OM3 And OM4 Fiber for 10G/40G/100G Network

Multimode fiber has been highly favored by Ethernet users and gained the widest acceptance in network backbones where it has offered users the opportunity to extend link distances, increase network reliability, and lower costs by centralizing electronics. OM3 fiber emerges just at the right time. The predominance of OM3 fiber is that utilizes laser-optimized fiber, which is the highest-capacity medium for short-wave 10G optical transmission. OM4 fiber just joined multimode fiber family after OM3 fiber in order to meet the requirement of longer range applications. This passage would give a brief introduction to OM3 and OM4 fiber, give a further analysis on their differences and selection guide, as well as list their applications.

Introduction to OM3 & OM4 Fiber

Both OM3 and OM4 fiber meet the ISO 11801 standard. The standard specifies that OM3 fibers are capable of 10 Gb/s performance over distances of up to 300m. Like being mentioned, the laser optimized 50/125 mm multimode OM3 fiber is of predominance, which provides sufficient bandwidth to support 10 GbE and beyond with cable lengths up to 550 meters. OM4 fiber is a further improvement to OM3 fiber. It also uses a 50µm core but it supports 10 Gigabit Ethernet at lengths up 550 meters and it supports 100 Gigabit Ethernet at lengths up to 150 meters.

OM4 fiber cable

Main Difference Between OM3 And OM4 Fiber

—Optical attenuation

Attenuation is caused by losses in light through the passive components, such as cables, cable splices, and connectors. Attenuation is the reduction in power of the light signal as it is transmitted (dB). The maximum attenuation of OM3 and OM4 fiber allowed at 850nm: OM3<3.5 dB/Km; OM4 <3.0 dB/Km. So it is obvious that OM4 fiber causes lower losses due to different construction.

—Modal dispersion

As is known to most people, modal dispersion attaches great importance to bandwidth. The lower the modal dispersion, the higher the modal bandwidth and the greater the amount of information that can be transmitted. The minimum OM3 and OM4 fiber cable bandwidth at 850nm: OM3 2000 MHz·km; OM4 4700 MHz· km. The higher bandwidth available in OM4 means a smaller modal dispersion and thus allows the cable links to be longer or allows for higher losses through more mated connectors.

OM3 And OM4 Fiber 10G/40G/100G Transmission Distance

The maximum transmission distance of OM4 fiber is 400-550m (depending on module capability) while OM3 fiber can only be up to 300m. And thus, OM4 can tolerate a higher level of loss at distances between 200-300m as it is designed to operate at longer distances than OM3 fiber. It may be a more flexible option for network managers to install OM4 fiber within these instances. You can check difference between OM3 and OM4 in transmission distance in the following table.

OM3 and OM4 fiber cable distance

OM3 And OM4 Fiber Price

In comparison to OM3 fiber, the cost for OM4 is higher due to the manufacture process and market fluctuations. In a large extent, cost depends on the construction type of the cable (loose tube, tight buffered, etc.). OM4 fiber cable is about twice as expensive as OM3 fiber cable. This means that the cost difference of lots of fiber products such as standard fiber patch panels, MTP cassette modules, fiber patch cords is very small (as the volume of cable is small).

OM3 And OM4 Fiber Selection Guide

Fifty micron OM3 fiber is designed to accommodate 10 Gigabit Ethernet up to 300 meters, and OM4 can accommodate it up to 550 meters. Therefore, many users are now choosing OM3 and OM4 over the other glass types. In fact, nearly 80% of 50 micron fiber sold is OM3 or OM4. If you require higher data rates or plan on upgrading your network in the near future, laser optimized 50 micron (OM3 or OM4) would be the logical choice. Compared to OM4, OM3 fiber is more future proofing for most applications, which allows speeds of 10 GB/s up to 100 GB/s. OM4 fiber provides users a transmission solution over longer distances and leaves more wiggle room in optical budgets.

OM3 and OM4 fiber cables are typically used in data center structured cabling environments running high speeds of 10G or even 40 or 100 Gigabit Ethernet, SAN (Storage Area Networking), Fiber Channel, FCOE (Fiber Channel Over Ethernet) with such manufacturers as Cisco, Brocade, EMC and others. Typical applications could be virtualized or internal cloud core data center applications. For 40G and 100G fiber cable applications, MTP/MPO cable would also be a great choice. MTP cabling assemblies (MTP/MPO trunk cable, MTP/MPO harness cable, MTP/MPO conversion cable, etc), with their overwhelming advantages, providing a fast, simple and economical upgrade path from 10 Gigabit to 40 or 100 Gigabit applications.

Conclusion

In this article, we mainly discussed OM3 fiber, OM4 fiber, their main differences, transmission guide and applications for 10G/40G/100G network. We put emphasis on OM3 and OM4 fiber 10G/40G/100G transmission distance and selection guide. OM3 and OM4 multimode fiber provide a cost effective solution for inside buildings or corporate campuses. Hope this article would be helpful for you to understand OM3 and OM4 fiber and to select right fiber cable for yourself.

How to Select The Perfect Fiber Jumper Cables?

Fiber jumper cables are mainly used for connection in the context of optical fiber communications including applications like cable TV (CATV), inside buildings and in fiber to the home (FTTH) installations. Nowadays, optical fiber jumpers are varied in cables and connector types. It is hard to determine the differences between one fiber optic cable jumper and another. This article would put emphasis on guiding you to select the perfect fiber jumper cables from the following six perspectives.

fiber-patch-cords

Cable Type of Fiber Jumper Cables

Fiber jumper cables comes in two general types, singlemode and multimode optical fiber jumper. They are different in fiber diameter, classifications of fiber strands, jacket color, transmission speed and etc.

Singlemode fiber jumper cable generally has a 9 micron diameter glass fiber. There are two sub groups (referred to as OS1 and OS2) but most cable is “dual rated” to cover both classifications. Multimode optical fiber jumper can have several different diameters and classifications of fiber strands. The two diameters currently in use are 62.5 Micron and 50 Micron. Within the 50 Micron diameter multimode cable, there are three different grades (referred to as OM2, OM3, and OM4). The cable types used in the patch cord should match that of the network cabling to which they are attached via the patch panel.

