Category Archives: Fiber Optic Cables

How Much Do You Know About Fiber Connectors

Fiber connector is an inseparable part for connecting optic fiber with network devices. An optical fiber connector terminates the end of an optical fiber, and enables quicker connection and disconnection than splicing. The connectors mechanically couple and align the cores of fibers so light can pass. Without fiber connector, data can not be easily transmitted, therefore it is a better way for fiber optic transmission. But how much do you know about it?

Four Commonly Used Fiber Connectors

Here is the introduction to some commonly used fiber connectors:

SC-Connector

SC Connector  SC connector, being square, has a nickname of “Square Connector”, which some people believe to be the correct name, rather than the more official name of “Subscriber Connector”. Other terms often used for SC connectors are “Set and Click” and “Stab and Click”. It is a snap-in connector used for high performance transmission. First invented by Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT) in 1980s. SC connector has a 2.5mm ceramic ferrule for providing accurate alignment. It is now one of the most popular connectors in the world because of its cheaper price, easier push-off installation, high-temperature and high-pressure resistance.

LC-Connector

LC Connector  As a widely used fiber optic connector for jointing equipment with optic fiber, the LC connector solution was developed in response to customer needs for smaller and easier-to-use fiber optic connectivity. LC stands for “Lucent Connector”, and sometimes to be called as “Little Connector”. The shape of LC looks like SC connector but is usually considered to be the replacement of SC connector due to a 1.25mm ferrule, which is only half the size of SC connector. LC connector is available for the push-pull function which is convenient for installation and uninstallation and is favored for single-mode.

ST-Connector

ST Connector  ST connector refers to having a “Straight Tip” because of its tipped shape on the top. Other names including “Set and Twist”, “Stab and Twist”, and “Single Twist” are referring to how it is inserted. It is a quick release bayonet style connector with a 2.5mm keyed ferrule. Developed by American Telephone & Telegraph (AT&T), ST connector is thought to be the first actual standard connector for most commercial wiring which took the leading role of industry in the late 80s and early 90s. But due to its usage limitation for single-mode fiber and FTTH, it is less welcomed than before.

FC-ConnectorFC Connector  FC connector is short for “Ferrule Connector” or “Fiber Channel”. It is a screw coupling type connector with 2.5mm ferrule which was also the first optical fiber connector to use a ceramic ferrule. The FC standard is made for NTT installations, developed by Nippon Electric Co. (NEC). But since the growth of SC and LC connectors, its usage has been declined.

Applications

The application of fiber optic connectors can reach various aspects of the telecommunication industry. They are applied to the quicker connection and disconnection between optic fiber and equipment, and different types connectors also have different practical areas. SC connector is widely used in datacom and telecom, Gigabit-Capable PON (GPON), Ethernet Passive Optical Network (EPON), GBIC offering an excellent packing density. And LC connector is replacing SC connector for the high-density connection on small form-factor pluggable transceivers, such as SFP, SFP+ and XFP transceivers. ST connector is usually used for short distance applications and long line systems in datacom and telecom premise installation and test lab. With the screw-on connection, FC connector is suitable for datacom, telecom, measurement equipment, single-mode lasers, especially for high vibration environments for that the spring-loaded ferrule can be firmly mated.

Conclusion

On the whole, different types of fiber connectors provide an easier and quicker solution for connecting and disconnecting the optic fiber with network devices. Fiberstore provides cost-effective but high quality connectors with many different choices, you can find any type of fiber connectors you want in the website. So what are you waiting for? Please come to FS.COM to start your new shopping journey.

What Can Do Damages to the Fiber Cables?

Fiber cables are widely applied in today’s communication network. They are buried under the street or under the sea. Fiber cables are quite indispensable for information transmission and data providing. They are just like the veins of communication systems. Once fiber cables are damaged or cut, network will be interrupted. You may be not able to watch TV or even suffer a great loos. So, what can destroy the fiber cables?

Bad Weather & Natural Disasters

Bad weather like hurricanes, mud slides, flood and ice storms etc. and natural disasters are nightmare not only to our personal life and property, but also the fiber cables. When there is a heavy snow, we are glad to make snowman. But for cable installers, they have to o an emergency network repair under such harsh conditions in order to avoid additional damage and downtime. Because water that enters a splice enclosure will be frozen, crushing the fiber strands and leaving you with a costly network outage. Additionally, lightning is also a factor to destroy fiber cables. When lightning strikes the ground, it will search for the best conductor available, even if it’s underground. If that happens to be the armor or trace-wire of your fiber cable, then cable sheath or the fiber is likely to be broken.

