A Preferable Interconnect Solution for SFP+ Applications–SFP+ AOC Assemblies

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Dramatically reducing 10G interconnectivity costs, the 10G SFP+ cables can provide inexpensive and reliable 10G speed connections using either SFP+ copper cables or SFP+ active optical cables (AOCs). SFP+ AOC is a cabling technology that accepts the same electrical inputs as a traditional copper cable. It uses optical fiber and electrical-optical conversion on the cable ends to improve speed and data transmission distance of the cable while not sacrificing compatibility with standard electrical interfaces. Nowadays, SFP+ AOC has been a preferable interconnect solution for SFP+ applications. Before choosing it for your applications, you need to have a basic understanding about it.
Description
AOC consists of multimode optical fiber, fiber optic transceivers, control chip and modules. SFP+ to SFP+ active optical cable is composed of SFP+ optical transceivers in both ends and fiber optic cable in between. This integrated optical module solution removes the complicated optical fiber interface and brings friendly and intuitive electrical-to-electrical interface to users. SFP+ AOC is designed to meet the requirements of high speed, high density and low power consumption for applications in today’s data centers via optical fiber wire. SFP+ AOC is compliant to industrial standard SFP MSA and provides high performance SFP+ interfaces, supporting 10Gb/s bi-directional operation. The demand for more bandwidth for data center is challenging interconnect technologies like Ethernet, Infiniband, and Fibre Channel. SFP+ AOC is one of the best solutions to solve this problem. The image below shows a Cisco SFP-10G-AOC10M compatible SFP+ to SFP+ AOC. It is a 10Gb/s, hot pluggable active optical cable for Ethernet data transmission.
Advantages
Compared to SFP+ copper cables for data transmission, SFP+ AOCs provide more advantages, as shown below:
Longer reach
Lower weight and tighter bend radius enable simpler cable management
Thinner cables allows better airflow for cooling
Lower power consumption
No need for power-hungry conditioning ICs on the host board
Application
SFP+ active optical cable is a 10Gbps and cost effective solution for 10G Ethernet (10GbE) applications. With industry-leading VCSEL technology and an advanced new light engine design, the SFP+ AOC assemblies are ideal for high-performance computing clusters, 10G Ethernet applications (10GbE), 4G and 8G Fiber Channel applications (4GFC/8GFC), 1x InfiniBand QDR, DDR, SDR, servers, switches, storage and network interfacing applications.
Conclusion
fiber-mart.com is a leading provider of optical and copper network equipment. We do provide a good selection of 10G SFP+ copper cables, both passive and active and options for SFP+ active optical cables. For example, IBM 95Y0326 compatible SFP+ to SFP+ active copper cable, HP J9285B and HP JG081C compatible SFP+ to SFP+ passive copper cables, and SFP+ AOC cables with various length choices like 1m, 3m, 5m, 7m, 10m, etc., all our SFP+ cables are 100% compatible with major brands like Cisco, HP, Juniper, Enterasys, Extreme, H3C and so on. If you would like to order high quality compatible SFP+ cables and get worldwide delivery. With a wide range of copper and optical networking equipment on offer, fiber-mart.com is sure to have the network equipment to fit your requirements.

What Are Simplex and Duplex Optic Patch Cords?