Jacket Diameters

The fiber optic cable jumpers may be available in different “jacket diameters” (such as 2mm or 3mm). Thinner diameters (1.6 or 2mm) may be preferable in dense installation within a single rack since they take up less space and are more flexible. Fiber optic cable jumpers that route from rack to rack (especially via cable tray) may be more suitable if they have the thicker jacket that results in larger diameters thus making them more rigid.

Jacket Material

Flammability of the jacket material could become an issue if the area they are in has special requirements for flame spread or products of combustion in case of a fire. In these cases, optical jumpers may have to be classified as “Plenum Rated” (OFNP) rather than “Riser Rated” (OFNR).

Connector Type

See the connector type descriptions below. Some fiber jumper cables may have different connector types on each end to accommodate interconnection of devices with dissimilar connectors. In some cases, there may be a connector on only one end, and bare or unterminated fiber on the other. These are usually referred to as “pigtails” rather than “patch Cords”.

fiber-optic-connector

Simplex or Duplex

Unlike copper patch cords which send information in both directions (having multiple pairs of conductors with which to do so), most fiber jumper cables have a single strand of fiber allowing for signal flow in one direction only.

Connecting equipment so that it can send and receive information requires two strands of fiber (one to transmit and one to receive information). This can be accommodated by using two “simplex” (single strand of fiber) cables for each equipment interconnection or a “duplex” cable, with conductors and/or connectors bonded together in pairs.

Length

Overall length of the fiber jumper cables may be specified in feet or meters, depending on your preference.

Conclusion

In this article, we mainly introduce six factors attaching to the fiber jumper cables—cable type, jacket diameters, jacket material, connector type, type of communication service as well as the length. You can select the proper patch cord you need through considering those six attributes. Hope this post is helpful for you to fully understand optical fiber jumper.

A Brief Overview of Fiber Optic Cable

Introduction

A fiber optic cable, also known as optical fiber cable, is a network cable that contains two or more glass or plastic fiber cores located within a protective coating and covered with a plastic PVC outer sleeve. It’s correlated with transmission of information as light pulses along a glass or plastic strand or fiber. It’s designed for long distance, very high performance data networking and telecommunications. It has many advantages in optical fiber communication, such as large capacity, long relay distance, good security, free from electromagnetic interference and copper saving.

fiber- optic- cable

Types of Fiber Optic Cables

According to the transmission mode of light in optical fiber, fiber optic cable can be divided into single-mode fiber (SMF) and multimode fiber (MMF). Although they all belong to optical cables and aim at transmitting information, they still have some slight differences.

SMF & MMF

Single-Mode Fiber

Literally, Single-mode fiber is a single stand of glass fiber with a diameter of 8.3 to 10 microns that has one mode of transmission. Due to its smaller diameter, single-mode fiber is used for long-distance signal transmission, which minimizes the reduction in signal strength. Single-mode fiber also has a considerably higher bandwidth than multimode fiber. The light source used for single-mode fiber is typically a laser, which makes it more expensive than multimode fiber.

Multimode Fiber

By comparison, multimode fiber cable, with a diameter of about 62.5 microns, allows multiple mode of light to propagate through it simultaneously, thus forming mode dispersion. Mode dispersion technology limits the bandwidth and distance of multimode fiber. Therefore, multimode fiber features larger core diameter and short transmission distance. Multimode fiber typically uses an LED to create the light pulse, which makes it cheaper than single-mode fiber.

Both single-mode and multimode fiber can handle 10G speeds. The most evident difference between them lies in the distance. Within a data center, it’s typical to use multimode fiber which can get you 300-400 meters. If you have very long runs or are connecting over longer distance, single-mode fiber can get you 10 km, 40 km, 80 km, or even farther. You just need to use the appropriate optic for the distance required.

Fiber Cable Uses

It’s widely acknowledged that optical cables are usually applied into computer networking and telecommunication due to its ability to transmit data and information. What’s more, it’s also used by military and space industries as means of communication and signal transfer, in addition to its ability to provide temperature sensing. In recent years, fiber cable is frequently used in a variety of medical instruments to provide precise illumination. An endoscope, for example, is a flexible tube containing several optical cables. When it slips into the patient’s mouth, nose, digestive tract, and other heart areas that are not visible outside the body, the doctor can see the changes through the endoscope. Other medical applications for fiber optics include X-ray imaging, biomedical sensors, light therapy and surgical microscopy.

Conclusion

From the aforementioned article, we can see that fiber optic cables have different types with different features, and are widely used in telecommunication, military, medical applications, etc. If you would like to know more or would like assistance in choosing the appropriate optical fiber cable, welcome to visit our website www.fs.com for more detailed information. FS will provide more choices and better services for our clients.

Rated Cables Comparison: Plenum Vs. Riser

Whenever constructing cables into a building, we always need to consider the installation places. Different spaces may result in using the different cables. Plenum and riser areas are two common places for cable deployment. According to this, cables are rated into distinctive fire ratings as plenum cables and riser cables. This article is going to present a brief comparison between these two types of cables.

Introduction to Plenum & Riser
What Is Plenum?

In a building, a plenum is a separate space used for air circulation for heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning. The space is often between the structural ceiling and a drop-down ceiling. Sometimes, plenum also refers to the space under a raised floor. Since the plenum areas is a renewable source of oxygen and distribute environmental air, the cables installed in this area should have higher fire resistance. The typical application of this space is to house the communication cables for building’s computer and telephone network.

Plenum

What Is Riser?

Different from the plenum, a riser is a vertical area that passes from one floor to another floor inside a building. For instance, elevator shafts and conduits from one floor to another floor are all risers. Cables planted in risers should also be fire-proof to prevent the flame from traveling up the cable. However, the fire rating requirements for riser areas are less strict than those for plenum areas.

Riser

Differences Between Plenum & Riser Cables

In North America standard, CMR and CMP are used to describe riser and plenum cables. “C” and “M” are used to indicate that the cable is complied with the NEC (National Electrical Code). “R” refers to riser and “P” refers to plenum. Here will illustrate the main characteristics of plenum and riser cables in the following parts.