Animals Chew & Bite

The damages to fiber cables caused by animals are annoying. We don’t know how to avoid that. Squirrel, a furry little nut eater, seems to be deeply fond of fiber cable sheathing besides nuts. We even doubt that the cable manufacturers using peanut oil in the sheathing. Squirrel often gnaw fiber optic cable. Even metal armored cable can get cut in two by this furry critter. In addition, undersea cables aren’t exempt from cuts. Because there is another animal under ocean like to bite cables. It is shark. Why shark would like to eat fiber cables? Effect by magnetic fields is one of the explaining at present. We have no idea how we can combat these wayward rodents. Now, the only thing we can do is always looking for ways to improve.

shuck-bite

Construction Damage

During the construction, people may cut the fiber cables with excavators. Tools like backhoes, post-hole augers and even hand shovels can all bring network traffic to a halt. Because some of them don’t even care if there are fiber cables underground before digging. So construction may do harm to fiber optic cable.

excavator

Vehicle Damage

How can vehicle damage the fiber cables? Here we mainly refer to big trucks, or maybe small airplane. For example, a cable damage accident causing by a truck happened in Pennsylvania. A trucker got lost and accidently turned down a residential street. His rig got tangled up in a mess of overhead phone cables. But that didn’t stop him! He kept pushing forward until his rig was tied up like a Christmas present. He was dragging a 20 foot section of broken telephone pole down the street before he stopped to see what was impeding his progress. To address this situation, we can forbid trucks from entering the residential street or city by limiting the height of the vehicles. However, accident always happens with all kinds of tricks, e.g. a small airplane will destroy the fiber cables. This happened in California. A small airplane was attempting to land at the Burbank International Airport and overshot the runway and crashed in a residential area. It clipped the poles that the aerial fiber was attached to, causing everything to come down. Though it is just a small probability event, it really refresh the record of fiber cut causing by vehicle.

Artificial Destruction

Since fiber optical cable is valuable, some people try to steal it. They cut the fiber into pieces. The most classical event is that a 75 year-old woman in Georgia (country in Asia) was digging with her spade, looking for copper, which she wanted to sell for scrap, when she accidentally cut the fiber optic cable that provided internet to 90% of Armenia. It is ridiculous. It is fiber but not copper! In addition, people vandalize the fiber cable in other ways, e.g. for gun practice. This especially happens in the rough parts of town which makes the cable repair work become dangerous. Furthermore, land disputes may also causes artificial malicious damage to fiber.

Cable Protection, Repair and Recovery

No matter damages caused by nature or human, we can’t predict. So the only thing we can do is to take a good protection for our fiber cables. Waterproof fiber cables, armored fiber cables and the other outdoor cables which are designed to protect fibers in a harsh application environment are widely used in this field. More better protection methods will be developed in the future. Of course, there are some other factors which cause signal loss and cut the network. Repairs and recovery service are necessary. There is a group of people who are willing to get down into the trenches in the first time, make the necessary repairs and recovery service every time when network is down. They are great and worthy of respect.

MPO Cable Testing Overview

Nowadays, the existing bandwidth is not adequate to meet enterprises’ increasing appetite. In the meanwhile, optical technologies like cloud computing, virtualization and storage area networks are all in the fast development, which pushes the further development of higher-bandwidth tech like 40/100G Ethernet. Thus under this circumstance, new devices are greatly required. Besides the new optical transceivers and fiber optic cables, a steady proliferation of fiber connections—MPO (Multifiber Push-On) came into being.

MPO cables, featured by its compact, pre-terminated advantages, has become the default cabling solution for the increasing bandwidth requirements. However, a flaw of the MPO cable may hinder its development. The testing process of the MPO cable can be complex and error-prone. Have you been through the scene? When you prepare to test a MPO cable, you have to throw polarity of all 12 fiber connections into the mix. And if it comes to migrating 10 Gbps to 40/100 Gbps on the same cable, all the testing job you have done is in vain. Since the testing process is pretty uneasy, The following text will provide some detailed information about it to help you do the right MPO cable testing.

