Author: Fiber-MART.COM

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What Is Fiber Optic Pigtail and How to Splice It?

In fiber optic cable installation, how cables are attached to the system is vital to the success of network. If done properly, optical signals would pass through the link with low attenuation and little return loss. Fiber optic pigtail offers an optimal way to joint optical fiber, which is used in 99% of single-mode applications. This post contains some basic knowledge of fiber optic pigtail, including pigtail connector types, fiber pigtail classifications, and fiber pigtail splicing methods.

Fiber Pigtail Specification

Fiber optic pigtail is a fiber optic cable terminated with a factory-installed connector on one end, leaving the other end terminated. Hence the connector side can be linked to equipment and the other side melted with optical fiber cables. Fiber optic pigtail are utilized to terminate fiber optic cables via fusion or mechanical splicing. High-quality pigtail cables, coupled with correct fusion splicing practices offer the best performance possible for fiber optic cable terminations. Fiber optic pigtails are usually found in fiber optic management equipment like ODF, fiber terminal box and distribution box.

Fiber Pigtail vs Fiber Patch Cord: What Is the Difference?

Fiber optic pigtail has fiber connector installed at only one end, and the other end is left empty. While both ends of a fiber patch cord are terminated with fiber optic connectors. Patch cord fibers are usually jacketed, whereas fiber pigtail cables are usually unjacketed for they are usually spliced and protected in a fiber splice tray. Moreover, patch cord fiber can be cut into two pieces to make two pigtails. Some installers prefer to do this to avoid the problem of testing a pigtail cables in the field—just test the performance of a fiber patch cord, then cutting it into halves as two fiber pigtails.

Fiber Optic Pigtail Types

Fiber optic pigtails are available in various types: Grouped by pigtail connector type, there are LC fiber optic pigtails, SC fiber pigtails and ST fiber pigtails, etc. By fiber type, there are single-mode fiber optic pigtail and multimode fiber optic pigtail. And by fiber count, 6 fibers, 12 fibers optic pigtails can be found in the market.

By Fiber Type

Fiber optic pigtails can be divided into single-mode (colored yellow) and multimode (colored orange) fiber. Multimode fiber optic pigtails use 62.5/125 micron or 50/125 micron bulk multimode fiber cables and terminated them with multimode fiber optic connectors at one end. 10G multimode fiber cables (OM3 or OM4) are also available in fiber optic pigtails. The jacket color of 10G OM3 and OM4 fiber optic pigtail is usually aqua. Single-mode fiber pigtail cables use 9/125 micron single-mode fiber cable and terminated with single-mode fiber connectors at one end.

By Connector Type

According to different types of pigtail cable connector terminated at the end, there are LC fiber pigtail, SC fiber pigtail, ST fiber pigtail, FC fiber pigtail, MT-RJ fiber pigtail, E2000 fiber pigtail and so on. With different structures and appearance, each of them has their own advantages in different applications and systems. Let’s go through some widely used ones.

SC Fiber Optic Pigtail: SC pigtail cable connector is a non-optical disconnect connector with a 2.5mm pre-radiused zirconia or stainless alloy ferrule. SC fiber pigtail is economical for use in applications such as CATV, LAN, WAN, test and measurement.

FC Fiber Optic Pigtail: FC fiber pigtail takes the advantage of the metallic body of FC optical connectors, featuring the screw type structure and high precision ceramic ferrules. FC fiber optic pigtails and its related products are widely applied for the general applications.

ST Fiber Optic Pigtail: ST pigtail connector is the most popular connector for multimode fiber optic LAN applications. It has a long 2.5mm diameter ferrule made of ceramic (zirconia), stainless alloy or plastic. Hence SC fiber pigtails are commonly seen in telecommunications, industry, medical and sensor fields.

Like fiber optic patch cords, fiber optic pigtails can be divided into UPC and APC versions. Most commonly used types are SC/APC pigtail, FC/APC pigtail and MU/UPC pigtail.

By Application Environment

Some pigtail cables are specially installed to withstand the harsh or extreme environments, so here comes armored fiber pigtail and waterproof fiber pigtail.

Armored Pigtail: enclosed with stainless steel tube or other strong steel inside the outer jacket, armored fiber optic pigtails provide extra protection for the fiber inside and added reliability for the network, while reduce the unnecessary damage caused by rodents, construction work, weight of other cables.

