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How Many Fiber Connector Types Do You Know?

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Fibre optic connector that comes in various configurations and types is considered as an important component for the fibre optic cable. Generally speaking, different fibre cable connector types can be categorized according to different standards like the utilization, fibre count, fibre mode, transmission method, transmission media, boot length, polishing type termination way, etc. In this article, you will become familiar with the various types of fibre connectors, helping you make the right choice when purchasing in the future.

Common types of fibre connectors

The following five fibre connectors are the most commonly used. They are introduced below in order of popularity, from the most widespread to the most commonly used. Fibre cables with these optical connector types are usually used in data centres, telecom rooms, enterprise networks and so on.

LC Connector

A Lucent Connector (LC), as one SFF (small form factor) connector, possesses a 1.25 mm ferrule. The small footprint design gives these fibre optic connectors huge popularity in datacoms and makes them ideal for high-density applications. Many tend to move to high-efficiency cabling with LC fibre connectors nowadays. LC fibre optic connector is considered the most commonly used connector at present.

SC Connector

SC fibre connector was the first connector chosen for the TIA-568 standard and is a snap-in connector that latches with a simple push-pull motion. “SC” stands for “Square Connector” due to the “square-shaped” connector body. It adopts a 2.5mm ferrule, which is twice the size of the previous LC connector. SC fibre optic connector is ideally suited for datacoms and telecom applications including point-to-point and passive optical networking. Due to its excellent performance, the fibre optic SC connector remains the second most common connector for polarisation-maintenance applications.

MTP/MPO Fiber Connector

Unlike the previous two fibre optic connectors, the MTP/MPO fibre connector is a multi-fibre connector and larger than other connectors, which combines fibres from 12 to 24 fibres in a single rectangular ferrule. It’s often used in 40G and 100G high-bandwidth optical parallel connections. The MTP/MPO fibre connectors are complicated due to the key-up and key-down, male and female issues. You can refer to our white paper Understanding Polarity in MTP/MPO System to have a better understanding.

ST Connector

ST (Straight Tip) fibre optic connector was created and licensed by AT&T shortly after the arrival of the FC type. The ST optic connector holds the fibre with a ceramic, spring-loaded 2.5mm ferrule that stays in place with a half-twist bayonet mount. They are usually used in both long and short-distance applications such as campuses and building multimode fibre applications, corporate network environments, as well as military applications.

FC Connector

“FC” refers to the Ferrule Connector. FC fibre optic connector was the first optical fibre connector to use a ceramic ferrule. Unlike the plastic-bodied SC and LC connector, it utilizes a round screw-type fitment made from nickel-plated or stainless steel. The FC fibre optic connector end face relies on an alignment key for correct insertion and is then tightened into the adaptor/jack using a threaded collet. Despite the additional complexity both in manufacturing and installation, the FC connectors still provide the choice in precision instruments such as OTDRs, as well as the choice for single-mode fibre. It was initially intended for datacoms and telecoms applications but has been used less since the introduction of the SC and LC fibre optic connectors. The usage of both ST and FC connectors has declined in recent years.

The figure below shows the different connector styles:

Less common types of fibre connectors

The following fibre connectors are less commonly used; some are only utilised in specialised connection scenarios, while others have been phased out and are no longer in use.

MT-RJ Connector

Mechanical Transfer Registered Jack (MT-RJ) connector is a duplex connector that uses pins for alignment and has male and female versions. Constructed with plastic housing and provide for accurate alignment via their metal guide pins and plastic ferrules. Compared to a standard phone jack, the size of the MT-RJ connector is slightly smaller, making it easier to connect and disconnect. In addition, the MT-RJ fibre optic connector provides a lower termination cost and greater density for both electronics and cable management hardware compared to other singer-fibre terminations.

MU Connector

Like a miniature SC with a 1.25mm ferrule. Featuring a simple push-pull design and compact miniature body, the MU fibre optic connector is used for compacting multiple optical connectors and a self-retentive mechanism for backplane applications. You can get a customized high-power MT-RJ/MU fibre optic connector in FS.