MPO cable

Problems You Should Know About MPO Cable Testing

Typically, a MPO cable contains 12 optical fibers, and each fiber is thinner than human’s hair. So if you want to test the cable, you must test every fiber of it, which is quite difficult for inexperienced engineers. The common way to do this is to use a fan-out cord to make the 12 fibers separate, then testing. One fiber testing would take you 10 seconds. So if your customer ask you to test 48 MPO trunks cable in data center which has a 30,000-MPO data center installation, that means you need to spend 3,120 hours. Such a huge project! To avoid this expensive and time-consuming process, modular factory-terminated MPO cables promise simplicity, lower cost, and true plug-and-play fiber connectivity.

Additional, when you are about to test a MPO cable, you should check whether the MPO cable is in the good state. Because cables must be transported, stored, and later bent and pulled during installation in the data center, which may lead to the performance uncertainties before fiber cables are deployed. Proper testing of pre-terminated cables after installation is the only way to guarantee performance in a live application.

What’s more, fiber polarity is also an important factor you should take into account. The simple purpose of any polarity scheme is to provide a continuous connection from the link’s transmitter to the link’s receiver. For array connectors, TIA-568-C.0 defines three methods to accomplish this: Methods A, B and C. Deployment mistakes are common because these methods require a combination of patch cords with different polarity types.

The Relationship Between Bandwidth and Testing

The market trend of telecom industry implies that 10G network has already been deployed in a large scale. And now 40G is main stream. As for 100G, people also already prepare for it. So bandwidth would always be a hot topic.

We have said before that MPO cable can solve the problem of bandwidth. As data center bandwidth steadily climbs to 10, 40, and 100Gbps, a dense multi-fiber cable becomes the only option. That’s why the use of MPO cables has steadily risen over the past 10 years. With the MPO cabling system, 40/100G migration path seems to be a simple and easy solution. Just remove the 10Gbps cassette from the MPO cable and replace it with a bulkhead accommodating a 40Gbps connection. Later it might be possible to remove that bulkhead and do a direct MPO connection for 100 Gbps at a later date. Figure 2 shows a 40G connectivity with the use of the 12-fiber MPO cable. A 40G QSFP like QSFP-40G-SR4 connects to a 12-fiber MPO cable. A 12-fiber MPO fanout cable is also used to connect four 10G SFP+ transceivers like 46C3447 with a MPO FAP.

40G connectivity

The problem is that while this migration strategy is an efficient way to leverage the existing cabling, in comparison to 10Gbps connections, the 40Gbps and 100Gbps standards call for different optical technology (parallel optics) and tighter loss parameters. In short, each time you migrate you need to verify the links to ensure the performance delivery the organization requires.

How to Do the Proper MPO Cable Testing

When you move to this part, you may think that MPO testing may be a tough obstacle for us to conquer. So is there a simple way to do the testing? The answer is yes. You can just test all 12 fibers—the whole cable—simultaneously and comprehensively (including loss and polarity). That sort of test capability changes the fiber landscape, enabling installers and technicians to efficiently validate and troubleshoot fiber—flying through the process by tackling an entire 12-fiber cable trunk with the push of a button.

MPO cable testing tool

To do a proper MPO cable testing, you must need some proper testing tools as shown in Figure 3. The tools to perform this type of test are emerging on the market, and promise to reduce the time and labor costs up to 95% over individual fiber tests. Characteristics to look for in such a tool include the following parts.

  • An onboard MPO connector to eliminate the complexity and manual calculations associated with a fan-out cord.
  • A single “Scan All” test function that delivers visual verification via an intuitive interface for all 12 MPO fibers in a connector.
  • Built-in polarity verification for end-to-end connectivity of MPO trunk cables.
  • “Select Individual Fiber” function that enables the user to troubleshoot a single fiber with more precision.

Summary

The insatiable need for bandwidth ensures that the integrity of the data center, which has also become inextricably linked to the strength of the fiber cabling infrastructure. Now more and more MPO trunk cables are put into use, to make sure the better performance, you should be able to test the MPO connection. Fiberstore offers a variety of MPO products including MPO trunk cables, MPO harness cable, 12-fiber or 24-fiber MPO cable and so on. All of our products can also be customized. Please feel free to contact us.

Guide to Multimode Fiber Cabling in 40/100G Migration

Nowadays one and 10 Gbqs data rates are not adequate to meet the continued requirement for expansion and scalability in the data center, thus technology evolves and standards are completed to define higher data rates such as 40/100G Ethernet. In the meanwhile the cabling infrastructures installed today must provide scalability to accommodate the need for more bandwidth in support of future applications. OM3 and OM4 multimode cabling solutions have been proven to be a cost-effective solution for 40G data center. Today’s article will make you familiarize with this new Gigabit Ethernet and OM3/OM4 cabling to help you smoothly upgrade to 40G Ethernet.

