SFP (Small Form-factor Pluggable) is a compact, hot-pluggable transceiver used for both telecommunication and data communications applications. It interfaces a network device motherboard (for a switch, router, media converter or similar device) to a fiber optic or copper networking cable. It is a popular industry format supported by many network component vendors. SFP transceivers are designed to support SONET, Gigabit Ethernet, Fibre Channel, and other communications standards. They are available in a variety of different form factors, including SFP, SFP+, XFP, and QSFP.