optical telemetry, LOS (Loss of Signal) alarm indication, Tx disable control, local loopback testing
High Availability
Supports hot-plug OIR (Online Insertion and Removal) on compatible platforms; supports link redundancy via port-channels and spanning tree protocols
Operations & Management
NX-OS command-line interface, SSH, SNMP v2c/v3, Syslog logging
5. Typical Deployment Scenarios
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Medium-reach 400GE leaf-spine fabric uplinks within cloud, AI compute and enterprise data center pods
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Intra-data-center point-to-point single-mode fiber connections ranging from 500 meters to 2 km
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Campus inter-building backbone links leveraging existing duplex LC OS2 single-mode fiber infrastructure
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Short-distance data center interconnect (DCI) between geographically close data center facilities
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Aggregation layer interconnections between high-density GPU server racks and core switching tiers
6. Regulatory & Compliance Certifications
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Safety Standards: UL 60950‑1, IEC/EN 60950‑1, CSA C22.2 No.60950‑1
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EMC Compliance: CE Mark, FCC Part 15 Class A, ICES‑003 Class A
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Laser Safety: Class 1 Laser Product conforming to IEC 60825‑1
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Industry Standards: IEEE 802.3cu, IEEE 802.3ck, QSFP112 MSA, CMIS Rev4.1, SFF‑8636
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Environmental Regulation: RoHS compliant, WEEE directive compliant
7. Standard Factory Package Contents
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Cisco QSFP-400G-FR4 QSFP112 Optical Transceiver
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Hardware Installation Guide
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Safety and Regulatory Documentation
Duplex LC single-mode patch cords sold separately. Cannot be electrically split into independent 100G channels.
Model Comparison Reference
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QSFP-400G-FR4: QSFP112 Duplex LC CWDM SMF, max 2km, native 400G only, two-fiber duplex design
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QSFP-400G-DR4: QSFP112 MPO‑12 APC parallel single-mode, max 500m, supports 4×100G breakout
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QSFP-400G-VR4: QSFP112 MPO‑12 UPC multi-mode parallel optics, limited 50m reach
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QDD-400G-FR4-S: QSFP-DD form factor FR4 module (different hardware footprint)
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QSFP-200G-FR4-S: QSFP56 200G CWDM duplex LC predecessor module
UNSPSC Classification Code
43222618 – Cisco QSFP-400G-FR4 medium-reach CWDM single-mode QSFP112 transceiver with DOM, hot-swappable 400 Gigabit optical module for AI, cloud and enterprise data center leaf-spine, campus and short-distance DCI networking.
Hardware Warranty
Genuine Cisco transceivers are covered under Cisco limited hardware warranty. Warranty terms for refurbished units follow respective reseller agreements.
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