Waterproof Pigtail: designed with a stainless steel strengthened waterproof unit and armored outdoor PE (Poly Ethylene) jacket, waterproof fiber pigtail is a great fit in harsh environments, like communication towers, CATV and military. Waterproof pigtail cable boosts good toughness, tensile and reliable performance, facilitating the use in outdoor connections.

By Fiber Count

Fiber optic pigtails could have 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 12, 24 and 48 strand fiber counts. Simplex fiber optic pigtail has one fiber and a connector on one end. Duplex fiber optic pigtail has two fibers and two connectors on one end. Each fiber is marked “A” or “B” or different colored connector boots are used to mark polarity. Similarly, 4, 6, 8, 12, 24, 48 and more than 48 fibers fiber optic pigtails have their corresponding feature.

Fiber Optic Pigtail Splicing: Easy and Fast Fiber Termination

The quality of fiber pigtail is typically high because the connectorized end is attached in the factory, making it more accurately than a field-terminated cables. It can be attached to optical fibers by fusion or mechanical splicing. Given the access to a fusion splicer, you can splice the pigtail right onto the cable in a minute or less, which greatly speeds the splicing and saves significant time and cost spent on field termination. While for mechanical fiber optic pigtail splicing, it precisely holds a fiber optic pigtail and fiber patch cord together, the joint could be temporary or permanent, enabling light to pass from one fiber to the other. Always ordering fiber pigtail assembly a few feet more than you’ll need. The extra slack allows for splicing errors to be corrected. Besides, selecting fiber pigtail assembly with reliable quality would made the splicing process way easier.

The Best Way TO Choose and Use OTDR ?

What Is OTDR?

OTDR (optical time-domain reflectometer) is used to test newly installed fiber links and detect problems that may exist in fiber links. The purpose of it is to detect, locate, and measure elements at any location on a fiber optic link. An OTDR needs access to only one end of the link and acts like an one-dimensional radar system.

What should we look for in an OTDR?

Fiber testing plays a significant role in ensuring the network is optimized to deliver reliable and robust services without fault.

For different test and measurement needs, there exist a great number of OTDR models, then how to select the right one? A comprehensive understanding of OTDR specifications and the application will help make the choice. Moreover, based on your specific need, you should answer the following questions before looking for an OTDR:

What kind of networks will you be testing?

-P2P,P2MP,PON etc.

What fiber type will you be testing? Multimode or single-mode?

– That will help you choose between OTDR’s with the right wavelenghts for your case.

What is the maximum distance you might have to test?

– That will refer to the Dynamic Range of the OTDR. You might calculate your need by knowing how many FOSC’s and connections there will be on your trace and adding on the dB/km loss from the cable itself.

What kind of measurements will you perform? Construction, troubleshooting or in-service?

And when choosing an OTDR, you should take these factors into consideration:

Display Size—5” should be the minimum requirement for a display size; OTDRs with smaller displays cost less but make OTDR trace analysis more difficult

Battery Life—an OTDR should be usable for a day in the field; 8 hours should be the minimum

Trace or Results Storage—128 MB should be the minimum internal memory with options for external storage such as external USB memory sticks and SD cards

Modularity/Upgradability—a modular/upgradable platform will more easily match the evolution of your test needs; this may be costlier at the time of purchase but is less expensive in the long term

Post-Processing Software Availability—although it is possible to edit and document your fibers from the test instrument, it is much easier and more convenient to analyze and document test results using post-processing software

OTDR

Conclusion

An OTDR is a vital fiber optic tester for maintaining and troubleshooting optical infrastructures. When choosing your OTDR, first to figure out the applications that the OTDR will be used for, and then check the OTDR’s specification to see if it is suited to your applications. And don’t forget to consider those elements we stated in this article. Hope it would help when you hesitate to make your decision.

The Differences Between OTDR & Optical Power Meter

When testing for fiber optic cable, there are two tools commonly used: OTDR & power meter. What might be surprising is that they can yield completely different results. While an optical power meter tests the received optical power, an optical time-domain reflectometer (OTDR) provides length and loss by utilizing backscatter reflection.