DIN Connector

The DIN connector is round with pins arranged in a circular pattern. It encompasses several types of cables that plug into an interface to connect devices. Typically, a full-sized DIN connector has three to 14 pins with a diameter of 13.2 millimetres. It is applied to PC keyboards, MIDI instruments, and other specialized equipment.

E2000 Connector

The E2000 Connector is a push-pull coupling mechanism with an automatic metal shutter in the connector for dust and laser beam protection. One-piece design for easy and quick termination, the E2000 fibre optic connector is used for high safety and high power applications.

VSFF Connector

VSFF (Very Small Form Factor) connectors are compact fibre-optic connectors designed to save space while increasing port density, particularly in data centres. These connectors enable higher port densities by being smaller and more efficient than traditional connectors like the LC duplex. The three most common types of VSFF connectors are the CS®, SN®, and MDC connectors.

CS® Connector: The CS connector (Compact Small-form-factor) is an ultra-compact dual-fibre connector designed by SENKO. Its design is similar to that of the LC connector but with a smaller footprint. It is 40% smaller than the LC duplex, offering more space for cable management and improving airflow within the rack.

SN® Connector: Developed by SENKO, the SN connector (Senko Connector) offers high data rates and a compact form factor suitable for dense installations. With an automatic dust cover and a locking mechanism, it ensures excellent performance and reliability. It is compatible with 1.25mm ferrules and provides an upgrade path to 400G and beyond, with fibre density three times that of duplex LC.

MDC Connector: The MDC is a compact duplex connector introduced by US Conec, with a pin pitch of just 3.1mm. It utilises a 1.25mm industry-standard ferrule and offers a density three times that of LC connectors. The MDC is the specified optical connector interface for QSFP-DD and SFP-DD transceiver MSAs. On FS.com, you can buy the MDC Fiber Optic Cable with VSFF connector. It maximises 200G/400G data centre density utilisation.

D4 Connector

The D4 fibre optic connector is an early fibre optic connector, typically used for multiplexing and demultiplexing optical signals. It features a round metal housing with four fibre channels inside. The D4 connector is equipped with precise alignment mechanisms in both the plug and socket to ensure accurate fibre end-face alignment, thereby reducing insertion loss and return loss. Compared to modern fibre optic connectors, such as LC or MTP/MPO, it is significantly larger. It is therefore superseded.

ESCON Connector

In the early 1990s, IBM developed Enterprise Systems Connection (ESCON), a serial, half-duplex optical interface designed for single-mode fibre systems. ESCON aimed to improve connectivity by integrating fibre optics into networks. The ESCON fibre connector uses a 2.5mm ferrule and pairs with SC or ST connectors via fibre adapters. However, ESCON connectors have gradually been replaced by more advanced connectors, such as Fibre Channel and other high-performance fibre interface standards.

FDDI Connector

The FDDI connector (Fibre Distributed Data Interface) was developed by the American National Standards Institute. It features an automatic dust cover and locking mechanism, along with a floating alignment structure, blind-mate design, and locking system, all of which provide excellent performance and reliability. The FDDI connector is also known as the MIC (Media Interface Connector).

Fibre Connectors Connect Without Adapter Panel

Compared to the above fibre optic connector types, Rosenberger Q-RMC and NEX10 connectors adopt a push-pull quick locking mechanism, which can realize quicker connection without using an adapter panel. They are designed for harsh environmental use.

Rosenberger Q-RMC Connector

Q-RMC, short for Rosenberger Multifiber Connector, is a new and robust industrial connector with the multi-fibre MT ferrule of the MTP®/MPO connector that can hold 24 fibre cores. This kind of very small form factor connector includes a push-pull closing mechanism, which makes the optic connector to be connected simpler and quicker even in tight areas, thus reducing installation times and the associated costs. The Q-RMC connector fulfils the requirements for protection class IP67, so it is waterproof, dustproof and resistant to corrosion. What’s more, the Q-RMC connector is suitable for use in areas with extreme temperatures thanks to its operating and storage temperature is up to -40~80℃. So, fibre cables with Q-RMC connectors can be used for industrial sites, minefields, mobile communication (FTTA), 5G Base stations, broadcast, smart grid cabling and so on.

