Tag Archives: MPO cable

Is Pre-Terminated Fiber Cable A Better Choice?

While installing fiber optic cables, you will come across such questions. Should I choose to field terminate fiber optic cables or just turn to pre-terminated fiber optic cables? Which choice is better for the installation? Before jumping to a decision, you need to take a few things into consideration. In this article, we will discuss what cable construction type you need and understand why a pre-terminated fiber cable is a better choice for you.

What May Pre-Terminated Fiber Cables Bring to You?

Pre-terminated cabling systems have been in use for a number of years. Nowadays they have been regarded as the “norm” for Data Center applications. There are reasons for it.

Pre-Terminated Fiber Cables

Time saving: Without doubt, pre-terminated fiber cables can help you save a lot of time. As the products are terminated in a factory environment and delivered to site, minimal engineering or assembly work is required on site. Pre-terminated solutions also save testing time. The pre-terminated solutions can be tested at the factory and transported to site, which minimises the occurrence of faulty connections.

Space Saving: Pre-terminated fiber cable is much higher in density. And, installers need space to store the components and work areas to make terminations. Using a pre-terminated solution can be space saving as the pre-terminated links are “made to measure” and they don’t need to be stored when delivered as needed and can be put to use immediately.

Pre-terminated cables or fiber optic patch cables assemblies eliminate time-consuming field-termination processes and provide a factory-tested and certified endface. But they also have disadvantages. Prepolished connectorized fibers can cost much more than epoxy-style field-polish connectors. And cable length needs to be precisely measured. If pre-terminated cables are too short, you will have to install a replacement; if they are too long, you will have to deal with installation issues associated with managing the extra cable length, which will also cause additional expense.

What May Field Termination Bring to You?

As you know, optical fiber, mainly made of glass, is very fragile and difficult to install. Termination of installing optical fiber cables has always been perceived as a difficult, expensive, and time-consuming process, whether the termination is done in the field or it is an in-house operation, which discourags a lot of installers. And now, with the development of new high speed systems, termination is becoming more and more difficult. For example, multi-mode fiber networks for 40Gbit/s and 100Gbit/s applications use parallel transmission with 8 or 20 fibers per link utilizing 12-fiber MTP/MPO connectors, making it harder to terminate than a single fiber connector. Instead, a pre-terminated MPO cable would be much easier. Why not choose to field terminate fiber optic cabling systems? Here are several troubles that a field termination may bring to you.

field termination

Polishing process: Polishing the fiber is one of the most critical step in the connectorization process. Polishing is the process of creating a smooth surface by rubbing it or using a chemical action, leaving a surface with a significant specular reflection. Polishing finalizes the connector endface and cleans the surface, which has a direct impact on such optical performance parameters as insertion loss, return loss, and bit-error-rate for overall network performance. Reliable polishing processes rely on proper training and a well-equipped termination toolkit. Many installers fear connectorizing optical fiber cable, mainly due to the delicate techniques of polishing.

Connector protection: Another problem is how to protect the connectors. We know that optical fiber connector is a high-precision device with tolerances on the order of microns, it is crucial that the fiber should not only be formed perfectly to align with a mating connector, but that it should be free of any dust or dirt. Failing to do so can cause high insertion loss and high reflection, and can contaminate the equipment to which the connectors and patch cords will be connected. In a field termination process, extra attention must be paid to the handling of the collectors. Bad environment may increase the possibility of a connector failure.

Cost: Besides, fiber termination involves a heavy investment into the proper tools and test equipment to make a proper fiber connection at the location. For example, you need a cable stripper to remove the tight buffer, a ruler and a marker to measure the length and mark on the fiber jacket, and some fiber optic cleaning fluid to clean the bare fiber, and so on. The most costly part of field termination kit is going to be your cleaver. Some only cleave multimode fibers and some do both multimode and singlemode fibers. So if you decide to field terminate fiber optic cables, you must prepare all those termination tools that you need, which is a big load for field termination.

How Do You Make A Choice?