Why does that make such a difference? With a power meter, you’ll know if the fiber is cut or damaged along the way because you’ll note a level of wastage. With OTDR, you’ll know the distance to the break or if it made it to the test point desired. The downside is that if the level of wastage is needed, OTDR is not as accurate as a power meter. Another benefit of a power meter is that OTDRs can sometimes miss a source of signal loss, such as a fiber misalignment. You’ll also get different readings between an OTDR & power meter if there is a launch cable present.

Both an OTDR & power meter have their advantages and purposes, so most fiber optic companies will have both on hand when testing fiber optic cables. Some choose to use a power meter when a reliable, repeatable, and accurate test for overall loss is needed. OTDRs are excellent for finding faults and verifying splices and connections.

At fiber-mart.com, our experience in fiber optics slicing and testing puts us in the position of knowing which to use for a specific situation. We use both OTDR & power meter equipment to ensure that your fiber optic project is a huge success. Reach out to us today to learn more about our services.

What You Need to Know About Fiber Polishing Machine?

Network cables are maximum absolutely wanted in conversation. They are used to hold indicators from one point to some other. However, many humans have show extra than just any everyday pleasure with the use fiber optic community cable. However, you have to know which you are about to get excited too once you may understand that these fiber optics to your network cable are not simply your common cable that deliver the sign to facilitate verbal exchange.

This fiber optics can do greater in your network cabling efforts. They are so not like your common network cable that contains confined velocity and also have obvious flaws that make more room for development. You should realize more of the things that you will reap from these cables. For one, fiber optics already use light waves as the alerts on your community cable. Thus, you could do away with faltering signal. You can handiest assume outstanding sign with speedy velocity, as rapid as light. There are many blessings in using fiber optic community cable.

Clear sign with outside interference

Fiber Optic Curing Ovens can bring more than one alerts in a single channel, in contrast to regular cable that cannot appear to be confused with extra alerts due to the lack of bandwidth. Moreover, fiber optics can nonetheless defend its signals from any outside interference from different indicators. Optical cable can come up with clear excellent sign because of its balance in opposition to different indicators.

Tight protection in carrying message packets

This is feasible due to the fact breaking light alerts in optical cables is simply difficult. Thus, the message carried thru fiber optics could not be hacked. Ordinary co-axial cables can effortlessly be intercepted with the message in the indicators at once received. If you want a secure communication over the Internet and a stable reference to your TV network, this new fiber optic network cabling can without a doubt help you.

Speedy connection because of light-based totally signals

In fiber optics, the cables would deliver mild rays as alerts. Thus, you can assume that your message will tour as speedy as light. Thus, messages can help maintain up with actual time updates and exchanges. This sort of cable might assist you hook up with the Internet and cable with top speed. When you chat with your different pals over the Internet, you could get hold of their messages fast too.

Stable message regardless of climate

The sign of your cable will not be determined by using the climate situation in your place if you’ll transfer to using fiber optics. By the usage of mild indicators, fiber optics network cables can protect the speed and overall performance of the sign from any modifications in the temperature and different climate changes. Thus, you’ll still get your rapid Internet connection regardless of what’s happening exterior.

MTP Trunks and Breakouts for 10G to 40G Migration

With the rapid development of datacom, 10Gbps is no longer enough for massive data transmission. Many data center managers set their sights on 10G to 40G migration. However, it is not possible to upgrade all 10G equipment in the cabling system because of the high cost. Therefore, finding a cost-effective solution for the migration has become a hotspot. We know that MTP cable gains great popularity among data center managers since it can provide fast installation, high density and high performance cabling for data centers. By using MTP trunk cable and MTP breakout cable respectively, there are two solutions for 10G to 40G migration. And this article is going to share these two solutions with you: MTP trunks and MTP breakouts.

Overview of MTP Trunk Cable and MTP Breakout Cable

Before we come to the migration solutions, let’s have a brief overview of MTP trunk cable and MTP breakout cable. MTP trunk cable, terminated with MTP connectors at both ends, can create the permanent fiber links between panels in a structured environment. It is typically used as backbone or horizontal cable interconnections. With efficient plug and play architecture, MTP trunk cable can greatly reduce the installation and maintenance costs. In networking applications, 12-fiber and 24-fiber MTP trunk cables are commonly used: 12-fiber MTP trunk cable is normally for 40G Ethernet network, while 24-fiber MTP trunk cable is normally for 100G Ethernet network.Here is a figure of MTO trunk cables for you.