Rosenberger NEX10 Connector

The Rosenberger NEX10 connector is suitable for an outdoor environment, and it is characterized by a compact size design plus waterproof, dustproof and anti-corrosion. This connector type supports a screw-type and a push-pull locking mechanism. The push-pull quick lock helps in achieving solid installation and easy removal without any tools. For the screw-type plug, there is a screw-locking mechanism, ideal for the plug and socket to keep a firm connection. Nowadays, FS introduces the industrial fibre optic patch cable with Rosenberger NEX10 connectors and its operating & storage temperature for connectors & outdoor cables lie between -40~80℃, which is often used in industrial sites, minefields, small sales, distributed antenna systems(DAS), In-building architecture, and MIMO.

Both single-mode and multimode Q-RMC/NEX10 connectors are available in FS. You can also choose an optical fibre type cable jacket according to your needs to get a customized industrial fibre optic cable.

Fiber Count: Simplex vs Duplex Fiber Connectors

A simplex connection means signals are sent in one direction—a signal is transmitted through two simplex connectors and a simplex fibre cable from device A to device B, which cannot return from device B to device A via the same route. Contrariwise, the revised transmission can be achieved through duplex connectors and duplex fibre cable, which is called a duplex connection. In addition, a simplex fibre optic connector is often connected with one strand of glass or plastic fibre, while the duplex fibre optic connector needs to connect with two strands of fibres.

Fiber Mode: Single Mode vs Multimode Fiber Connectors

Single-mode fibre allows only one light mode to pass through at a time, while multimode fibre can propagate multiple modes at a time. Diversity has an impact on single-mode fibre connectors and multimode fibre connectors on account of the combination with the corresponding type of optical fibre. However, with technologies getting advanced, fibre optic connectors like SC, LC, and FC, provided by fibre optic connector factories are compatible with single-mode and multimode fibre cables.

Boot Length: Standard Boot vs Short Boot Connectors

As for the boot length, there are standard boot structures and short boot structures. A standard boot can protect the cable and the connector from being damaged, wires being dislodged from the connector body, etc. While a short boot has the same function, it is distinguished by a shorter boot structure. For places where there is limited space for connectors, short boot cables can be the ideal choice. The short boot structure design can make the cable easily pass through the narrow space without sacrificing performance, making the installation and maintenance of the fibre optic cables more efficient.

FS offers high quality short boot fiber optic patch cables. Precision zirconia ferrule connectors ensure low loss with bend-insensitive fibers with a minimum bend radius of 7.5mm, a 60% reduction in boot length and a 30% reduction in overall connector length. They are ideal for high-density cabling applications where space is at a premium.

Polishment: APC/PC/UPC Fiber Optic Connectors

According to the polishing type, optical fibre cable connectors can be divided into three types: PC, UPC, and APC connectors. The colour code provides a convenient method to identify these three types of connectors: the PC’s colour code is black, the colour code for the APC fibre connector is green, and the UPC’s connector is blue. The structure and the performance of the three fibre optic connectors also vary, which reflects the values of insertion loss and return loss. PC vs UPC vs APC. This article sheds light on these connector types and their differences for you.

Termination: Field-terminated vs Pre-terminated Fiber Connectors

Field termination, as its name implies, is to terminate the end of the fibre in the field. The procedure includes stripping the cable, prepping the epoxy, applying the connector, polishing, inspecting and testing for the connection, requiring not only a large number of tools but also skilled technicians to conduct the termination.Factory termination, also called factory pre-termination, refers to cables and fibres terminated with a connector in the factory. The pre-terminated cables come in pre-measured lengths with the fibre optic connectors already installed with factory-level precision and quality assurance. Reducing the cumbersome process and tools, factory pre-terminated solutions are easier to install and require less technical skills.

How to Choose Different Fibre Optic Connector Types

After understanding the many types of fibre optic connectors, there are several factors to consider when choosing a fibre optic connector type. Different connector types are suitable for different needs, so careful comparison and analysis are required when making a selection.