Plenum Cables

Plenum cables, or CMP cables are installed in the plenum areas of buildings. This type of cables has a fire retardant plastic jacket. Materials of the jacket is either the low-smoke polyvinyl chloride (PVC) or the fluorinated ethylene polymer (FEP). If the cable comes across a fire, only little toxic fumes will emit as it melts. Plenum rated cables have a higher fire rating for both commercial and residential use. When cables are needed in the air ducts, plenum cables are the primary choice.

plenum cable

Riser Cables

Riser cables, namely CMR cables, are widely used for regular networking from floor to floor in non-plenum areas. Since the demands for riser cables are lower, plenum cables are usually used as an alternative of riser cables. However, replacing the plenum cables with riser cables is not available. Riser cables can also be applied to both commercial and residential areas, but residential homes are more common.

riser cable

Acronyms for Plenum & Riser Cables

Here lists some regular acronyms for plenum and riser cables, you may use them for a quick reference.

  • CMP: Communications Plenum. It can be installed in any space.
  • CMR: Communications Riser
  • CATVP: Cable TV Plenum.
  • CATVR: Cable TV Riser
  • CL3P: Class 3 Plenum. Usually for in-wall installation in plenum, riser and general spaces.
  • CL2P: Class 2 Plenum. Usually for in-wall installation in plenum, riser and general spaces.
  • CL3R: Class 3 Riser. Usually for in-wall installation in riser and non-riser spaces.
  • CL2R: Class 2 Riser. Usually for in-wall installation in riser and non-riser spaces.
Conclusion

Choosing the right type of rated cables can effectively reduce loss and is healthier to people when the cables are burning. Plenum rated and riser rated cables are generally employed for building constructions. If your application is related to the areas mentioned in the article, using plenum and riser cables is very necessary.

Special Fiber Patch Cable for Mode Conditioning

As we all know, standard fiber patch cables can be divided into the single-mode type and multimode type. Data communication is more stable between fiber patch cables with the same mode. When single-mode and multimode cables are directly linked together, an effect named as differential mode delay (DMD) often occurs. It is a variation in propagation delay because of the differences in group velocity among modes of an optical fiber. Under the influence of DMD, cable distance is greatly limited and network bandwidth is also reduced over the distance. However, using the single-mode cables with multimode cables is sometimes necessary for certain applications. Is there any solution to this problem? Of course, this is why mode conditioning patch cable is made for.

Overview of Mode Conditioning Patch Cable

Mode conditioning patch cable is always designed to be the duplex style. It contains a conditioned channel with an offset fiber connection part. The connectors on both ends are also optional from LC, SC, ST and other types. In general, mode conditioning patch cable is needed when link distances are over 300 meters. Although mode conditioning patch cable looks different from the standard fiber patch cable, they both function for the same performance.

mode conditioning patch cable

Working Principle of Mode Conditioning Cable

Cable offset is the core of mode conditioning patch cable. A multimode fiber and a single-mode fiber are fusion spliced together with a precise core alignment and angle inside the offset. Optical light is launched from the single-mode fiber to the multimode fiber at a precise angle, which provides the cable with mode conditioning functionality. In this way, optical signal is able to freely pass different fiber modes without the problem of DMD.

cable offset

Features & Benefits of Mode Conditioning Cable
Features
  • IEEE-802.3z (Gigabit Ethernet) Compliant
  • Permanent offset closure
  • Low profile offset closure
  • Low insertion loss
  • Fits existing cabling scheme
  • Easy to use
  • Reduced modal noise
  • OFNR rated jacket complies with strict building codes
Benefits
  • Eliminate DMD effect
  • Correct offset always maintained
  • Aesthetically pleasing
  • Uses precision ceramic ferrules
  • Use in place of standard equipment-to-cable plant patch cord
  • Functions the same as a standard patch cord
Applications of Mode Conditioning Patch Cable

Mode conditioning patch cable is suitable for 1000BASE-LX long wave applications of Gigabit Ethernet, such as 1000BASE-LX routers, switches, or transceivers. This is because 1000BASE-LX should operate for both single-mode and multimode cables. A mode conditioning patch cable eliminates the multiple signals by allowing the single-mode launch to be offset away from the center of a multimode fiber.

When the Gigabit LX switch is equipped with SC or LC connectors, the yellow leg (single-mode) of the cable should be connected to the transmit side, and the orange leg (OM2 multimode) of the cable should be connected to the receive side. Both ends must maintain this configuration. Exchanging the transmit and receive is only allowed at the cable plant side.

application of mode conditioning patch cable

In addition, mode conditioning patch cords can only convert optical signals from single-mode to multimode. If you want to convert from multimode to single-mode, you’d better use a media converter.

Conclusion

Mode conditioning cable is a special fiber patch cable designed for reducing the differential mode delay between single-mode and multimode data transmission. This type of cable is usually used in pairs. Different connectors types, cable jackets, fiber types, cable lengths are also available to meet your demands. This post provides some basic knowledge about mode conditioning cable. If you are interested, please visit FS.COM for more information.

Reasons for Choosing LC HD Plus+ Cable in Data Centers

Many data centers are now upgrading into unprecedented higher bandwidth. In order to realize the massive data capacity in a restricted area, reducing the connectivity space is rather important. Therefore, many high-density devices are designed to meet this requirement. One of the most popular products is the LC HD plus+ cable. It has become an effective solution for 10G / 40G / 100G applications. Why does data center constantly use this type of patch cable for equipment connections? This article will give you four irresistible reasons of choosing LC HD plus+ cable.

Construction of LC HD Plus+ Cable

You may wonder what makes LC HD plus+ cable so special. From its construction, you can see the differences. LC HD plus+ cable is mainly structured with uniboot connector, push pull tab and bend-insensitive fiber. The uniboot connector combines two LC connectors into one boot housing, which means that two fibers are bundling in a single patch cord. The connector polarity is also reversible without using special tools. As for the push pull tab, it is a tab attached to the connector used for pushing or pulling the whole connector into or out of the equipment. It is also known that fibers are usually sensitive to stress, but LC HD plus+ cable is no more afraid of bending thanks to the bend-insensitive fiber.

