Cabling Chronicles
Top 5 Fiber and Cable Cleaning Tips from the Experts
Let’s face it. Spring cleaning stinks. I mean, does anyone actually enjoy cleaning? I don’t know about you, but I certainly am not counting down my winter days until I can scrub the house top to bottom only to have it quickly soiled by muddy feet and paws, beach sand, cut grass and whatever else wanders in with the warmer weather.
But dirt happens. And while cleaning may not be a barrel of fun, there is always some sense of satisfaction when it’s done and everything is looking its best.
May 10, 2017
Where Will I Testing Cat 8 Cabling Systems with Cable Tester
By now you probably know that Category 8 cabling was approved by the TIA TR-42.7 Copper Cabling Subcommittee, and maybe you've even heard that Fluke Networks introduced the DSX-8000 CableAnalyzer, the first field tester independently verified and endorsed to meet all of the requirements for the Cat 8 field testing standard.
May 3, 2017
What’s the Deal with OM5 Cable Standards – WBMMF?
Guest Posting from Corning Optical Communications
OM5, previously known as wide band multimode fiber or WB MMF, has been quite the hot-button topic as the standards have been widely debated and are now finally concrete.
So what is OM5 exactly? Most simply, it’s a version of the OM4 fiber with additional bandwidth characterization at 953 nm.
April 19, 2017
Pros and Cons of Bend Insensitive Multimode Fiber
Lately, I have been getting questions about why bend insensitive multimode fiber (BIMMF) can’t be used in test cords. The argument is that non-BIMMF (e.g., “traditional” fiber) is becoming more difficult to procure and installers need the flexibility to buy something off the shelf. Additionally, requests are being made to change one IEC testing standard to not mandate the use of non-BIMMF in test cords. Let’s examine this closer and explore the consequences.
April 13, 2017
Simplify the Complexity of Fiber Certification with TRC
No, not what Deedee would ask Dexter in his lab, what does that button do on the bottom of the FI-1000 video inspection camera? It turns out it has a really helpful function that I want to share with you here.
April 5, 2017
Benefits of Fiber Optic and Passive Optical LAN Test
In recent years, passive optical LANs have gained significant popularity as an alternative to horizontal copper structured cabling in a variety of enterprise spaces.
The technology brings fiber out of the riser backbone and data center, and with that comes the need for fiber technicians to test these systems out in the horizontal space.
Let’s take a closer look at these passive optical deployments.
How Do They Work?
March 29, 2017
How High-Speed Fiber Applications are Impacting the Networking Arena
In last week’s blog, we took a Closer Look at 40 Gig Duplex Multimode Applications, just one of the many ways that today’s data centers are cost-effectively achieving increased bandwidth in switch-to-switch fiber links. And when we say many ways, we literally mean many.
March 22, 2017
A Closer Look at 40 Gig Duplex Multimode Applications
There’s been a lot of talk in the industry surrounding solutions capable of running 40 Gig Ethernet over duplex multimode fiber—especially with OM5 wideband multimode fiber (WBMMF) now recognized within industry standards that specifies wavelengths between 840 and 953 nanometers to support wave division multiplexing (WDM).
March 15, 2017
Testing Cabling With MPO Connectors – What’s New?
With the wide variety of standards relating to fiber optic cabling, the absence of published standards for testing fiber optic cabling terminated with MPO connectors might come as a surprise. Finally, a technical report (TR), written by this author, is scheduled for a June 2017 publication that provides such testing guidance - it is TR/IEC 61282-15. A technical report provides guidance on a subject but does not have requirements (e.g. no “shalls”) as an international standard or an ANSI/TIA standard would.
March 8, 2017
How to Test Shield Integrity?
Back when Wolfenstein 3D was all the rage, we set up an exhibit at a BICSI conference where we tried to make a Cat 5 link fail by inducing noise onto it. We tried all kinds of no-no’s, such as placing the cable next to a fluorescent ballast, a large electric motor, and even the coil of a running car’s engine, yet the link provided virtually error-free 100BASE-TX performance. At that point, it didn’t seem like there would be much benefit for screened cable for the vast majority of installations.
February 15, 2017
