Cabling Chronicles
Fiber vs. Copper to the Edge: Why Fiber is a Growing Choice for Smart, Sustainable Buildings
For years, we’ve heard about FTTX making its way into the horizontal LAN — fiber to the desktop, fiber to the office, fiber to the enclosure, fiber to the zone, etc. Often referred to as “fiber to the edge” or FTTE, most of these deployments have traditionally been for high-security government environments or specialty applications or devices. Now, as bandwidth requirements continue to increase and the commercial real estate industry is trending towards smarter and more sustainable buildings, the question of using fiber vs. copper is more relevant.
December 8, 2021
December 1, 2021
Are your fiber optic cables and testers ready for 400G Ethernet?
Driven by large hyperscale and cloud data center providers, advancements in signaling and transceiver technology have led to the development of next-generation transmission speeds. There are now multiple options available for 400G Ethernet applications over multimode and single-mode fiber with more on the horizon. And it doesn’t stop there—big players like Google, Facebook, and Microsoft are driving innovation to support 800 Gig and 1.6 Terabit applications, and the IEEE Beyond 400 Gig Ethernet Study Group is already defining objectives.
September 28, 2021
Insertion Loss
What is Insertion Loss?
Insertion loss is the amount of energy that a signal loses as it travels along a cable link. It is a natural phenomenon that occurs for any type of transmission—whether it's electricity or data. This reduction of signal, also called attenuation, is directly related to the length of a cable—the longer the cable, the greater the insertion loss. Insertion loss is also caused by any connection points along a cable link (i.e., connectors and splices).
Insertion Loss Formula
August 25, 2021
The Metal LC Connector: say goodbye to broken latches on fiber test reference cords
While there are many different types of optical connectors depending on what type of components you’re using, LC connectors have become very common throughout the networking industry.
Plastic LC connectors
Using plastic for connections that are going to be plugged in and rarely touched again works perfectly. But, when those connections need to be repeatedly made and disconnected, for example with fiber test reference cords, the flexible latch on the housing often breaks because of the repeated flexing.
August 23, 2021
PoE Load Testing: Advanced Troubleshooting for Your PoE Systems
Since the original IEEE 802.3af Type 1 power over Ethernet (PoE) standard that delivered up to 15.4 Watts (W) was first introduced in 2003, the technology has evolved to include Type 2 (up to 30 W), Type 3 (up to 60 W), and Type 4 (up to 90 W). That means PoE voltage now supports everything from phones, Wi-Fi access points, and surveillance cameras, to laptops, digital displays, and even facility-wide LED lighting—all requiring various levels of PoE power.
July 27, 2021
Cross Connects and Interconnects in the Data Center
In the data center space, cross connects and interconnects via patch panels are commonly used between active equipment purely for management and flexibility, typically residing between switch tiers or between switches and servers. Some scenarios even call for using multiple cross connects or interconnects within the same channel, or a combination thereof.
July 14, 2021
June 22, 2021
How to clean your cable and fiber network tester
Cleanliness has long been a best practice in fiber optic installation, but it’s not just the fiber end faces you need to worry about. If you think about how often your cabling tools and testers are touched by you and others on the job site, it’s clear that they too need to be cleaned.
While a fiber end face and your Fluke Network tester are cleaned for two different reasons, the goal in both instances is to clean without causing any damage.
June 11, 2021
How to Test Patch Cords and Fiber Jumper Cables - The Weakest Links
Equipment cords are an integral part of any network—whether it’s a fiber jumper used to make connections between fiber patching areas and switches in the data center or a copper patch cord out in the LAN to connect end devices to the work area outlet.
June 10, 2021