LC HD plus+ cable

Four Reasons of Using LC HD Plus+ Cable
Advantage of Uniboot Connector

The compact uniboot design reduces the cable management space by 68%, which has efficiently offered airflow and visibility of equipment in high-density networks. Its reversible polarity design also enables the change of polarity with a finger latch release greatly eliminating the cable congestion in racks and cabinets. In this way, uniboot connector significantly eases the issue of cable management in high-density connectivity.

uniboot-connector

Advantage of Push Pull Tab

When manual access to the connector is limited in areas like the slider or rear part of the connector, the use of push pull tab will greatly simplify such connectivity problem. The flexible connector can be freely extracted or inserted into the port with the help of extension tab. No tool is need for the connecting and disconnecting process which makes the use of push pull tab much simpler. Therefore, it is also an ideal solution of dense applications to save space for the stacking of devices.

push-pull-tab

Advantage of Bend Insensitive Fiber

In general, when fiber is stressed by bending, the light in the outer part of the core will leak out of the fiber and no longer stay in the core. This can cause huge fiber loss and lower the transmission performance. However, using the bend insensitive fiber can avoid such situation. Bend-insensitive fiber adds a layer of glass around the core of the fiber which has a lower index of refraction that literally “reflects” the weakly guided modes back into the core when stress normally causes them to be coupled into the cladding. Bend-insensitive fiber becomes more and more vital to the high-density applications where fiber bending is almost inevitable.

bend-insensitive-fiber

Advantage of Low Insertion Loss

Apart from the above benefits, LC HD plus+ cable also supports low insertion loss. Lowering the insertion loss can achieve higher data performance. The insertion loss of LC HD plus+ cable is lower than 0.15dB due to its integrated design.

Conclusion

Uniboot connector of the LC HD plus+ cable perfectly reduces the space for high-density connectivity in data centers. The push pull tab and bend-insensitive fiber also simplify the installation process. FS.COM has provided the custom service for LC HD Plus+ fiber cable. Trunk cable and harness cable can all be customized with LC HD Plus+ designs. Please visit FS.COM for more information.

Using IP67 Fiber Cable For Fiber Link Protection

Fiber optic cables have taken a large percentage of today’s network market. Compared with copper cables, optical cables are faster in speed and lighter for carry. The deployment of fiber optic cables has brought many benefits to ordinary people, but the disadvantages of fibers can also be fatal. Optic fibers are easily breakable and polluted by dust, liquid and other contamination. Hence, fiber optic cables should be designed to accommodate to different kinds of environment. IP67 fiber cable is a type of specially used fiber cable with dust-proof and water-proof functions. This post will guide you to know more about this special fiber cable.

Meaning of IP67

When hearing the name of IP67 fiber cable, you may be curious about the meaning of IP67. Actually, “IP” is a kind of rating defined by International Standard IEC 60529. The abbreviation stands for international protection which classifies the degrees of protection provided against the intrusion of solid object (including body parts), dust, accidental contact, and water in electrical enclosures. The IP code consists of two numbers, such as IP67. The first number represents the solid object protection, and the second is the water protection. Following picture presents the category of IP codes. If either number is represented by an “X”, it means the product has not been tested in that category. It does not equate to a ranking of 0, but it also does not guarantee any protection. Therefore, IP67 means that the cable is protected from dust at the highest level and against temporary immersion in water.

ip-rating-code

Construction of IP67 Fiber Cable

IP67 fiber optic patch cable contains the ordinary optic fiber and special IP67 fiber optic connector. IP67 connector is designed based on the conventional connector with a aluminum shell of spring-loaded push-pull locking mechanism. The shell protection can block dust and liquid from the inside connector. The following picture gives a detailed structure of IP67 LC duplex connector.

structure-of-ip76-cable-connector

Types of IP67 Cables

According to the connectors on each ends, IP67 fiber optic cables can be divided into two types. One type is equipped with IP67 connectors on both ends, and another type is terminated with a IP67 connector on one end and common fiber optic connectors on the other end. Fanout IP67 fiber optic cable is also used for high-density connections.

ip67-fiber-cable

Applications

The strong PU jacket and single-mode APC armored structure of IP67 cable provides 1 Gbps data transfer speed in high bandwidth application, which is five times quicker than standard 9/125 μm fiber patch cable. The low insertion loss IP67 cable connector has a simple push-to-latch and a pull-to-release outer sleeve for mating and un-mating action allowing for easier install or uninstall. Designed according to the IEC60603-7 interface standard, the connector can also match with other similar mechanical systems. IP67 cables are often used in FTTH, FTTA, LAN test equipment and military industry deployed at junction cabinets in the street, remote radio head connection, wind mills or direct buried installation.

Conclusion

IP67 fiber optic cable offers great protection for optic fibers against dust and water under severe outer environment. It is wise to use IP67 fiber cables in these places to secure your data links. Inner shell connectors of the cable are now optional with LC, SC, ST and FC types. You may regard IP67 cable as a considerable choice for your network.

How to Install Aerial Fiber Optic Cables?

When you walk on the street, have you noticed at the fiber cables hanging on the poles overhead? These cables are commonly called as aerial fiber cables, which are widely used for outside plant (OSP) installation on poles. Aerial fiber cables are designed to accommodate the severe environment preventing the destruction of the nature and man-made damage or theft. There are also different types of aerial fiber optic cables. This article will describe the common installation ways and things to notice during installation.

aerial-fiber-optic-cable

Types of Aerial Optical Cables

Aerial fiber optic cables can be classified into the catenary wire style and the self-supporting style according to different installing ways. The catenary wire style refers to the general outdoor loose tube cables which can be lashed into a messenger. The self-supporting style refers to the ADSS (all-dielectric self-supporting) cables. They are made to support their own weight and environmental conditions such as wind and ice. Figure 8 self-supporting aerial fiber optic cables are the common ADSS cables designed for easy and economical one-step installation over long haul network communication.

