Finding a matching single-strand BiDi SFP pair for a Cisco Small Business 300 series switch

Question

The poster wanted to run a link bidirectionally over one strand of single-mode fiber on a Cisco Small Business 300 series switch. Cisco's SMB catalogue lists the MFEBX1 100 Mb BiDi SFP (transmitting at 1310 nm and receiving at 1550 nm), but the poster could not find a Cisco part number for the complementary module that transmits at 1550 nm and receives at 1310 nm, which is required at the far end of a BiDi link. The question was whether such a partner part exists for the 300 series or whether a third-party module would be the only option.

Hardware: Cisco Small Business 300 series switch (SG300)
Transceivers: MFEBX1 (100BASE-BX, TX 1310 nm / RX 1550 nm), MFEBX1-1550 (third-pary, TX 1550 nm / RX 1310 nm), GLC-2BX-D
Form factor: SFP

Symptoms / messages:

no Cisco part number for the 1550 nm-TX partner of the MFEBX1 BiDi SFP
Cisco enterprise BiDi/WDM SFPs not supported on Small Business 300 series switches

netadmin · Answer

I'd suggest the GLC-2BX-D compact two-channel 1000BASE-BX10-D SFP - it pairs with two 1000BASE-BX10-U interfaces over two SMF strands up to 10 km. Fair warning: few Cisco platforms support it, so check the Cisco Gigabit Ethernet transceiver compatibility matrix.

txhawk · Answer

Try searching the enterprise compatibility matrix for WDM modules... actually, I just checked the Cisco MFE/MGE SFP list and these Cisco BiDi/WDM optics aren't supported on the Small Business switches.

optictech · Answer

Found the missing partner - it's a non-Cisco-branded module: sfpex.com sells an MFEBX1-1550 (the 1550nm-TX counterpart) in their Linksys section.

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