Category: FOTC

White Paper: Infrastructure Solutions for Edge Networks

Deploying and maintaining an edge data center requires specific focus on both communications infrastructure as well as the equipment that houses and protects that infrastructure. Add to the mix that the term “edge” can be defined in a number of ways, and meeting customer expectations requires significant planning and project management during an edge deployment. This On Topic Report, focused on Edge Networking, acknowledges the reality that edge can mean different things to different users. In that vein, it provides practical information about the edge’s place in the larger network landscape, and delivers useful information about deploying the right solution for users’ needs.

OFS joins Terabit BiDi MSA group

OFS announced that it has joined the Terabit BiDi Multi-Source Agreement (MSA) group.
OFS is a global designer, manufacturer, and supplier of fiber-optic network products. The Terabit BiDi MSA specification addresses short-reach applications including the critical high-volume interconnects between switches in modern data centers.
The MSA’s specifications utilize the widely adopted dual wavelength bidirectional (BiDi) transmission technology. This provides an upgrade path to the large-scale deployed parallel MMF cabling infrastructure.
The Terabit BiDi MSA specifications are built upon the 100 Gb/s Ethernet MMF specifications. Terabit BiDi MSA participants are responding to an industry need for lower cost and lower power consumption solutions in the 800 Gb/s and 1.6 Tb/s form factors that bidirectional MMF technology can provide

Surprise! The metaverse could be great news for the enterprise edge

Social media demand can become enormous overnight, and the metaverse is a prime social-media phenomena, with a big potential problem. All those humans buzzing about in the virtual world of the metaverse would create some awkward moments unless all the avatars were controlled in real time with minimal delay. The problem is #latency.
Significant loss of synchrony with the real world is an ugly problem for metaversing, and we can expect Meta and others to work to correct it by controlling latency. If that happens, there’s hope for those #enterprise #edge and #IoT applications. Metaverse latency control is more than just edge computing, it’s also edge connectivity, meaning consumer broadband. Faster broadband offers lower latency, but there’s more to latency control than just speed. You need to minimize the handling, the number of hops or devices between the user who’s pushing an avatar around a metaverse, and the software that understands what that means to what the user “sees” and what others see as well. Think fiber and cable TV, and a fast path between the user and the nearest edge, which is likely to be in a nearby major metro area. And think “everywhere” because, while the metaverse may be nowhere in a strict reality sense, it’s everywhere that social-media humans are, which is everywhere.

McLaren Racing relies on edge computing at Formula 1 tracks

“Twenty-two times a year, we build a data center right down at the edge,” said Ed Green, head of commercial technology at McLaren Racing, a British motor racing team based in Surrey, England.
For McLaren, the edge is wherever in the world the company’s Formula 1 racing team is competing. An IT setup at each racing site links the entire team, including mechanics, engineers, crew members, and the drivers of McLaren’s two Formula 1 racecars.

5 things you need to know about multifiber push-on connector testing –

NTT-Advanced Technology Research cites that 80% of network problems are due to dirty connectors, and the No. 1 cause of network failure is contaminated connectors. For MPOs, inspection and cleaning become even more critical. Given that a single dirty or damaged connector can impact 24 fibers—or more—with MPO connectors, taking critical communications lines out of service for troubleshooting will cause service interruptions for numerous customers.
How can the performance of MPO links be ensured? It all starts with testing. There are the five essential things you need to do: connector inspection, proper cleaning, polarity-type validation, continuity confirmation, and choosing the right referencing method.

Senko’s SN Uniboot connector takes home Platinum ‘Cabling Innovators’ honors

Senko Advanced Components, Inc. announced that its SN Uniboot connector was awarded Platinum Cabling Innovators honors, as presented by Cabling Installation & Maintenance at the at the recent BICSI Fall Conference 2022 (Sep. 25-29) in Las Vegas.
The SN Uniboot is a connector with a revolutionary design that allows four SN duplex connectors to be patched simultaneously in one operation. As noted by Senko, unlike 8-fiber MPO connectors comprising single polymer ferrules, the SN Uniboot’s design utilizes eight ceramic 1.25 mm ferrules that deliver carrier-grade performance and reliability.
Originally designed for use in multi-channel 400G data center transceivers within spine/leaf architectures, Senko reports that “the SN is proving to be much more than just a high data-rate equipment connection. The industry is fast discovering that when deployed as a backbone trunk solution, the SN Uniboot has significant benefits compared with existing legacy solutions,” adds a company statement.

Meeting MPO test and polarity challenges

EXFO’s Vincent Racine discusses the fundamental role that MPO connectivity plays in network densification. The rise in popularity of MPO connectivity has brought to light certain challenges in the field, including some related to testing and polarity. Racine describes the practicalities of meeting these challenges in the field using test equipment.

The Importance of Testing Fiber Optics in Submarine Networks

Subsea or submarine cables are fiber optic cables that connect countries across the world via cables laid on the ocean floor. These cables – often thousands of miles in length – are able to transmit huge amounts of data rapidly from one point to another. According to a 2019 report by StableSeas, commercial undersea cables transmit 97% of this internet and telecommunications data. With such heavy reliance on the technology, there’s no denying that submarine cabling is supporting the global economy, and an outage could have catastrophic consequences, which makes proper testing of submarine networks critical.

Everything You Need to Know: TIA Standard adds MPO Test Requirements and Procedures

In their latest revision (September 2022), the Telecom Industry Association (TIA) added MPO test requirements and procedures to their optical fiber cabling component standard, ANSI/TIA-568.3-E.
The revision adds MPO-specific requirements referencing TIA-526-28. TIA-526-28 is an adoption of IEC 61280-4-5 and deals with attenuation measurement of MPO-terminated fiber optic cabling plant using test equipment with MPO interfaces.