Aerial Cable Installation Guides
Before Installation
  • Point 1, before the aerial cable installations, making a proper plan is very necessary. All the parties including utilities, street department and so on should be present in the cable route survey. And the plan should be approved by all the parties.
  • Point 2, sufficient clearances must be maintained between fiber optic cables and electrical power cables on joint-use poles.
  • Point 3, existing dead-end pole must be evaluated to see whether they can withstand the stresses during aerial cable installation. You have to evaluate whether temporary guying is needed in order to relieve the temporary unbalanced loading during cable installation.
  • Point 4, splice locations are usually selected during the cable route survey. They are chosen to allow for the longest possible continuous cable spans and a minimum number of splices. They should be easily accessible to a splicing vehicle.
  • Point 5, remember aerial installation should never be done in wet conditions. And make sure all personnel are properly trained for pole line work.
Installation Methods

According to different aerial cable types, there are generally two installation ways. First is to lash a fiber optic cable to a steel messenger. A steel messenger is first installed between the poles. Then a cable reel trailer and truck are used to pull the cable along the messenger. A cable guide and cable lasher are used to wrap around both the messenger and the fiber cable to secure the fiber cable to the messenger. Following the cable lasher is an aerial bucket truck which makes necessary adjustments. At each pole, the fiber optic cable forms an expansion loop to allow for expansion of the messenger. The expansion loop’s sizes have both a length and a depth, and its length should be larger than twice its depth. The fiber cable should also maintain its minimum bending radius at all times.

Another way is the direct installation of self-supporting figure 8 aerial cables. It greatly simplifies the task of placing fiber optic cables onto an aerial plant. The self-supporting figure 8 cable incorporates both a steel messenger and the fiber cable into a single jacket of figure 8 cross section. The combination of strand and optical fiber into a single cable allows rapid one-step installation and results in a more durable aerial plant.

During Installation

You should watch out for your safety during cable installation. Here are some tips for you to follow:

  • Tip 1, ensure that the tools and equipment used for the cable installation are in proper working order. Improperly functioning equipment may damage cables or cause injury to personnel.
  • Tip 2, be careful when working near electrical hazards if electric lines are passing through or near the right-of-way where installation is being performed.
  • Tip 3, before pulling cable directly from a figure 8 configuration, make sure that the area inside the loop of the cable is clear of personnel and equipment. Failure to do so may result in injury to the personnel or damage to the cable.

aerial-cable-installation

Conclusion

Installing cables is not an easy thing, especially for aerial cable installations. Extra concentration and patience are needed during the installation. The actual situation is usually much more complex than we talked right here. You need to adjust your plans according to real conditions.

Comparison Between MMF and SMF Optical Cables

According to different standards, fiber optic cable can be categorized into different classifications. One way is to classify the cable into single mode fiber (SMF) and multimode fiber (MMF). The comparison between these two types of optical cables can assist you in choosing the most suitable cable for device. This article will compare the two kinds of cables from cable path, distance, precision termination, cost and color. Hope you can find some useful information from the article.

Single Path Vs. Multiple Paths

SMF uses laser light which usually follows a single path through the fiber. MMF takes multiple paths, which may result in a differential mode delay. Each type of fiber can be applied for different equipment. It’s important to know which application is more suitable for practical use. Otherwise, it will not operate at optimal levels.

SMF-and-MMF-paths

Short Distances Vs. Long Distances

SMF is used for long distance communication, and MMF is used for distances of 500m or less. Each type is equally as effective when chosen for the proper communication device. Make sure to check the ratings to determine which type is best for your application. The distances should be clearly marked.

Thick Core Size Vs. Thin Core Size

SMF typically has a smaller core size of 8.3 to 10 microns in diameter which is more precise for signal transmission in long distance, while the core size of MMF is much larger than SMF from 50 to100 microns in diameter which is more suitable for short distance transmission owing to the signal distortion. With a thinner core size, SMF is only allowed to carry a single light-wave along a single path, while the thick core size makes MMF able to carry different light-waves along numerous paths without modal dispersion limitation.

SMF-and-MMF-core-size

Low Cost Vs. High Cost

MMF is typically a lower cost solution than SMF. Limited budget may prompt designers to seek solutions with MMF fiber optic cables. The equipment that’s used for communications over MMF is usually less expensive than SMF. But the typical transmission speed and distance of MMF have limitations of 100 Mbit/s for distances up to 2 km.

Color Differences

MMF and SMF cables can also be distinguished by color. Usually, yellow is used for SMF cable color and orange or aqua is used for MMF cables. It is much easier to distinguish them just by their appearance color.

SMF-and-MMF

Other Primary Differences

MMF is typically characterized by having a larger core diameter. In most cases, it’s larger than the wavelength of light it supports. Therefore, MMF has more capacity to gather light than SMF. A larger core size means that designers can create a lower cost electronic device and offer a lower price to the public. Also, by using light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs), the costs can be driven down even more.

Conclusion

SMF and MMF are two different optic cables which have their own separate application fields. It is terribly wrong for not selecting suitable SMF or MMF patch cables according to the application. Think twice before you are certain that the cable is the best choice for your project. If you want to know more details about SMF and MMF fiber optic cables, FS.COM can solve all your problems.

Related Article: Single Mode vs Multimode Fiber: What’s the Difference?

Comparing Three Fiber Optic Cable Manufacturers—Monoprice, C2G & FS.COM

In-depth Understanding of Fiber Optic Cables

The commitment to fiber optic technology has spanned more than 30 years, and nowadays a high level of glass purity, fiber optic cable, has been achieved owing to the continuous research and development. This purity, combined with improved system electronics, enables to transmit digitized light signals over hundreds of kilometers with high performance, offering many advantages in fiber optic systems. This text provides an overview of the construction, categories, and working principles of this fiber optic cable.

Construction of Fiber Optic Cable

Fiber optic cable generally consists of fiver elements : the optic core, optic cladding, a buffer material, a strength material and the outer jacket. Here, much more detailed information is attributive to the optic core and optic cladding which are both made from doped silica (glass).

The Optic Core and Cladding Details

The optic core is the light-carrying element at the center of the cable, and the optic cladding surrounds the optic core. Their combination makes the principle of total internal reflection possible. Besides, a protective acrylate coating then surrounds the cladding. In most cases, the protective coating is a dual layer composition: a soft inner layer that cushions the fiber and allows the coating to be stripped from the glass mechanically, and a harder outer layer that protects the fiber during handling, particularly the cabling, installation, and termination processes. This coating protects the glass from dust and scratches that can affect fiber strength.

Optic Core and Cladding, makes reflection possible

Categories of Fiber Optic Cable

There are two general categories of fiber optic cable: single-mode fiber (SMF) and multi-mode fiber (MMF).

