Category: FOTC

Not Exactly in the Limelight – Yet.

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Is OM5 needed? Last year the IEEE P802.3cm task force began working on a new standard for 400 Gb/s over multimode fiber that in addition to 400GBASE-SR8 over eight lanes (16 fibers total) using 24- or 16-fiber MPO connectors also includes 400GBASE-SR4.2 that operates over four two-short wavelength division multiplexed (SWDM) lanes (8 fibers total) using a standard 12-fiber MPO. Since OM5 is optimized for SWDM, this could finally push it into the limelight. However, since the new standard leverages existing two-wavelength technology that will ensure operation up to 100 meters of OM4 cabling, the question remains as to whether people will make the leap.

TIA-569-E Telecom Pathways and Spaces standard published

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The TIA has published the ANSI/TIA-569-E standard, Telecommunications Pathways and Spaces. The “E” revision supersedes the 569-D standard, which was published in 2015. ANSI/TIA-569-E was developed by the TIA’s TR-42.3 Subcommittee.  Major changes from the previous edition include updated references; incorporation of revised temperature and humidity requirements originally published in ANSI/TIA-569-D-1; and incorporation of additional pathway and space considerations for supporting remote powering over twisted-pair cabling originally published in ANSI/TIA-569-D-2.

Clever patching for high availability in the data center

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Adds, moves and changes in the data center require re-patching. Network documentation is essential to enable a comprehensive overview and offers starting points if failures  or problems occur, or special upgrades have to be imported. Equally important: the documentation also helps to identify possible risks in the event of planned changes or extensions to the network infrastructure. Misplaced patches can lead to interruptions in active data transmission and thus to data loss, which can be cost-intensive for the company.

With Fiber Certification… Are You Working Smart?

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Higher fiber-count cables are being laid, leading to a challenge for installers and contractors: how to manage, track and report on the test and certification of the individual fibers and the cable as a whole. The questions are many: how far along are you in testing all the fibers? Did you already test this or that fiber? Did it pass or fail? Where is the test result so you can check? And how do you consolidate a bunch of individual test results into one certification report? Without a clear and simple view of where you are with your project (and a little bit of automation), you can waste a lot of time figuring these things out, potentially duplicating tests (accidentally testing the same fiber twice) or worse, missing a fiber and having to return to site (at your own cost if you’re a contractor) to fill in the missing data.

Cabling Mistakes #10: Skipping Fiber Inspection Steps

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Contaminated connections are the number one cause of fiber-related problems and failures in a data center, Enterprise backbones and other fiber networking environments. The #10 most common cabling mistake is skipping out on proper fiber inspection! One tiny speck of dirt on the fiber core can cause loss and reflections that increase error rates and degrade performance.

Webinar: Optical-Fiber and Fiber-Optic Cabling Developments

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Fiber is the medium of choice when data is mission-critical. Providers of optical fiber, fiber-optic cable, and fiber-optic connectivity have continuously revised and improved their products to better serve the exacting demands of end-user organizations. This webinar examines several technological advancements that have been made to multimode fiber-based systems and explores connectivity options. It provides detailed information on the fiber, cable, and connectivity types that are available, and describes how these fiber-based components can be incorporated into complete end-to-end systems.