Multimode Fibers in Data Center

Multimode fiber is more popular in data centers than singlemode fiber. Many people may know the reason—budget. Because the price of multimode fiber is typically much lower than singlemode fiber. Additionally, multimode fibers utilizes the low cost 850nm optical transceiver for both serial and parallel transmission. While singlemode fiber uses the expensive 1310nm and 1550nm transceiver and duplex fiber wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) serial transmission. Therefore, most data center designers would choose multimode fiber for 40/100G transmission.

OM3 and OM4 cable

There are four common types of multimode fibers available in the market—OM1, OM2, OM3 and OM4. Recently OM3 and OM4 cables are gradually taking place of OM1 and OM2 multimode cable. OM3 and OM4 are laser-optimized multimode fibers with 50/125 core, which are designed to accommodate faster networks such as 10, 40 and 100 Gbps. Compared with OM1 (62.5/125 core) and OM2 (50/125 core), OM3 and OM4 can support high data rate and longer distance. This is why OM3 and OM4 is more popular in data center.

The Ratification of IEEE 802.3ba

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.3ba 40G/100G Ethernet standard was ratified in June 2010. According to this standard, it includes detailed guidance for 40/100G transmission with multimode and singlemode fibers. But the standard does not have guidance for Category-based unshielded twisted-pair or shielded twisted-pair copper cable.

OM3 and OM4 are the only multimode fibers included in 40/100G standard. Because multimode fiber uses parallel-optics transmission instead of serial transmission due to the 850-nm vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) modulation limits at the time the guidance was developed. Compared to traditional serial transmission, parallel-optics transmission uses a parallel optical interface where data is simultaneously transmitted and received over multiple fibers. Table 2 shows the IEEE standards for 40 and 100 GbE.

IEEE standards for 40 and 100 GbE

The 40G and 100G Ethernet interfaces are 4x10G channels on four fibers per direction, and 10x10G channels on 10 fibers per direction, respectively. For 40GBASE-SR4 transceivers, it utilizes multimode fiber for a link length of 100m over OM3 and 150m over OM4. QSFP-40G-SR4 is Cisco 40GBASE-SR4 QSFP+ that can both operate over OM3 and OM4 cables to achieve 40G connectivity just as FTL410QE2C.

OM3 or OM4?

As noted before, OM3 and OM4 can meet the requirement for 40G migration cabling performance, that’s why they are being widely utilized in 40/100G migration. But OM3 and OM4, which is better for your infrastructure? There is no exact answer to this question as numerous factors can affect the choice. The working environment and the total costs are always the main factors to be considered when selecting OM3 or OM4 multimode cable.

OM3-and-OM4

OM3 is fully compatible with OM4. They use the same optical connector and termination of connector. The main difference between them is in the construction of fiber cable that makes OM4 cable has better attenuation and can operate higher bandwidth at a longer distance than OM3. On the other hand, the cost for OM4 fiber is higher than OM3. As 90 percent of all data centers have their runs under 100 meters, choosing OM3 comes down to a costing issue. However, in the long term, as the demand increases, the cost will come down. OM4 will become the most viable product in the near future.

Conclusion

No matter choosing OM3 or OM4 for your infrastructure, 40G migration is in the corner. OM3 and OM4 multimode cable featured by the high performance and low cost are the perfect solution for 40/100G migration. Fiberstore is committed to provide the best-service and high-quality products to customers. Our comprehensive range of products in OM3 and OM4 offer customers the ability to create the optimal network. For more information, you are welcome to contact us.

SC Connector Overview

SC connector was developed by the laboratories at Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT) in 1980s, hitting the market strongly after the advent of ceramic ferrules as the first connector. SC stands for “square connector” or “subscriber connector”, which is a push-on, pull-off connector with a locking tab. It has a push-pull coupling end face with a spring loaded ceramic ferrule by which SC connector can provide for accurate alignment. Commonly, it can be used with singlemode and multimode fiber optic cables with low cost, simplicity, and durability. Due to its excellent performance, it dominated fiber optics for over a decade and still plays an important part now.

SC Connector Structure

The picture below has given a visualized description of the most common elements in SC connector. It is mainly made up of the fiber ferrule, connector sub-assembly body, connector housing, fiber cable and stress relief boot.