MMF was the first type of fiber to be commercialized. It has a core of 50 to 62.5 µm in diameter much larger than SMF, allowing hundreds of modes of light to propagate through the fiber simultaneously. Additionally, the larger core diameter of MMF facilitates the use of lower-cost optical transmitters (such as light emitting diodes or vertical cavity surface emitting lasers) and connectors, more suitable for relatively shorter-reach application. Take 1 Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) applications for example, MMF is deployed to establish 550m link length with 1000BASE-SX SFPs (eg. Cisco Meraki MA-SFP-1GB-SX).

SMF, in contrast, has a much smaller core, approximately 8 to 10 µm in diameter, which allows only one mode of light at a time to propagate through the core. It’s designed to maintain spatial and spectral integrity of each optical signal over longer distances, permitting more information to be transmitted. Similarly, as for 1GbE applications, SMF is able to realize 70km reach with 1000BASE-ZX SFPs, like GLC-ZX-SM, a product compatible with Cisco listed in Fiberstore.

GLC-ZX-SM, 1000BASE-ZX SFP

Working Principles of Fiber Optic Cable

The operation of a fiber optic cable is based on the principle of total internal reflection. Light reflects (bounces back) or refracts (alters its direction while penetrating a different medium), depending on the angle at which it strikes a surface.

This principle comes at the center of how fiber optic cable works. Controlling the angle at which the lightwaves are transmitted makes it possible to control how efficiently they reach their destination. Lightwaves are guided through the core of the fiber optic cable in much the same way that radio frequency (RF) signals are guided through coaxial cable. The lightwaves are guided to the other end of the fiber being reflected within the core. The composition of the cladding glass related to the core glass determines the fiber’s ability to reflect light. That reflection is usually caused by creating a higher refractive index in the core of the glass instead of in the surrounding cladding glass, creating a waveguide. The refractive index of the core is increased by slightly modifying the composition of the core glass, generally by adding small amounts of a dopant. Alternatively, the waveguide can be created by reducing the refractive index of the cladding using different dopants.

Conclusion

In fiber optic cables, the light can carry more information over longer distances than the amount carried in a copper or coaxial medium or radio frequencies through a wireless medium. With few transmission losses, low interference, and high bandwidth, fiber optic cables are the ideal transmission medium. Fiberstore offers various kinds of fiber optic cables, including SMF and MMF types, simplex and duplex fiber optic cables, indoor distribution cables and outdoor loose tube cables, etc. For more information about fiber optic cables, you can visit Fiberstore.

FAQs About Laser-Optimized Fiber

Fiber optical networks have dominated for long-haul communications for years, increasingly used in short distance applications, such as local area networks (LANs). And the Ethernet data-rate needed for these high-performance fiber optic networks increases from 1Gbps to 10Gbps, to 40Gbps, to 100Gbps, or even higher. Together with this speed increase, a term, laser-optimized fiber, has crept into the telecommunication market. What is laser-optimized fiber? How much do you know about it? Knowing answers to these frequently asked questions (FAQs) about laser-optimized fiber will help you prepare for the latest wave in optical communication networks.

FAQ 1: What Is Laser-Optimized Fiber?

Laser-optimized multi-mode fiber (LOMMF: OM3 & OM4) differs from standard MMF (OM1 & OM2), because the former has graded refractive index profile fiber optic cable in each assembly. This means that the refractive index of the core glass decreases toward the outer cladding, so the paths of light towards the outer edge of the fiber travel quicker than the other paths. This increase in speed equalizes the travel time for both short and long light paths, ensuring accurate information transmission and receipt over much greater distances up to 300 meters (OM3) and 400 meters (OM4) at 10Gbps, while OM1 and OM2 can only realize 26 meters and 33 meters link length respectively at the same data rate. And when 1000BASE-SX SFP transceivers transmit and receive signals over LOMMF and standard MMF at 1Gbps, the possible link lengths achieved are also different, with OM1 275-meter reach, OM2, OM3, and OM4 up to 550-meter reach. Take MGBSX1 for example, this compatible Cisco 1000BASE-SX SFP listed in Fiberstore supports up to 550-meter link length over OM2.

MGBSX1, 550m link length over MMF

FAQ 2: Why Have MMF Been “Optimized” for Use with Lasers?

As the demand for bandwidth and higher throughput increased, especially in building and campus backbones, LEDs, short for Light Emitting Diodes, that are used as light sources in fiber optic systems could not keep pace. With a maximum modulation rate of 622Mb/s, LEDs would not support the 1 Gb/s and greater transmission rates required. The use of traditional lasers (Fabry-Perot, Distributed Feedback) typically used over single-mode fiber (SMF) could accommodate this problem. However, it’s very expensive due to the higher performance characteristics required for long-distance transmission on SMF. As such, a high-speed laser light source, a Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser (VCSEL) was developed. These VCSELs are inexpensive, suited for low-cost 850nm multi-mode transmission systems, allowing for data rates up to 100Gbps in the enterprise. With the emergence of these VCSELs, MMFs have been “optimized” for operation with lasers.

FAQ 3: Why Are LOMMFs the Best Choice for Use with VCSELs?

After VCSELs appears, to fully capitalize on the benefits that VCSELs offer, LOMMFs have been specifically designed, fabricated, and tested for efficient and reliable use with VCSELs.

LOMMF,specifically designed, fabricated, and tested

LOMMFs have a well-designed and carefully controlled refractive index profile to ensure optimum light transmission with a VCSEL. Precise control of the refractive index profile minimizes the modal dispersion, also known as Differential Mode Delay (DMD). This ensures that all modes, or light paths in the fiber arrive at the receiver at about the same time, minimizing pulse spreading and, therefore, maximizing bandwidth.

LOMMF is completely compatible with LEDs and other fiber optic applications. LOMMFs can be installed at slower data rates or higher data rate. When there occurs the data rate migration from 10Gbps to 40Gbps, there is no need to pull new cable. You only need to upgrade the optics modules to VCSEL-based transceivers, avoiding infrastructure redesign.

