The GBIC module is divided into two categories: one is the GBIC module used by the ordinary cascade, which realizes the common connection with other switches, and the other is the stacking dedicated GBIC module, which realizes redundant connection with other switches.
GBIC was largely replaced by SFP for the following reasons:
The SFP (Small Form-factor Pluggables) can be simply understood as an upgraded version of GBIC.
The SFP module (volume is halved from the GBIC module and can be configured more than once more than a few times on the same panel.
Because the SFP module is functionally consistent with GBIC, it is also referred to by some switch vendors as miniaturized GBIC (Mini-GBIC). The SFP module compresses the size and power consumption by placing CDR and electro-dispersion compensation outside the module. Used in optical communication applications in telecommunications and data communication. SFP connects motherboards and fiber optic or UTP cables for devices such as switches and routers.
SFP is an industrial specification supported by some fiber optic device providers. SFP supports SONET, Gigabit Ethernet, Fibre Channel (Fiber Channel), and a number of other communication standards. This standard extends to SFP+ to support 10.0 Gbit/s transfer rates, including 8 gigabit Fibre Channel and 10GbE. The SFP+ module version of the fiber optic and copper core versions has been introduced, and compared to the Xenpak, X2, or XFP versions of the module, the SFP+ module leaves part of the circuit on the motherboard, rather than within the module to implement.