SC connector structure

The fiber ferrule – In the heart of SC connector, there is a long cylindrical 2.5mm diameter ferrule which is made of ceramic or metal. The ferrule has a hole about 124~127um diameter in its center, so that the stripped bare fiber can be inserted through it. The end of the fiber is at the end of the ferrule, where it typically is polished smooth.

The connector sub-assembly body – The ferrule is then assembled in the SC sub-assembly body. The end of the ferrule protrudes out of the sub-assembly body to mate with another SC connector inside a mating sleeve (also called adapter or coupler).

The connector housing – Connector sub-assembly body is then assembled together with the connector housing. Connector housing provides the mechanism for snapping into a mating sleeve (adapter) and hold the connector in place.

The fiber cable – Fiber cables are often crimped onto the connector sub-assembly body with a crimp eyelet. This provides the strength for mechanical handing of the connector without putting stress on the fiber itself.

The stress relief boot – Stress relief boot covers the joint between connector body and fiber cable, and protects fiber cable from mechanical damage.

SC Connector Types

According to the polish style, SC connector can be divided into PC (Physical Contact) style, UPC (Ultra Physical Contact) style and APC (Angled Physical Contact) style. SC PC connector is polished with a slight spherical (cone) design to reduce the overall size of the end-face. But now, the most common types are UPC type and APC type.

SC UPC connector – It is an improvement from SC PC connector, resulting in a lower back reflection (ORL) than a standard PC connector, and allowing more reliable signals in digital TV, telephony and data systems. It is available in single-mode and multimode. You can tell them apart from the color: SMF UPC connector is blue, while MMF UPC connector is beige.

SC APC connector – It is angled at an industry-standard eight degrees. As a result, any light that is redirected back towards the source is actually reflected out into the fiber cladding, again by virtue of the 8° angled end-face. That is why its back reflection is the lowest among the three types. APC connector is only available in single-mode, and the color of it is green.

SC APC connector and UPC connector

According to the application, SC connector includes SC BTW connector and SC jumper connector.

SC BTW Connectors – BTW is the abbreviation of “behind the wall”. As the name implies, can be used to connect the adapter panel, and then terminate Outside Plant (OSP) cables as well as building cables. SC BTW connectors are designed for 900 micron buffered fiber. This product is intended to meet Telcordia GR-326-CORE, Issue 3 for Type II Media (900 micron buffered fiber).

SC Jumper Connectors – Generally, SC jumper connectors are designed on the end of fiber patch cables, and then connect GBIC modules in Central Office (CO), Local Area Networks (LANs), device terminations, etc. Robust family of connectors designed to mount on 1.6 – 3.0 mm fiber cordage and intended to meet the Telcordia GR-326-CORE, Issue 3, for Type I Media (reinforced jumper cordage). The common types are 2mm Jumper connector and 3mm Jumper connector.

SC Connector Application

Generally, when compared with other connectors, SC connector is more rugged and adaptable. What is more, it is capable of tunable and stable performance. With these significantly features, SC connector can be applied in many fields, such as telecommunication, CATV, broadband and so on. The products of SC connector are also various, such as SC adapters, SC terminators, SC converters and SC jumpers.

Fiberstore Solution

Fiberstore as the main professional fiber optic products manufacturer in china offers a various kinds of fiber cable connectors, including SC Connectors. What is more, the products with these connectors are also full in store, such as SC fiber cable, with good quality and low price.

40 Gigabit Ethernet Solution

40 Gigabit Ethernet is a standard that enables the transfer of Ethernet frames at speeds of up to 40 gigabits per second (Gbps), allowing 40 Gigabit Ethernet-enabled equipment to handle traffic at the aggregation and core layers. It satisfies the greater demands for faster data transmission and higher bandwidths. Thus, the business case for 40 Gigabit Ethernet is becoming inescapably compelling although 10 Gigabit Ethernet is still making its way into data center. A right and cost-effective solution for 40 Gigabit Ethernet is very necessary for all users who want to migrate to 40G.

40 Gigabit Ethernet Solution

The picture above is the summary about 40 Gigabit Ethernet, explaining significantly that cables and transceivers are the basis of the whole solution. And actually, they are also the main cost of the item. Next some types of 40 Gigabit Ethernet cables and 40g qsfp transceiver will be introduced in details.