Conclusion

LOMMFs are the suitable medium for short-wave 10G optical transmission. Their great bandwidth- and information-carrying capacity make them more popular among consumers than standard MMFs especially in 10GbE systems. Fiberstore supplies countless OM3 and OM4, as well as OM1 and OM2 for your network projects. Besides, other kinds of fiber optic cables, like MTP cable and SMF, are also available in Fiberstore. For more information about fiber optic cables, please visit Fiberstore.

Fiber Optic Cable and Connector Selection

Proper selection of fiber optic cables and connectors for specific uses is becoming more and more important as fiber optic systems become the transmission medium for communications and aircraft applications, and even antenna links. Choices must be made in selecting fiber optic cables and connectors for high-reliability applications. This article provides the knowledge for how to make appropriate selections of fiber optic cable and connector when designing a fiber optic system.

Fiber Optic Cable Selection

To select a fiber optic cable, you have to make choices of both the fiber selection and the cable construction selection.

Fiber Selection

The three major fiber parameters used in selecting the proper fiber for an application are bandwidth, attenuation and core diameter.

Bandwidth: The bandwidth at a specified wavelength represents the highest sinusoidal light modulation frequency that can be transmitted through a length of fiber with an optical signal power loss equal to 50 percent of the zero modulation frequency component. The bandwidth is expressed in megahertz over a kilometer length (MHz/km).

Attenuation: The optical attenuation denotes the amount of optical power lost due to absorption and scattering of optical radiation at a specified wavelength in a length of fiber. It is expressed as an attenuation in decibels of optical power per kilometer (dB/km). The attenuation is determined by launching a narrow spectral band of light into the full length of fiber and measuring the transmitted intensity.

Core Diameter: The fiber core is the central region of an optical fiber whose refractive index is higher than that of the fiber cladding. Various core diameters are available to permit the most efficient coupling of light from commercially available light sources, such as laser diodes. There are two basic fiber types, single-mode and multimode. Single-mode fiber has a core diameter of 8 to 10 microns and is normally used for long distance requirements and high-bandwidth applications. Multimode fiber has a core diameter of 50 or 62.5 microns and is usually used in buildings. The picture below shows single-mode and multimode fiber with different core diameters.

multimode and singlemode fiber

Cable Construction Selection

Another important consideration when specifying optical fiber cable is the cable construction. There are three main types of cable configurations: buffered fiber cable, simplex cable and multichannel cable.

Buffered Fiber Cable: There are two kinds of buffered fiber. The first is a loose buffer tube construction where the fiber is contained in a water-blocked polymer tube that has an inner diameter considerably larger than the fiber itself. The loose buffer tube construction offers lower cable attenuation from a given fiber, and a high level of isolation from external forces. Loose buffer cables are typically used in outdoor applications and can accommodate the changes in external conditions. The second is a tight buffer tube design. A thick buffer coating is placed directly on the fiber. The tight buffer construction permits smaller, lighter weight designs and generally yields a more flexible cable. A comparison of these two cable constructions is shown below.

Buffered Fiber

Simplex Cable: A simplex fiber optic cable has only one tight buffered optical fiber inside the cable jackets. Simplex fiber optic cables are typically categorized as interconnect cables and are used to make interconnections in front of the patch panel. They are designed for production termination where consistency and uniformity are vital for fast and efficient operation.

Multichannel Cable: Building multiple fibers into one cable creates a multichannel cable. This type of cable is usually built with either a central or external strength member and fiber bundled around or within the strength member. An external jacket is used to keep the cable together.

Fiber Optic Connector Selection

Connector is an integral component of the cabling system infrastructure, which keeps the information flowing from cable to cable or cable to device. There are various connector types, including LC, FC, ST, SC, MTRJ, MPO, MTP, DIN, E2000, MU, etc. To design a fiber optic system, optical connector selection is also a very important decision. When selecting an optical connector, you have to take polishing styles, fiber types and number of fibers all into consideration.

Polishing Styles: There are mainly three kinds of polishing styles, PC (physical contact), APC (angled physical contact), and UPC (ultra physical contact). PC, UPC and APC refer to how the ferrule of the fiber optic connectors is polished. PC connector is used in many applications. UPC connectors are often used in digital, CATV, and telephony systems. APC connectors are preferred for CATV and analog systems. The picture below shows these three kinds of polishing styles.

Polish Types

Fiber Types: Single-mode and multi-mode optical fiber are two commonly used fiber types. Accordingly, there are single-mode optical connector and multi-mode optical connector. ST and MTRJ are the popular connectors for multi-mode networks. LC connector and SC connector are widely used in single-mode systems. Single-mode fiber optic connectors can be with PC, or UPC or APC polish, while multi-mode fiber optic connectors only with PC or UPC polish.

Number of Fibers: Simplex connector means only one fiber is terminated in the connector. Simplex connectors include FC, ST, SC, LC, MU and SMA. Duplex connector means two fibers are terminated in the connector. Duplex connectors include SC, LC, MU and MTRJ. Multiple fiber connector means more than two fibers are terminated in the connector. These are usually ribbon fibers with fiber count of 4, 6, 8, 12 and 24. The most popular ribbon fiber connector is MT connector.

Conclusion

The key to designing a successful fiber optic system is understanding the performance and applications of different kinds of fibers, cable constructions and optical connectors, and then utilizing the appropriate components. Fiberstore provides a wide range of fiber optic cables and connectors. Fiber optic cables can be available in single-mode, multimode, or polarization maintaining, and they can meet the strength and flexibility required for today’s fiber interconnect applications.

FTTH Makes Your Life Better

The way people live, work and play has been changed by the high speed bandwidth carried by fiber optic cables. People communicate via social networks like Facebook or Twitter, share videos online, watch Internet movies on television, take advantages of telemedicine and home based businesses. Without fiber optic cable, none of these activities can be carried out smoothly.

FTTH

To further improve the speed of bandwidth for users, FTTH (fiber to the home) are being widely accepted in cabling. Fiber to the home (FTTH) is the delivery of a communications signal over optical fiber from the operator’s switching equipment all the way to a home or business, thereby replacing existing copper infrastructure such as telephone wires and coaxial cable. By using the FTTH technologies, fiber reaches the boundary of the living space, such as a box on the outside wall of a home.

