Transceivers Review: Which Product Should You Choose—the HP Procurve J4858C or the Cisco 1000 Base SX SFP?

One of the basic needs of an office to stay productive and competitive is a quick and seamless network connection. Just one day of having a wonky network connection can put business processes to a halt, costing companies thousands of dollars in operations. 

Ensuring top-notch network connection and file transfer is a basic necessity, considering that IT distributor companies are stepping up their game in terms of the freshest products they could put their hands on. If you're managing the connectivity of a company headquarter, then having the HP Procurve J4858C and Cisco GLC SX MM 1000 BASE SX as your transceiver modules can do you and your company good. 

Product Specifications:

HP ProCurve J4858C (Retailer Part Number)

Form Factor: Plug-in, transceiver module

Cabling: Ethernet 1000Base-SX

Data Transfer Speed: 1 gbps

Interface: SFP

Product Specifications:

GLC-SX-MM Cisco 1000 Base SX SFP

Form Factor: Plug-in, transceiver module

Cabling: Ethernet 1000Base-X

Interface: SFP

Both products basically make use of the same benchmark for high-speed Ethernet connections. The HP Procurve J4858C and GLC-SX-MM Cisco use two multi-mode optical fibers for receiving and transmitting data, making it a cost-effective option against its predecessor, the 1000BASE-FX. This type of fiber works on short wavelength optics rather than long wavelengths used in the 1000BASE-FX. Both products can also operate at over 550 meters in distances. 

One feature, however, that makes the Cisco variety stand out is that it can be "hot-swapped." While both transceiver modules are plug-ins, only the GLC SX-MM Cisco transceiver can be hot-swapped, or hot-plugged, which, if you're not a techie person, means you can install it on the hardware while the computer is turned on. Pretty neat, isn't it? 

In terms of cabling, the HP Procurve is a full-duplex gigabit transceiver module while the Cisco transceiver is a multimode duplex module that can also be used in simplex mode. This makes the HP ProCurve a bit less flexible in terms of cabling, but nevertheless, still powerful since it uses duplex fiber optics that allows quick bi-directional transfers among networks. Having a multimode duplex and simplex module means flexibility, however, for the Cisco transceiver, as dictated by the port-by-port or port-to-network needs of an office. 

In a nutshell, both HP Procurve and Cisco transceiver modules are capable to meet the networking needs of any office, considering that they are the latest technologies in the market today. What sets them apart, however, are just little tweaks in terms of functionality.