Pre-terminated fiber cable is relatively a much easier way to install fiber cable. The connectors you specify are pre-terminated for you, and the fiber cable you specify is cut to the proper length that you need. When the installation is over, you can just plug and play fiber optic system. It is perfect for beginners and also convenient for professional fiber optic installers. Many cable and patchcord manufacturers offer a cable termination service. If you have a good cable plant layout design and can accurately calculate cable lengths between termination points, all you have to do is specify what kind and number of fibers, the fiber types and connector types and the cable length that you need. Then the manufacturer would supply a completed assembly, and the cable is terminated with connectors, fully tested and fitted with protective sleeving at each end. Pre-terminated fiber cable is an excellent choice.

Conclusion

Pre-terminated fiber cables do offer a number of advantages for a variety of different network installations for reasons of time saving and space saving. However, it doesn’t mean that you can get all the benefits offered by a pre-terminated solution. A large amount of planning needs to be carried out prior to installation. Attention to details in the site survey process is critical, or these benefits will be lost and additional cost incurred. A pre-terminated solution is a pre-planned solution. Only when you preplan it well can it work well.

Guide to Fiber Optic Patch Cord Management

Though fiber optic patch cord is a preferable option in a network, it also has the potential to be the weakest link in fiber network infrastructures. So it is very essential to follow correct procedures in administration of fiber patch cords to achieve optimum performance and reliability. Best practice in fiber optic patch cord management can be divided into four parts: planning, preparation, patching, and validation. This post will talk about fiber jumper management from these four aspects.

Planning

A good plan is half the success. Make sure you know the specifications and design of your fiber cabling. Fiber patch cords you choose must match the installed cabling. Do not mix them. Color-coding of connectors for different fiber standards make it easy to avoid confusion. First you need to find the best route between the ports to be connected to establish the correct cord length. This is usually the shortest route through horizontal and vertical cable guides that does not obstruct or interfere with other cords and connectors in the panel. By adding the horizontal and vertical distances, you get the required length. Avoid running cords through cable pathways that are already congested.

When selecting a cord to make a cross connection, avoid excessive slack and provide a neat appearance. Tight cords will pull on connectors and too much slack complicates cord management, making the panel more difficult to work on. Ensure that panels are fitted with correct cable management accessories. In general, a horizontal patch cord management guide is needed for every two rack units, depending on the type of optical patch panel or lightguide interconnect unit (LIU). At the optical patch panel or LIU, route patch cords equally toward both sides of the vertical cable management channels to prevent overloading one side.

fiber patch cords

Preparation

Before performing administration activities, preparation is critical. It can minimize disconnect time as much as possible. What preparation needs to be done? Locate the ports that must be connected or reconnected. Ensure technicians have clear information on what they need to do, including labeling information for the ports involved. Ensure cords are of the right type and quality, whether an MPO cable or a LC fiber cable or other connector types, and that they are clean and in good condition. Cleanliness is vital in fiber optic connections so special care is needed with connector ends on patch cords, panels and network equipment.

Patching

During the patching process, be careful not to use excessive force during the patching process, which can stress cords and connectors, reducing their performance. And exceeding the bend radius can result in significant additional loss and adverse impact on channel performance. Patching includes removing a patch cord and adding a patch cord. Steps in removing and adding cords:

Removing a patch cord

  • 1. locate the existing circuit
  • 2. unplug the patch cord at one end and cover the connector endface with a dust cap
  • 3. cover the open port with a dust cover
  • 4. gently lift the cord straight up, taking up slack until its movement is detected
  • 5. follow the cord routing, gently removing it along its length from the cable pathways
  • 6. find the other end and unplug it
  • 7. fully remove the cord

Adding a patch cord

  • 1. identify the location of the new circuit
  • 2. plug one end of the patch cord into the fiber coupling
  • 3. route the patch cord
  • 4. locate the new connecting point
  • 5. plug the other end of the patch cord into the fiber coupling
Validation

Patching must be right since mistakes can cause costly disruption and re-work. It is totally necessary and important to take some time to make a final visual check on connections. When patch panels are mounted in enclosures, ensure they are securely closed and, where necessary, locked, making sure that cord slack is not snagged or pinched by the doors. The final step is to update the documentation to the as-built configuration and close the work order associated with the completed change request.

Summary

To sum up, a good fiber cabling management depends on the four aspects above. A right plan, well preparation, careful patching and at last, a thorough validation, all these add up to a successful cable management. You need to make sure that every procedure is properly implemented.