MTP breakout cable, also named MTP fanout cable or MTP harness cable, is terminated with a male/female MTP connector on one side and several duplex LC/SC connectors on the other side, providing a transmission from multi-fiber cables to individual fibers or duplex connectors. It is typically used to connect equipment in racks to MTP terminated backbone cables. MTP breakout cable is designed for high density applications which require high performance and speedy installation without on-site termination.Here is a figure of MTP breakout cables for you.

MTP Trunks for 10G to 40G Migration

For 10G to 40G migration, you can use the MTP trunk cable. Also, MTP fiber patch panel can be used to fulfill the data transmission link. With forty-eight LC duplex adapters on the front and twelve 8-fiber MTP adapters on the rear, the high density 40G QSFP+ breakout patch panel acts as a middleman between 10G to 40G connection. The figure below shows the connectivity method. From the left to the right, four 10G SFP+ transceivers are plugged in the SFP+ interfaces on the switch on one side, then the SFP+ transceivers are connected with the front LC ports of MTP fiber patch panel by LC duplex patch cables. With the use of MTP trunk cable, the rear MTP ports of MTP fiber patch panel are linked with one 40G QSFP+ transceiver. Finally, the whole optical link is accomplished by plugging the 40G QSFP+ transceiver in the QSFP+ interface on the switch on the other side.

MTP Breakouts for 10G to 40G Migration

For 10G to 40G migration, using the MTP breakout cable is a simple way. As shown in the following picture, four 10G SFP+ transceivers are plugged in the SFP+ interfaces on the switch on one side, while one 40G QSFP+ transceiver is plugged in the QSFP+ interface on the switch on the other side. Then the MTP to LC breakout cable connects the four 10G SFP+ transceivers with the 40G QSFP+ transceiver. Finally, the data can be transmitted from 10G switch to 40G switch through the MTP to LC breakout cable smoothly.

What Are They and How to Use MTP/MPO Cables

With ever-greater bandwidths and network connections to deal with in data centers, conventional dual-fiber patch cables like LC cable can no longer meet the demands. To solve this problem, MTP/MPO cables accommodating more fibers in one multi-fiber MTP/MPO connector came into the market, which proves to be practical solutions for 40G/100G/400G high-density cabling in data centers. This article is going to introduce different MTP/MPO cable types and their applications.

MTP/MPO Cable Overview

MPO (Multi-Fiber Push-on) is the first generation of clip clamping multi-core optical fiber connector. MTP® is a registered trademark of US Conec Ltd. , which is an advanced version of MPO, with better mechanical and optical performance. They look alike and are completely compatible and intermateable. MTP/MPO cables are composed of MTP/MPO connectors and optical fibers. MTP/MPO connectors have a female type (without pins) or a male one (with pins) as shown in Figure 1. The position of guide grooves also results in “Key Up” and “Key Down” MTP/MPO connectors. And a white dot is for identifying fiber position in connectors. MTP/MPO connectors largely increase the cable density and save circuit card and rack space, which are well suited for current 40G/100G cabling and future network speed upgrades.

MTP/MPO Cable Solutions

A variety of MTP/MPO cables are available for different application environments and requirements based on functions, polarity, fiber count, fiber mode and jacket rating.

By Function

MTP/MPO trunk cables, MTP/MPO breakout cables and MTP/MPO conversion cables are ideal for high density cabling network, offering better network capacity and flexibility.

MTP/MPO Trunk Cables

MTP/MPO trunk cables are terminated with an MTP/MPO connector (female/male) on both ends, which are available in 8-144 fiber counts for users’ choices. Typically, these multi-fiber MTP/MPO trunk cables are ideal for creating a structured cabling system, including backbone and horizontal interconnections such as 40G-40G and 100G-100G direct connections, so as to achieve a simple and efficient high-performance networking.