40 Gigabit Ethernet Cables

The cable applied in 40 Gigabit Ethernet can be optical fiber or copper cable. The copper cable for 40 Gigabit Ethernet is designed for short reach, up to at least 7 m. As to optical cable, there are two types: singlemode cable and multimode cable. The transmission distance of multimode cable for 40 Gigabit Ethernet can be up to 150 m, which is much shorter than the transmission distance of singlemode cable (It can be up to 10 km). Generally, the common used types are OM3 and OM4 multimode cables in that its reach supports a wider range of deployment configurations compared to copper solutions, and the cost is lower compared to singlemode solutions.

What is more, the MPO cable (Multi-Fiber Push On)/MTP (Multi-fiber Termination Push-on) cable is considered the best solution for 40GbE. It can connect the multimode transceivers to support the multifiber parallel optics channels. For 40 Gigabit Ethernet, we can use 8 fibers MPO/MTP harness cables or 12 fibers MPO/MTP trunk cables. The former is to directly connect a QSFP port to other 4 SFP+ ports. The latter is to directly connect one QSFP port to another QSFP port. Here is a picture to help you know it clearly.

MTP Cable

40G QSFP Transceiver

According to different standard form factors, 40g qsfp transceivers can be divided into different types, such as CFP transceiver, CXP transceiver and QSFP transceiver, ect.

CFP transceiver, which has 12 transmit and 12 receive 10-Gbps lanes, can support one 100 Gigabit Ethernet port, or up to three 40 Gigabit Ethernet ports. This module is used for 40GBASE-SR4, 40GBASE-LR4. The former is based on 850nm technology and supports transmission over at least 100m OM3 parallel fibers and at least 150m OM4 parallel fibers, while the latter is based on 1310nm , coarse wave division multiplexing (CWDM) technology and supports transmission over at least 10km on singlemode fiber.

CXP transceiver also has 12 transmit and 12 receive 10-Gbps lanes as well as CFP transceiver, supporting one 100 Gigabit Ethernet port or up to three 40G qsfp ports. Compared with CFP transceiver, the size of it is much smaller. And it is mainly designed for the high-density requirements of the data center, serving the needs of multimode optics and copper.

QSFP transceiver provides four transmit and four receive lanes to support 40 Gigabit Ethernet applications for multimode fiber and copper today. The size of it is the same with CXP transceiver. It is mainly designed to support Serial Attached SCSI, 40G Ethernet, PCIe, 20G/40G Infiniband, and other communications standards.

Fiberstore 40 Gigabit Ethernet Solution

Fiberstore can offer customers 40 Gigabit Ethernet connectivity options for data center networking, enterprise core aggregation, and service provider transport applications. Since the products are all in good quality and low price, it may be the best choice for you to deploy the network.

Introduction of Single mode Fiber Patch Cable

When signals are transmitted over a long distance, single mode fiber patch cable which plays a vital part in the remote telecommunication should not be ignored. Singlemode fiber patch cable is a single strand (most applications use 2 fibers) of glass fiber with a diameter of 8.3 to 10 microns, which only transmits single mode on a given operating wavelength. The dispersion in it is little, so that single mode fiber cable can support Gigabit Ethernet data transfer up to 10 kilometers in distance.

Comparison With Multimode Fiber Patch Cable

Single mode fiber patch cable which we discussed before is one type of fiber patch cables, and another type is multimode fiber patch cable. Different from single mode fiber patch cable, multimode fiber patch cable can transmit multimode on a given operating wavelength. But what is the main difference between them? And how can we tell them apart?

The main difference between them is the size of their respective cores. Singlemode fiber has a smaller core than multimode’s. As we said before, the diameter of its core is about 8.3 to 10 microns, while the core of multimode fiber is about 50, 62.5 mm or even higher. As a result, the larger core gathers more light in multimode fiber patch cables than single mode cables, and this light reflects off the core and allows more signals to be transmitted. In a word, the size of the cores determines their nature.

Another difference is the transmission distance. Due to the smaller core, single mode fiber patch cable has less signal attenuation than multimode fiber patch cable, so that it can be applied for long distance transmission. On the other hand, although multimode fiber patch cable can transmit multimode, the dispersion between modes is large, which would be a limitation for transmission frequency of digital signals. Therefore, multimode fiber patch cable is usually used for short distance transmission.