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Fiber patch cord, also known as fiber patch cable or fiber jumper cable, is a fiber optic cable terminated with fiber optic connectors on its both ends. Fiber optic patch cables can be divided into different categories based on several different standards. For example, according to fiber cable modes, fiber optic patch cords can be divided into single mode and multi-mode; and according to fiber cable structures, they can be divided into simplex and duplex.
What are simplex and duplex optic patch cords? There is only one single strand of glass or plastic fiber in a simplex fiber patch cord. It is often used where only a single transmit or receive line is required between devices. A duplex fiber patch cord consists of two strands of glass or plastic fiber which are typically found in a tight-buffered and jacketed “zipcord” construction format. The duplex fiber is most often used for duplex communication between devices where a simultaneous and separate transmit and receive are required. Simplex and duplex fiber patch cords are both are available in single mode and multi-mode.
Simplex fiber patch cord has one fiber and one connector on each end. Both single mode and multi-mode simplex optic patch cords have only one single strand of fiber. The core of a single mode simplex optic patch cord is 8 to 10 microns. Light travels toward the center of the core in a single wavelength in single mode patch cables. The core of a multi-mode simplex optic patch cord is either 50 or 62.5 microns. The core of the latter gathers more light compared to the former, and allows more signals to be transmitted. Single mode and multi-mode simplex optic patch cords can be used for applications that only require one-way data transfer. It is just like that water only flows in one direction – downwards. So one end of a simplex fiber patch cord is a fixed transmission end, and the other is a fixed receiving end.
Duplex fiber patch cable has two fibers and two connectors on each end. There are single mode and multi-mode duplex optic patch cords. Duplex Single mode Fiber Patch CableA single mode duplex optic patch cord is constructed of two identical strands of single mode fiber. A multi-mode duplex optic patch cord is constructed of two identical strands of multi-mode fiber. For example, a duplex 9/125 single mode fiber patch cable has two strands of 9/125 micron single mode fiber, featuring a 9µm core and 125µm cladding; a duplex 62.5/125 multi-mode fiber patch cable has two strands of 62.5/125 micron multi-mode fiber, featuring a 62.5µm core and 125µm cladding. One fiber transmits data in one direction and the other one transmits data in the reverse direction. Each fiber is marked “A” or “B” or different colored connector boots are used to mark polarity. Every connector can only be connected to the corresponding port, same as the simplex situation. Duplex fiber patch cables are used in applications where data needs to be transferred simultaneously and bi-directionally, such as backbone ports, workstations, Ethernet switches, fiber switches and servers.
Simplex and duplex fiber patch cords have their respective features and applications. With different connectors or cable constructions, there can also be different categories of optic patch cords. These fiber patch cables can be with custom length. If you want to choose an optic patch cord, you need to take all these things into consideration, simplex or duplex, single mode or multi-mode, connectors, etc.

OM Types of Multi-mode Fiber Patch Cables

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Fiber optic patch cords are optical cables capped on both ends with fiber optic connectors. According to fiber cable modes, fiber optic patch cords can be divided into single mode and multi-mode. Single mode fiber optic patch cables usually have a core of 8 to 10 microns. Multi-mode fiber optic patch cables have a core of either 50 or 62.5 microns. The larger core of multi-mode fiber patch cords gathers more light compared to single mode, and allows more signals to be transmitted. Transmission of many modes of light down a multi-mode fiber patch cable simultaneously causes signals to weaken over time and therefore travel short distance.
Multi-mode fiber patch cables are described by the diameters of their core and cladding. There are two different core sizes of multi-mode fiber patch cords: 50 microns and 62.5 microns. Both 62.5 microns and 50 microns patch cable feature the same glass cladding diameter of 125 microns. Thus, a 62.5/125µm multi-mode fiber patch cable has a 62.5µm core and a 125µm diameter cladding; and a 50/125µm multi-mode fiber patch cable has a 50µm core and a 125µm diameter cladding. Based on the cores, multi-mode fibers are described as OM1, OM2, and OM3, classified by the ISO 11801 standard. OM4, defined in TIA-492-AAAD, was published by the end of 2009. According to this, there are four types of multi-mode fiber patch cords, OM1, OM2, OM3, and OM4. The letters “OM” stand for optical multi-mode.
OM1 multi-mode fiber patch cord has a bigger core diameter, 62.5 microns, which makes it better on concentrating the light and bend-resistance. It is suitable for 100Mb and 1Gb. The max attenuation of OM1 fiber patch cable is 3.5dB/km working at 850nm, and 1.5dB/km at 1300nm. Overfilled launch of OM1 fiber optic patch cable at 850nm is 200MHz*km, 500MHz*km at 1300nm. It is widely used especially before the mid 1990s. Today, OM1 fiber optic patch cable is still a popular indoor use multi-mode fiber optic patch cable. But it has serious limitations for high speed demands.
OM2 multi-mode fiber patch cord has a core of 50 microns. Overfilled launch of OM2 fiber optic patch cable is 500MHz*km. OM2 50/125 multi-mode fiber patch cable is used in fiber optic telecommunications and high speed transmission systems that require simultaneous, bi-directional data transfer. 50µm fiber offers as much as ten times the bandwidth of 62.5µm fiber. OM2 fiber optic patch cables are orange jacketed and can be available in simplex and duplex with FC, SC, LC, ST, MTRJ or MU connectors.
OM3 multi-mode fiber patch cord also has a core of 50 microns, but the cable is optimized for laser based equipment that uses fewer modes of light. Due to this optimization, OM3 fiber patch cord is capable of running 10 Gigabit Ethernet at lengths up to 300 meters. OM3 fiber patch cable has an aqua jacket and effective modal bandwidth (EMB) of 2000. It is designed for 10 Gb/s transmission.
OM4 multi-mode fiber patch cord is a 50µm laser-optimized multi-mode fiber patch cable with extended bandwidth. It is used in networks where an overwhelming or extreme amount of data needs to be transferred. Like OM3 multi-mode fiber patch cables, OM4 is considered to be “laser optimized” or optimized for use with 850nm vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL) light sources. Both OM4 and OM3 fiber patch cables share the same distinctive aqua jacket. OM4 has been available for several years and has recently been officially standardized. It has a lower insertion loss and an EMB of 4700. It is the preferred technology for the emerging standards that will operate at 40Gb and even 100Gb up to 150m and is widely used in Data center applications.
Multi-mode fiber patch cords are a good choice for transmitting data and voice signals over short distances. These 4 types of multi-mode fiber patch cords are different from each other in many aspects, such as sizes of core. And their difference determines their respective characteristics and application areas. Fiberstore supplies a large variety of fiber patch cables with high quality. They can be available in OM1 ,OM2, OM3, and OM4, with different types of connectors. All the fiber optic patch cables are 100% optically tested for maximum performance before shipping worldwide.

