A fiber sub-system is provided. The fiber sub-system comprises a fiber optic transmission module, one or more contact boards adapted to couple to shelf interface connectors, and a midplane adapted to couple with the one or more contact boards and the fiber optic transmission module enabling communication between the one or more contact boards and the fiber optic transmission module without requiring modifications to the fiber optic transmission module. The fiber sub-system also comprises a shell for encapsulating the fiber optic transmission module, the one or more contact boards, and the midplane.