What Is the Difference Between the RJ45 Port and the SFP Port on a Switch?

Nowadays, with the increasing demand for networks, network upgrades in data centers or server rooms are urgently needed. Therefore, Gigabit Ethernet has become more and more common. As we all know, the Gigabit Ethernet switches used in the market generally have two types of ports: RJ45 ports and SFP ports, both of which can be used for network transmission, so what is the difference between these two ports? Next, let’s follow the editor of NADDOD to learn more about it!

RJ45 port and SFP port of Gigabit Ethernet switch

In order to meet people’s increasing network requirements, network upgrades in data centers or server rooms are imminent, so Gigabit Ethernet has become more and more common. So, what kind of port Gigabit Ethernet switch should be used to realize the Gigabit Ethernet connection? The following are the details of these two ports:

1. Introduction of RJ45 port

The RJ45 port of a Gigabit Ethernet switch is a built-in port. To connect a Gigabit Ethernet switch with two RJ45 ports, we only need to use Cat5e or Cat6 patch cords. The following table shows the connection method, the specific rate and bandwidth situation of:

Cat5e patch cord - shielding layer: unshielded; maximum transmission rate (100m distance): 1000 Mbps / 1 Gbps100 MHz;

Cat6 patch cords - shielding layer: shielded or unshielded; maximum transmission rate (100m distance): 1000 Mbps / 1 Gbps100 MHz.

2. Introduction of SFP port

The SFP port of the Gigabit Ethernet switch conforms to the 1000BASE-T (IEEE 802.3ab) standard, and the transmission rate can reach 1000 Mbps. Different from the above-mentioned RJ45 port, the SFP optical module must be inserted into the SFP port of the switch first, and then Cat5/Cat6 patch cords can be used for data transmission. In addition, in applications such as data centers and local area networks (LAN), the SFP port of the switch also has a 100/1000Mbps adaptive function. The following is the specific situation of using the SFP port:

Cat5e——optical module type: SFP electrical port optical module; optical module interface: RJ45; transmission distance: 100m; maximum transmission rate (100m distance): 1000 Mbps / 1 Gbps.

Optical fiber jumper - optical module type: SFP optical port optical module; optical module interface: LC (duplex) transmission distance: ≥100m; maximum transmission rate (100m distance): 1000 Mbps / 1 Gbps.

RJ45 connection and SFP connection of Gigabit Ethernet switch
The RJ45 connection and SFP connection of the Gigabit Ethernet switch, where the left side is the SFP connection of the switch, and the right side is the RJ45 connection of the switch. SFP connection needs to use two SFP electrical port optical modules and a Category 5 network cable, or use two SFP optical port optical modules and a fiber jumper; and RJ45 connection only needs to use a Cat5e patch cord.

The difference between RJ45 port and SFP port

The RJ45 port of a Gigabit Ethernet switch is a built-in port. To connect a Gigabit Ethernet switch with two RJ45 ports, we only need to use a Cat5e or Cat6 patch cord. Unlike the RJ45 port, the SFP optical module must be inserted into the SFP port of the switch first, and then the Cat5e/Cat5/Cat6 patch cord can be used for data transmission.

To sum up, from the above, the performance of the RJ45 port and the SFP port are basically the same, but in terms of cost, the wiring of the SRJ45 port is simpler and cheaper. Nevertheless, the SFP port is still necessary, because it can support two types of SFP electrical port modules and SFP optical port modules, and the transmission distance when using the SFP optical port optical module is also farther than the RJ45 port. High flexibility and high scalability.