What are the differences among OLT, ONU and ONT?

In recent years, Fiber to the Home (FTTH) is rapidly developing support technologies. The TOLT, ONU and ONT are now widely used in fiber network access in city. 

In recent years, Fiber to the Home (FTTH) is rapidly developing support technologies. The TOLT, ONU and ONT are now widely used in fiber network access in city. It can help efficiently reduce network construction cost, while simultaneously providing a guarantee on high bandwidth and high integration.

 

Optical Line Terminal (OLT)

 

OLT (Optical Line Terminal) is the endpoint hardware device located at the central office in a Passive Optical Network (PON). The OLT contains a central processing unit, a gateway router, voice gateway uplink cards and passive optical network cards. The main functionality of the OLT is to adapt the incoming traffic (voice/data/video) from the metropolitan rings into the PON transport layer. It can transmit a data signal to users at 1490nm wavelength. That signal can serve up to 128 ONTs at a range of up to 12.5 miles by using Optical Splitters.

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Optical Network Unit (ONU)

 

ONU converts optical signals transmitted via fiber to electrical signals. These electrical signals are then sent to individual subscribers. In general, there is a distance or other access network between ONU and end user’s premises. Furthermore, ONU can send, aggregate and groom different types of data coming from customer and send it upstream to the OLT. Grooming is the process that optimises and reorganises the data stream so it would be delivered more efficient. OLT supports bandwidth allocation that allows to make smooth delivery of data float to the OLT, that usually arrives in bursts from customer. ONU could be connected by various methods and cable types, like twisted-pair copper wire, coaxial cable, optical fiber or Wi-Fi.

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Optical Network Terminal (ONT)

 

ONU and ONT are basically the same device – ONT is located at the customer premise, and ONU is located outside the home. ONU can be working in different temperature and weather conditions. It should resist water, winds and vandals. The ONU usually communicates with an optical network terminal (ONT), which may be a separate box that connects the PON to TV sets, telephones, computers, or a wireless router.

 

Functions

OLT is generally employed for terminal connected to the fiber backbone. An OLT has two primary functions:

  • Converting the standard signals use by a FiOS service provider to the frequency and framing used by the PON system;
  • Coordinating the multiplexing between the conversion devices on the optical network terminals (OLTs) located on the customers’ premises.

 

ONT (Optical Network Terminal), also ONU (Optical Network Unit)

ONT location,is at the customer’s premises. Its purpose is to use optical fiber for connecting to the PON on the one side, while interfacing with customers on the other side. ONT supports wide variety of interfaces, depending on requirements of customer:

  • Digital video formats
  • Analog video formats
  • ATM interfaces (155 Mbps)
  • DS3 or E3 telephone connections (44.736 or 34.368 Mbps)
  • T1 or E1 (1.544 or 2.048 Mbps)
  • Various Ethernet rates

 

To describe simply, OLT means Optical Line Terminal. ONU is the Optical Network Unit. ONT means Optical Network Terminal.OLT use fiber cables, adapters and others to connect with ONU and ONT, in order to build ODN (Optical Distribution Network).Both of ONU and ONT are client-side devices, no difference in nature, but if you have to distinguish, it can be seen from the name difference.ONT is the optical network terminal, applied to the end user, and ONU refers to the optical network unit, which is with the end user. There may be other networks.give a simple example, such as in a district, ONT is directly on the user’s home equipment, and ONU may be placed in the corridor, each user through the switch and other equipment connected to the ONU.

 

Conclusion

The development of fiber optic networks, ONT and OLT are indispensable components in the GPON network system. Fiber-Mart provides OLTs for both EPON and GPON systems. Any question pls feel free to contact with us. E-mail: Service@fiber-mart.com

Introduction of Fiber Optic Pigtail

Fiber optic pigtail offers an optimal way to joint optical fiber, which is used in 99% of single-mode applications.