Types of Single mode Fiber Patch Cable

According to the different specification, single mode fiber can be divided into different kinds. In the picture below, there are three specifications which defined the single mode fiber. They are IEC (short for International Electrotechnical Commission), ITU (short for International Telecommunication Union) and TIA (short for Telecommunications Industry Association). You can have a visual description from this picture.

types of single mode fiber patch cable

In order to help you to have a better understanding of the types of single mode fiber, we will take G.652 for an example. G.652 covers single mode NDSF (non-dispersion-shifted fiber), which has no attenuation coefficient in the 1310 nm range. And low water peak fiber has been specifically processed to reduce the water peak at 1400 nm to allow use in that range.

When put into practice, single mode fiber cable is often connected with connectors to transmit data. For example, LC fiber to ST fiber patch cable is a cable with LC connector on the one end and ST connector on the other end. Also, the connectors to connect the cables have various kinds, such as SC, FC, etc. And if you want to buy these cables with good quality, Fiberstore is a good choice.

Why is Fiber Optic Cable a Better Choice Than Copper Cable?

Nowadays, you can see fiber optics is deployed in many industries, most notably in telecommunications and computer networks. As a result, fiber optic cable is widely used. On the contrast, the utilization of copper cable declines. And as the construction of fiber optics develops further, some entrepreneurs even announced that fiber optic cable will replace copper cables. In spite that these words are not authoritative and unbelievable, we still can see the prospect of fiber optic cable is excellent. So here comes the question: Why is fiber optic cable a better choice than copper cable?

What Are Fiber Optic Cable and Copper Cable?

Fiber optic cable is a cable containing one or more optical fibers that are used to carry light. (And it can be connected with LC, ST and some other connectors. For example, LC fiber optic cable, one kind of fiber optic patch cord, consists of optical fiber with a connector whose type is LC.) Commonly, fiber optic cable can be divided into single mode fiber and multi-mode fiber. Single mode fiber cable sends signals with laser light, while multi-mode fiber sends signals with light-emitting diodes or LEDs. The thickness and diameter of multi-mode cable are bigger than the single-mode cable’s.

Copper cable is a cable made by copper medium. In copper networks, copper cable is the key component which can be divided into three sub-types: unshielded twisted pair (UTP), screened twisted pair (F/UTP) and shielded twisted pair (S/FTP). And the main medium of signal transmission in copper cable is twisted pair.

Advantages of Fiber Optic Cable Over Copper Cable

There are some aspects that can show fiber optic cable is a better choice than copper cable. And in order to give you a visual description, here is a table below of the comparison of fiber optic cable and copper cable so that you can know it clearly. Also, we will talk about some relative importance of these points in detail.

optical cable vs. copper cable

Higher carrying capacity and wider transmission band: Optical fibers are thinner than copper wires, so more fibers can be bundled into a given-diameter cable than copper wires, allowing more phone lines to go over the same cable or more channels to come through the cable into your business or home. The bandwidth of fiber optics can be up to 50000GHz. For instance, optical fiber system with speed of 2.4Gb/s can transmit more than 3000 phone lines at the same time.

Less signal degradation: The loss of signal in optical fiber is less than in copper wire. Recently, the attenuation of optical fiber is declined to 0.2dB/KM. Therefore, the distance of signal transmission can be longer, even more than a few hundred kilometers because of less attenuation. And also, because the signals degrade less, it can use low power transmitter to transmit signals instead of the high-voltage electrical transmitters needed for copper wires so that it can save some cost.

Light signals: In fiber optic cables, light signals from one fiber do not interfere with those of other fibers in the same cable, which is greatly different from the electric signals in copper cables. This feature means there would be a clearer phone conversation or TV reception using fiber optic cables.

At present, there is a point we should admit that copper cable shares most parts of the market. But with so many advantages over copper cable, fiber optic cable will have a bright future.

FTTH Indoor Cable

FTTH has been widely deployed as the high demand for bandwidth of video, audio and data signals transmission. More and more FTTH networks have been and will be installed in subscribers’ houses due to growing requirements for them and enhancements on their technologies. A variety kind of FTTH cables are accordingly designed including in-duct cables, direct-buried cables, drop cables and indoor cables, etc. FTTH indoor cables are mostly difficult to be installed among those cables for the complex indoor environment. Today, this article will introduce FTTH indoor cables in details.

What Is FTTH Indoor Cable?

FTTH indoor cable is used inside a building or house to connect the FTTH user end equipment. Its fiber count typically is 1, 2 or 4 optical strands commonly combined with two non-metal enhanced FRP/Metal/KFRP which can provide sufficient tensile strength and good resistance to lateral crushing to protect the fiber inside. In addition, its outer sheath is universally consist with LSZH material with good flame-retardance in white or black. Its simple convenient structure makes it perfect for indoor cabling.

