gigabit interface converter (GbE) (GBIC)
The Gigabit Interface Converter (GBIC) is an exchangeable transceiver module for Fibre Channel, Gigabit Ethernet and GPON. It offers the different protocols the same physical layer and a transmission bandwidth in the Gigabaud range.
GBICs are compact modules with dimensions of 10 x 30 x 65 mm. They are used in the FC ports ofFC- AL and in FC switches. They have a modular design and allow reconfiguration during operation, hot- swap. Optical GBICs are optical-electrical transceivers for short-, medium- and long-wavelength transmission. They can be operated with single- mode fibers and multimode fibers, in the first optical window at 850 nm, in the 2nd at 1,300 nm and in the 3rd at 1,550 nm.
GBIC transceivers use O/E converters and E/O converters and are equipped with SC connectors or LC connectors on the optical side. On the electrical side, which is connected to the host, the GBIC module can have a Sub-D connector or a 40- pin SCSI Fibre Channel connector as a SCSI adapter.
GBIC modules correspond to the FC-PH physical layer and can directly process the data that is present in 8B/10 coding. Inconjunction with multimode fibers, distances of approx. 550 m can be bridged, and with single-mode fibers, distances of up to 10 km (1,300 nm) and 70 km (1,550 nm) can be bridged. When using a DSF fiber, the maximum distance is 100 km.
Smaller versions of the GBIC modules are called Mini-GBIC( MGBIC), known as Small Form-Factor Pluggable, SFP modules.