Optical ports on switches typically require the insertion of optical modules for data transmission over fiber optics. ) BTW, as you mention your core device is a. A core switch is the primary switch installed at the backbone of a layered or hierarchical network. It's designed to handle significant amounts of traffic with advanced features like redundancy and scalability. Primary Role: Acts as the central hub connecting distribution switches and routers. An SFP (Small Form-factor Pluggable) is a compact, hot-pluggable transceiver module that allows networking equipment — including switches, routers, servers, and media converters — to support different physical media, such as optical fiber or copper, without replacing the host hardware.