We know the way that cables are attached to the system is quite essential to the performance of the telecommunication network. Joining optical fibers with a fiber optic pigtail is proven and considered to be an effective way to ease fiber termination. As the cable is connected properly, it enables optical signals to pass with little return loss and low attenuation. Fiber optic pigtail offers an optimal way to joint optical fiber, which is used in 99% of single-mode applications.

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  1. What is Fiber Optic Pigtail ?

Fiber optic pigtail is a fiber cable end with fiber optic connectors at only either side of the cable while leaving sleep issues no connectors, so the connector side could be from the equipment and the other part can be melted with optical cable fibers.

Fiber optic pigtails are utilized to achieve accurate mounting for precision alignment of fiber optical components. They’re usually used with fiber optic management equipment like ODF, splice closures and cross cabinets.

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A fiber pigtail is really a single, short, usually unbuffered, optical fiber which has an optical connector pre-installed on one end along with a period of exposed fiber in the other end. The end of the pigtail is stripped and fusion spliced to a single fiber of a multi-fiber trunk. Splicing of pigtails to each fiber within the trunk “breaks out” the multi-fiber cable into its component fibers for connection to the end equipment.

Fiber pigtails can have female or male connectors. Female connectors might be mounted in a patch panel, often in pairs although single-fiber solutions exist, to allow them to be connected to endpoints or other fiber runs with patch fibers. Alternatively they can have male connectors and plug directly into an optical transceiver.

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2. 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.

Note: Fiber pigtails have female or male connectors. Female connectors could be mounted in a patch panel. And they also have male connectors that plugged directly into an optical transceiver.

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3. How to Select Quality Fiber Pigtails?

Fiber optic pigtails are attached to cables by fusion or mechanical splicing, both of which provide a fast termination method. Basically, fiber pigtail assemblies are cable assemblies, which means the parts contained in fiber pigtail—a connector, a ferrule, standard fiber and jacket types, are components that every experienced fiber technician is familiar with. Notice that always ordering fiber pigtails a few feet more than you think you`ll need. The extra slack allows for splicing errors to be corrected, or you may have to start with another fiber pigtail. Saving More Labour Cost and Time, One of the benefits of fiber optic pigtail is lower labor costs: given the access to a fusion splicer, you just splice the fiber pigtail cable right onto the cable in a minute or less.

The quality of fiber optic pigtail is typically high because the connectorized end is attached in a controlled environment–the factory. And the factory can make single-mode pigtail assembly more accurately than a field termination can be done. Testing a fiber pigtail in the field is not easy, but in the factory, you are dealing with credible measurements. Which on the other hand saves much time spent on field termination.

4. Conclusion

Fiber optic pigtail serves as a feasible and reliable solution for easier fiber termination, which effectively contribute to save plenty of operating time and labour cost. The performance of fiber pigtail matters a lot, so the quality of connector, ferrule material as well as cable length of pigtails should be considered to ensure easier fiber termination.

Why Should You Use Fiber Optic Transceivers to Improve Operations?

by http://www.fiber-mart.com

Many industries today are expanding significantly and the need for upgrading IT environments became even more necessary. Thanks to advances in technology, a number of business owners are migrating from using conventional copper wires to fiber optics. Among the key components of fiber optic tools and equipment is the transceiver. Let us help you understand what it is and how it works:
Fiber optic transceivers receive information from one optical fiber end to another. Its cables send and receive information in a form of light pulses. These light pulses then convert into electrical signals where electronic devices can make use of them. It makes good use of light sources to send data, while it uses photodiode semiconductor to receive light pulses.
Its common transceiver module is hot-swappable I/O (input/output) and the transceiver acts to connect the electrical circuits with the network. Modern transceivers are small and pluggable, so they can expand to different modules.
How Do Industries Use Fiber Optic Transceivers?
Many industries have been using fiber optic transceivers thanks to their reliability and compatibility with different communication applications, like Cisco routers or switches. Radio and networking applications are among the most common uses of fiber optic transceivers. It has four types that help covert electrical signals to optical signals—LEDs, distributed feedback (DFB) lasers, fabry-perot (FP) lasers, and vertical cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs).
Fiber optic transceivers are indeed useful, but they can malfunction and become outdated. It is best to get an upgrade as soon as it starts to show signs of failure. We have a range of transceivers available in different brands and cabling types if you wish to replace your current device.
At fiber-mart.com, we are here to support your industry to speed up its operations and overall productivity. Contact us today to find out more of the transceiver products we offer.