MTP/MPO Breakout Cables

MTP/MPO breakout cables (aka. harness cables or fanout cables) are terminated with a female/male MTP/MPO connector on one end and 4/6/8/12 duplex LC/FC/SC/ST connectors on the other end, such as 8-fiber MTP/MPO to 4 LC harness cables and 12-fiber MTP/MPO to 6 LC harness cables. Typically, these breakout cables are ideal for short-range 10G-40G and 25G-100G direct connections or for connecting backbone assemblies to a rack system in the high-density backbone cabling.

MTP/MPO Conversion Cables

MTP/MPO conversion cables have the same fanout design as MTP/MPO breakout cables but are different in fiber counts and types. They are terminated with MTP/MPO connectors on both ends. Specifically, commonly-used ones are 24-fiber to 2×12-fiber, 24-fiber to 3×8-fiber, 2×12-fiber to 3×8-fiber MTP/MPO conversion cables. They are especially ideal for 10G-40G, 40G-40G, 40G-100G, 40G-120G connections, which eliminate fiber wasting and largely increase the flexibility of the existing 12-fiber and 24-fiber MTP/MPO cabling system.

By Polarity

Polarity refers to the matching of the optical transmitter and receiver at both ends of a fiber link. In traditional cabling systems, connectors like LC/ SC can be easily matched, so there is no polarity issue. However, due to the special design of MTP/MPO connectors, polarity issues must be addressed in high-density MTP/MPO cabling systems. To ensure proper polarity, the TIA 568 standard defined three connectivity methods called Method A, Method B, Method C. So there are Type A, Type B and Type C MTP/MPO cables with different structures according to these methods. These MTP/MPO cables usually connect with different MTP/MPO cassettes and fiber patch cables to ensure the right polarity of the optical circuit. Read the white paper Understanding MTP/MPO Cable Polarity for more information about common 8/12/24-fiber MTP/MPO cable polarity and connectivity methods.

By Fiber Count

8/12/24-fiber MTP/MPO cables are usually used for 40G/100G and the latest 16-fiber cables are especially designed for short-reach 400G cabling in Hyperscale data centers. 12-fiber MTP/MPO cable is the earliest developed and most commonly-used solution in 10G-40G, 40G-100G connections. But when using it to transmit 40G QSFP+ module or 100G QSFP28 module, 4 fibers will be left unused, leading to much lower fiber utilization than 8-fiber cables. While 8-fiber MTP/MPO cable system can transmit the same data rate as 12-fiber cabling with less cost and insertion loss, making it a more cost-effective solution. 24-fiber MTP/MPO cable is commonly used to establish 100GBASE-SR10 links between CFP to CFP transceivers. It allows the use of the ratified 100GBASE-SR10 20-fiber technology today, maximizing the infrastructure investment in the event of 4×25 Gb/s ratification.16-fiber MTP/MPO cables utilize the same external footprint as traditional 12-fiber MT (Mechanically Transferable) ferrule. MTP/MPO-16 solution is ideal for aggregation of multiple 8-fiber parallel transceivers and direct coupling to emerging 16-fiber parallel optic links such as 400G QSFP-DD and OSFP.

By Fiber Mode

MTP/MPO cables fall into multimode OM3/OM4 and single-mode OS2 cables. Multimode OM3/OM4 MTP/MPO cables are mostly used for short distances such as inside a building or campus, allowing maximal transmission distance of 100m (OM3) or 150m (OM4) at 40 Git/s. Single-mode OS2 MTP/MPO cables are suitable for long-reach transmission and widely deployed in carrier networks, MANs (Metropolitan Area Network) and PONs (Passive Optical Network). With less modal dispersion, the bandwidth of OS2 is higher than OM3/OM4.

By Jacket Rating

According to different fire rating requirements, MTP/MPO jackets are classified as LSZH (Low Smoke Zero Halogen), OFNP (Optical Fiber Nonconductive, Plenum), CMP (Communications Multipurpose Cable, Plenum) etc. LSZH MTP/MPO cables are free of halogenated materials (toxic and corrosive during combustion), which are ideal for confined places due to better protection for people and equipment during a fire. OFNP MTP/MPO cables contain no electrically conductive elements and are designed with the highest fire rating, which can be installed in ducts, plenums and other spaces for building airflow. CMP MTP/MPO cables can restrict flame propagation and smoke exhaust rate during a fire, which are suitable for plenum spaces, where air circulation for heating and air conditioning systems are facilitated.