Fiber Optic Cabling in Terre Haute Indiana
Fiber Optic Cabling
Fiber Optic cabling is a great choice for many applications. It’s inherent immunity to Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) and ability to transmit and receive at very high speeds over long distances makes it a popular choice for many networking applications. When properly installed Fiber Optic cabling can be one of the best ways to future-proof your network while ensuring a reliable connection.
Types of Cabling
There are many types of fiber optic cable available. Ranging from a single strand to several hundred strands in many different types of jacketing, like armored, for example. The best fiber to use for a network varies based on the specific application. Important things to consider when choosing a fiber optic cable include: environment in which the cable will be installed, performance requirements of the network (speed), distance requirements, possible future needs, and connector types, among others.
Types of Testing
Tier 1 – Tier 1 testing is accomplished by using an Optical Loss Test Set (OLTS) or a Light Source and Optical Power Meter (OPM). Tier 1 is the minimum basic testing acceptable for Fiber Optic cables. Tier 1 testing when done according to TIA/EIA standards is the most accurate testing available. It measures the actual loss of light from one end of the link to the other end. However, additional testing is sometimes required or desired. This is where Tier 2 comes in.
Tier 2 – Tier 2 testing involves the use of an Optical Time Domain Reflectometer (OTDR). OTDR testing is extremely helpful in troubleshooting. Tier 2 paints an overall picture of the cable and shows where any faults or deficiencies may be present. This type of testing is not a substitute for Tier 1, as Tier 1 provides greater accuracy of overall loss, but rather a supplement. Tier 1 can often identify that an issue exists, while Tier 2 can show you where an issue exists.
Connector Styles
There are many different types of fiber connectors some are proprietary while others are industry standards. The most common types are:
- SC
- LC
- ST (AT&T)
- FC
- MPO
There are dozens possibly even hundreds of other fiber connectors out there, but these 5 represent the majority of connectivity installed.
Plastic Optical Fiber
Plastic Optical Fiber or POF plays an important role in many industrial applications. This cable has a much higher loss than the standard glass fiber used for Single and Multi-Mode applications and as such it’s used for much shorter distances. POF has several distinct characteristics that make it’s use desirable for certain applications. POF has a very large core making it much easier to field terminate and the light source required is much less expensive. POF (like Glass Optical Fiber) is immune to EMI. This makes it a great media to connect multiple devices together while maintaining electrical separation. POF is also very inexpensive and flexible. POF is easy to install and quite cost effective. However, the performance of POF is considerably lower than that of standard copper network cabling or Glass Optical Fiber, so it is only used for very low bandwidth applications.
Assistance
If you would like to speak to one of our engineers or technicians about your Fiber Optic questions, please contact Team Tech at 812-773-8326 or email here. Our certified technicians have the experience and equipment to quickly identify and repair your fiber optic networks.