FRP Strength member FTTH indoor cable

Installation of FTTH Indoor Cable

FTTH indoor cable is usually installed along the walls, behind moldings, around corners or through ceilings. The local environment including building styles, existing ducts, owners’ personal requirements and life security control decides the specific operation like the length and bend amplitude of the indoor cable. And nowadays the cables need to have both mechanical strength and flexible installation capacity for smaller subscribers’ houses as the rapid development of FTTH. The bend-optimized cables are prevailing in FTTH indoor installation for its great bend performance around the sharp edges and corners in smaller houses. The following pictures show the installation of FTTH indoor cable.

FTTH indoor cable installation

Advantages of FTTH Indoor Cable

Due to its simple structure and installation requirements, FTTH indoor cable is designed to have size and quality advantages over a common indoor fiber. It is small diameter, soft and bendable, easy to deploy and maintenance, allowing a reduction in the physical size of connection equipment such as splice closures and termination boxes. And special FTTH indoor cable is even able to be thunder-proof, anti-rodent or waterproof for life security. With its extraordinary advantages, FTTH indoor cable is widely applied, pushing the development of FTTH as well as guaranteeing people’s life securities as much as possible.

Applications of FTTH Indoor Cable
  • Access network, fiber to the home
  • Used end users directly cabling
  • Indoor cabling and distribution

For more information about FTTH indoor cables, please visit www.fs.com.

Originally published at: www.fiber-optic-equipment.com/a-guide-for-pon.html

How Much do you Know about Aerial Fiber Optic Cables?

Aerial fiber optic cables are an essential part of the optical communication networks. They are commonly used in our daily life, like hanging in the pole at the front of our house. How much do you know about the aerial cables? This article can help you learn more about them.

As the aerial fiber optic cables are exposed in the outdoor environment, they have to be made of material which is different to the conventional fiber optic cables to withstand windy, rainy, icy and snowy weathers. What’s more, the installation method is different from other cables. Therefore, there are different types of aerial cables.

Types of Aerial Fiber Optic Cables

By installation methods, aerial fiber optic cables can be generally classified as two types: catenary wire and self-supporting. Catenary Wire Aerial Cable is regular outdoor loose tube cables that can utilize the existing overhead pole line to install that saves more in construction costs and shortens the construction period. Self-Supporting Aerial Cable, or All-Dielectric Self-Supporting (ADSS) cable, has cable bonded to an insulated steel or all-dielectric messenger for support. ADSS cables are usually made of heavier jackets and stronger metal or aramid strength members. Nowadays, the self-supporting aerial fiber optic cables are more widely used by people. And the most commonly used ADSS cables are figure-8 aerial cable.

0

Figure-8 Aerial Cable

Figure-8 aerial cable greatly simplifies the task of placing fiber optic cable on an aerial plant. It incorporates both a steel messenger and the core of a standard optical 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. Figure 8 aerial cable is commonly used between the poles in the outdoor.

3Figure-8 Aerial Cable

Drop Cable

There is also another type of fiber optic cable, the intersecting face  of which showing the figure of 8, that is drop cable. You should not confound them together.

With the emergence of access networks, including fiber to the business, fiber to the home and fiber to the premises, referred to collectively as FTTx, the demands  of new optimized products to meet increasing bandwidth needs are daily increased. One such product is optical drop cable. The conventional drop cable consists of two parallel reinforced core and an optical fiber in the middle of them. The intersecting surface present the figure of 8. Drop cable is widely used in the FTTH networks.

FTTH indoor cable
FTTH Indoor Drop Cable

Feild-Installable Connectors at the Single-Family Unit

Self-Supporting Drop Cable (Aerial Drop Cable)

Add a thick steel wire line to the conventional drop cable, the self-supporting drop cable is formed. Self- supporting drop cable has a stronger tensile strength because of its metal hanging units. Therefore, we can also call it aerial drop cable. The aerial drop cable is designed to run from the distribution point to the subscriber. The metal unit will be clipped before entering to the subscriber. The biggest problem for aerial drop cable is that it’s more expensive than conventional drop cables.

FTTH Drop CableFTTH Aerial Drop Cable

Marketing: Fiberstore supplies figure 8 areial cables, 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 products information, please visit http://www.fs.com/.