Electro-optical communication system

A Small Form Factor Pluggable (XFP) electro-optical transceiver comprising a pluggable module having a module housing, an electrical interface, and an optical interface:

• a transmitter module including an electro-optical source for converting an electrical input signal received via the electrical internal into an optical output signal;
• a receiver module including an opto-electrical detector for converting an optical input signal received via the optical interface into an electrical output signal;
• a sensor associated with the receiver module for sensing a receive bit rate of said optical input signal;
• an adaptation unit associated with said transmitter module for varying a transmit bit rate and an optical power output of said optical output signal;
• and
• a processing unit in communication with the transmitter module and the receiver module for determining said transmit bit rate and said optical power output of said optical output signal based on said receive bit rate, and for controlling operation of said adaptation unit in order to adapt operation of said transmitter module in accordance with said transmit bit rate and said optical power output, wherein the processing unit is selectively configured to determine at least one of said receive bit rate, said transmit bit rate, and said optical power output based on a control signal received from a master controller via a digital bus.