Why Choose Third-Party Transceiver Modules?

Figure 1: Global Third-Party Optical Transceiver Market

Competitive Price: OEM Transceiver Price VS Compatible Transceiver Price 

Many enterprise-class data centers often require large quantities of optical modules when upgrading equipment, and this is where the price advantage of third-party transceiver modules is particularly evident, with OEM optics costing much more than third-party transceiver modules. Take the most commonly used SFP+ 10G LR transceiver as an example, QSFPTEK (a 3rd party vendor) sells them for only US$ 15.9, while the average OEM vendor's price is at least US$ 1000. In other words, you can purchase at least 60 or more third-party SFP+ 10G LR modules with the budget you plan to purchase an OEM 10G LR module. Can such high prices provide better services? The answer is no, most OEM modules have very limited services, for example, they don't support free upgrades, which is especially important for network users.

Figure 2: Cost Comparison for a 10GABSE-SR SFP+

Why Do We Choose Third-Party Transceiver Modules?

In the next part, I will give four main reasons why we chose third-party optical modules instead of OEM modules. I will also cite some of the advantages of a third-party vendor, which is not offered by the OEM manufacturer.

Third-Party Vendors Provide Flexibility and Broad Compatibility for Equipment Deployment

Because data centers often deploy different brands of switches, 3rd-party vendors can offer a wide range of compatible optical modules for users to choose from. For example, QSFPTEK offers more than 200 compatible modules for SR modules, and almost all major devices in the market can find its compatible modules at QSFPTEK. Compatibility and flexible switching can be achieved with the help of code writing equipment. This is an unparalleled advantage over OEMs.

Third-Party Vendors Take the Hassle Out of Managing Various Vendors for You

For enterprises deploying different brands of switches (such as Cisco/H3C/Brocade), shopping for OEM optical transceivers may not be an easy task, and each brand of the switch can only be paired with picking the corresponding OEM module. In this case, the labor cost of vendor management will increase significantly. However, if you choose 3rd-party modules, this problem will be solved. The third-party vendor can provide compatible optical modules for all brands in the entire server room. Also, the communication cost after the sale will be greatly reduced. In addition, the uncertainty of the procurement plan is greatly reduced, making your company's procurement plan simpler and achieving a more stable supply.

Third-Party Suppliers Provide Services to Modify Optical Module Codes

When you purchase a transceiver from a third-party supplier, you can ask them to provide compatibility codes for other brands. With different compatibility codes, a module is able to be plugged into different brands of Ethernet switches. This flexibility greatly increases the cost-effectiveness of using 3rd-party modules. And obviously, OEM manufacturers are not likely to offer this service.

What does this mean? A $1,000 OEM LR module can only be used for one brand of the switch, while a $15.90 third-party LR module can be used for more than a hundred compatible brands of switch devices. In contrast, customers who still insist on OEM modules may have enough budget to not care too much about the difference between the two, but we can clearly see that third-party vendor modules have higher cost-efficiency and applicability.

Figure 3: Third-Party Modules Compatible

Surprising Pre-sales and After-sales Service

Many customers may doubt the quality and after-sales service of third-party modules. Of course, it is true that there is a great difference in strength between different third-party suppliers. Some suppliers produce with poor materials and do not even have a complete quality inspection system. On the contrary, some third-party suppliers not only strictly control the raw materials of their products but also have a complete quality inspection system, in addition to providing good pre-sales and after-sales services to their customers. Every fiber optic transceiver produced by QSFPTEK has passed strict testing standards at the factory. For more information, please refer to our Quality Assurance Policy. In addition, QSFPTEK offers a three-year warranty, as well as a one-month return window and a three-month replacement window, click here to know more about our Return Policy.

Third-Party Modules VS OEM Modules, How to Choose?

Are there no advantages to OEM optical modules? Of course not, when you choose OEM optical modules from official channels, you already get guaranteed quality and good pre-sales and after-sales service at a very high price. But when you choose a third-party supplier, you often get confused because you don't know which supplier is trustworthy. When you buy from an OEM, you don't have this concern.

However, for most small and medium-sized enterprises and data centers, the cost of OEM optical modules is too high, and modules produced by third-party vendors become the best choice for them. For most business users, the most important thing about optical modules is compatibility and stability. A good quality optical module can be used for about two years before serious performance degradation occurs, and then its various parameters will start to deteriorate, which is a natural loss. Even the most expensive and best-quality optical modules are not immune to this. In other words, optical modules themselves are consumables. For customers who are on a budget, we always recommend that they use third-party modules to build their data centers. 

Conclusion

Is there a risk in the future of using third-party modules? I don't think there is anything to worry about for now. Future switch devices may bring a higher level of encoding encryption, or even hardware encryption, to prevent third-party modules from being used on their devices. But this should be limited to certain models, otherwise, the sales of their devices will be affected. Most companies don't have that much of a sufficient budget to use OEM optical modules. And the trend shows that the number of users choosing third-party transceivers is increasing year by year. If manufacturers upgrade their devices with encryption, users will reject these OEM devices in favor of devices from other manufacturers that can use third-party optical modules. QSFPTEK is a professional third-party supplier of high-quality and cost-efficient optical modules. Welcome to get a quote.