A key benefit of FTTH is that it provides much faster Internet speeds than twisted pair conductors, DSL or coaxial cable. However, what FTTH can bring for people is not just the faster speed. The real value of FTTH is that it can meet the exploding demand for more services. Therefore, people can do entirely new things and enjoy more new products and services with the networks.

FTTH is widely accepted now and making people’s life much more convenience and better. It also becomes an element like good water, power, transportation to define successful communities. FTTH-powered bandwidth is essential for people who work at home and who want quality life provided by online entertainment, education, culture and e-commerce.

2 Fibers Single-mode FRP Strength member Messenger Wire LSZH FTTH Drop Cable-GJXFH

Fiberstore’s FTTH Optic Fiber Cable Solution

Demand for bandwidth is rising with the introducing of new products and services. As a part of infrastructure, demand for FTTH fiber optic cable is also rising. FTTH Fiber Optic Cable is a kind of special curved optical fiber, which providing greater bandwidth and enhanced network transmission characteristics. This cable replaces the standard copper wire of the local Telco as it can carry high-speed broadband services integrating voice, data and video, and runs directly to the junction box at the home or building.

Fiberstore supplies various FTTH optic fiber cables, like FTTH Indoor Cable, FTTH Drop Cable, FTTH Duct Armored Cable, etc. In order to cut inventory costs and speed up the installation process for our customers, Fiberstore’s FTTH cable designs can simplify your project. For more information please visit Fiberstore’s Online shop (fs.com).

Plastic Optical Fiber – A “Consumer” Optical Fiber

If you are thinking of pre-wiring or rewiring your home network, there are many alternatives to consider. POF (Plastic optical fiber) could be one of your options. It is usually called as “consumer” optic fiber, as it is a low-cost optical fiber alternative with flexibility and ease of end finish.

plastic optic fiber

Plastic optic fiber is a large core step-index fiber with a typical diameter of 1 mm, which typically uses PMMA (acrylic), a general-purpose resin as the core material, and fluorinated polymers for the cladding material. It is a specialty fiber has various advantages and is useful for illumination, sensors and low speed short data links and so on.

Plastic optical fiber works in the same manner as glass optical fiber but uses plastic instead of glass. Although POF has a higher attenuation than glass optical fiber, it is acceptable for certain applications. Because it has merits that the glass optical fiber does not have. Unlike glass, plastic optical fiber has a larger core made out of PMMA and larger numerical aperture, which is capable of withstanding tighter bend radius than glass optical fiber. Thus it can be easily be cut and bent to fit in hard-to-reach places. Besides, the cost of plastic optical fiber is much lower.

POF has a data transfer speed lower than glass optical fiber, but comparing with the more traditional copper wiring, POF has a much faster transfer speed. Plastic optical fiber also has the merits that copper wiring does not have. They are as following:

  • POF is Complete immunity to electromagnetic interference (EIM).
  • POF is an electrical insulator, which can be laid down in power ducts.
  • POF has lower weight than copper wiring.
  • POF is cheaper than copper wiring

With the growing demand for high-speed communications over private intranets and the internet, varied applications with plastic optical fiber have been developed and commercialized. Plastic optical fibers can be used as light transmission guide in displays or as sensors and telecommunications cables. The uses of POF can be found in but not limited to the following fields: FTTH, automotive, medical, intelligence, lighting, sensor, digital audio and video interfaces.

If you are looking for plastic optical fiber for cabling, Fiberstore will satisfy your needs. It provides both simplex plastic optical fiber and duplex plastic optical fiber. For more information about Fiberstore’s POF products, you can visit its online store by clicking the following words: plastic optical fiber.

Cisco Compatible DAC Cable For 10Gigabit Ethernet

FS.COM, the professional interconnect manufacturer formally announced the expansion of its high-speed 10-Gigabit products which have established a reputation for premium quality, proven performance and competitive prices. Cisco compatible DAC cables for 10-Gigabit Ethernet provided by Fiberstore can save your money. This article is going to introduction Fiberstore DAC cable to you.

Overview of DAC Cable

10G SFP+ Direct Attach Cable (DAC), twinax cable with SFP+ connector, is designed to work with equipment with 10G SFP+ interface, and the pirce is low. For example: Cisco SFP-H10GB-CU1M compatible SFP to SFP copper direct attach cable only needs US$ 18.00, which is introduced in FS.COM Interconnect Compatible Solutions. This cable offers the same function with Cisco SFP-H10GB-CU1M and it is fully compatible with Cisco devices. It provides a low cost, low power and low latency interconnect solution for 10-Gigabit Ethernet. In addition, it is direct attached compliant and fully compatible with the SFP+ MSA specifications. For more information about compatibility, please refer to All About Compatibility: Third-Party vs. Brand Optics.

Different Types of DAC Cable

FS.COM offers Cisco compatible DAC cables for 10-Gigabit Ethernet:

SFP+ Twinax Copper Cables

SFP+ DAC Cable

Figure 1. 10G SFP+ Twinax Copper Cable.

SFP+ copper twinax direct attach cables are suitable for very short distances data transmission applications, and they offer a cost-effective way to connect within racks and across adjacent racks. The passive twinax cables are available in lengths of 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3 and 5 meters, and active twinax cables are available in lengths of 7 and 10 meters. The following table shows the detailed information about Cisco sfp+ twinax copper cables.

10g sfp to sfp DAC cable

SFP+ Active Optical Cables

10G SFP+ Active Optical Cable

Figure 2. 10G SFP+ Active Optical Cable.

SFP+ active optical cables (AOC) are direct attach fiber assemblies with SFP+ connectors. They are commonly used for short distances data transmission applications, and they provide a cost-effective solution for connections within racks and across adjacent racks. You can get detailed information about SFP+ active optical cables offered by FS.COM in the table below.

10g sfp to sfp aoc cable

Conclusion

If you are in the market for high speed copper cables, such as CX4 cables, HD Mini-SAS cables, SFP+ cables, QSFP cables, today is the perfect time to buy with the 30% saving. These cables are 100% compatible with major brands like Cisco, HP, Juniper, Enterasys, Extreme, H3C and so on. And FS.COM offers customized service for cable length. They provides 10G SFP+ cables, including 10G SFP+ copper passive / active cable and 10G SFP+ AOC cable, in various lengths according to requirement of customers.