Cabling Chronicles
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August 20, 2015
Testing Installed Fiber Cabling Terminated with MPO Connectors
Several published standards describe how to perform attenuation measurements on installed fiber optic cabling. However, no standard exists that provides guidance for testing installed fiber optic cabling terminated with MPO connectors. Currently, a technical report (TR) is being drafted that provides such testing guidance.
August 17, 2015
What You Need to Know About Testing BIMMF
Developed for use in data centers and enterprise network applications with a very tight loss budget, bend insensitive multimode fiber (BIMMF) is able to withstand tighter bends with substantially less signal loss than non-BIMMF.
A BIMMF design tightly confines the higher-order modes that are more likely to escape the fiber core during bending. The design achieves this by adding a specially engineered optical “trench” between the fiber core and cladding.
August 14, 2015
HOML as a Source Qualification Test
TIA adopted IEC 61280-4-1, the standard defining attenuation measurements of installed multimode fiber cabling, as ANSI/TIA 526-14-C.
In IEC 61280-4-1, the encircled flux launch is defined as normative (required) for these cases and there is no intention to change requirements in the next edition:
Case 1 - 50 μm core fiber at 850 nm,
Case 2 - 50 μm core fiber at 1300 nm,
Case 3 - 62.5 μm core fiber at 850 nm,
Case 4 - 62.5 μm core fiber at 1300 nm.
August 10, 2015
Revision to IEC 61280-4-1 Ed 2.0, Fibre-optic communication subsystem test procedure – Part 4-1: Installed cable plant – Multimode attenuation measurement
This primary international standard provides guidance for measurement of attenuation using power meters, light sources and OTDRs on 50/125 µm and 62.5 µm multimode fiber cabling that may include connectors, adapters and splices. Various test methods and cabling configurations are described. This report gives important information regarding upcoming changes for anyone needing to specify testing. Architects, Consultants and Engineers may use this information to learn of changes in IEC, anticipate customer concerns and gain insight to cabling testing trends.
August 7, 2015
Standards Update: The Four A’s of Harmonization
With ANSI/TIA being a North American standards body and ISO/IEC considered international, some often question why we need both, especially considering the similarities between the two.
But there are also plenty of differences—from terminology and spelling, to policy and codes. The good news is that with technology having made our world a much smaller place, TIA and IEC are fast at work harmonizing standards.
August 3, 2015
It’s Not You. It’s Your Tester
When it comes to testing your multimode optical fiber installation, inconsistent results can leave you confused and wondering if you are within your loss budget. And with today’s higher speed fiber links that require even tighter loss budgets, accuracy is more critical than ever.
But it doesn’t have to be this way. The launch condition of the light source you’re using to test has the greatest influence on your loss measurements. In other words, the wrong launch condition means the wrong measurements.
What you need is a properly controlled launch that is consistent and accurate—neither overfilled nor underfilled. Overfilled may leave you thinking you’ve gone over budget, while underfilled may leave you thinking you have room for more loss when—in fact—you do not.
July 21, 2015
The End of Era: Saying Goodbye to DTX
The year was 2004. The hottest mobile device was the Motorola Razr flip phone, Pierce Brosnan was still able to pull off a James Bond role, Facebook was a website nobody’s parents knew about, and The Red Sox won the World Series. It was also the same year that Fluke Networks introduced the DTX CableAnalyzer.
June 24, 2015
Standards Update: Copper on the Move
In the 2009/2010 timeframe, copper standards got a lot of attention with the publication of the TIA-568-C standards and ISO 11801 2nd edition for 10-gigabit copper cabling, as well as IEEE 802.3at for PoE Plus.
While more applications and devices continue to take advantage of that technology, there has been plenty of standards development action taking place behind the scenes that is keeping copper on the move.
May 21, 2015
Standards Update: The Four A’s of Harmonization
With ANSI/TIA being a North American standards body and ISO/IEC considered international, some often question why we need both, especially considering the similarities between the two.
But there are also plenty of differences—from terminology and spelling, to policy and codes. The good news is that with technology having made our world a much smaller place, TIA and IEC are fast at work harmonizing standards.
May 5, 2015