Performance Characteristics

Connector types can vary in transmission performance, with certain ones being ideal for long-distance transmission and others better suited for short-range use. Therefore, it is essential to determine the necessary transmission performance based on actual requirements when selecting a connector.

Applicable Scene

The applicable scene is also an important consideration in selecting the connector type. For example, in the data center environment, you may need to use high-density connectors to meet the needs of a large number of fiber optic connections; and in outdoor or harsh environments, you need to choose a connector with waterproof and dustproof features. SC/APC connectors may be preferred in passive optical networks (PONs) for their ability to offer higher return loss, thereby aiding in the prevention of signal reflection. On the other hand, in fibre distribution systems catering to a large number of subscribers, MTP/MPO connectors may be more appropriate due to their support for high port density connections.

Cost

Different types of connectors may have different manufacturing processes, material costs, etc., so the relationship between performance and cost needs to be weighed when choosing.

Compatibility

Various devices might be designed to work with certain types of connectors. It’s important to take into account the compatibility with current device interfaces when choosing a connector. For instance, while some devices may typically use LC connectors, others might rely on SC connectors, making it vital to maintain connector uniformity in network design.

By carefully considering these factors, you can ensure that the selected connector provides optimal performance and reliability in specific scenarios.

FS offers a variety of fibre optic connectors along with customisation services to meet the needs of different users. Copper cables, various fibre cleaning and testing tools, and patch panels are also available for purchase in the FS online store. Additionally, the FS expert team can create tailored cabling solutions to help you swiftly upgrade your network equipment.

conclusion

In conclusion, fibre optic connectors play a crucial role in optical communications. Each type of fibre optic connector has its unique characteristics and applications. When selecting and using them, making appropriate choices based on specific requirements and conditions is important.

Unveiling the Advantages and Disadvantages of Optical Fibre

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Optical fibre is rising in both telecommunication and data communication due to its unsurpassed advantages: faster speed with less attenuation, less impervious to electromagnetic interference (EMI), smaller size and greater information carrying capacity. The unceasing bandwidth needs, on the other hand, are also yielding significant growth in optical fibre demands. Let’s take a review of common fibre optic cable types, explore the advantages and disadvantages of optical fibre, and learn tips on selecting fibre optic cable.

What Is Optical Fibre?

Optical fibre uses light pulses instead of electrical pulses to transmit information, thus delivering hundreds of times higher bandwidth than traditional electrical systems. Fibre optic cable can be protected by sheathing and armour to make it resistant to harsh environmental conditions. Hence it is widely adopted in commercial business, governments, military and many other industries for voice, video and data transmission.

How Optical Fibre Works

The working principle of optical fibre is based on the phenomenon of total internal reflection of light. When light enters the core with a higher refractive index and strikes the boundary with the cladding, which has a lower refractive index, at an angle greater than the critical angle, it is reflected entirely within the core rather than passing through the boundary. This total internal reflection allows the light to propagate through the fibre’s core, enabling efficient transmission of light signals even through bends and curves.

Common Fibre Optic Cable Types

Generally, there are three types of fibre optic cables: the two glass optical fibre—single mode fibre optic cable and multimode optical fibre, as well as plastic optical fibre (POF).

Single Mode Fibre Optic Cable

The “mode” in fibre optic cable refers to the path in which light travels. Single mode fibre has a smaller core diameter of 9 microns (8.3 microns to be exact) and only allows a single wavelength and pathway for light to travel, which greatly decreases light reflections and lowers attenuation. Slightly more expensive than its multimode counterparts, single mode fibre optic cable is often used in network connections over long lengths.

Multimode Fibre Optic Cable

Multimode optical fibre has a larger core diameter than that of single mode fibre optic cable, which allows multiple pathways and several wavelengths of light to be transmitted. Multimode optical fibre is available in two sizes, 50 microns and 62.5 microns. It is commonly used for short distances, including patch cable applications such as fibre to the desktop or patch panel to equipment, data and audio/video applications in LANs. According to the fibre refractive index distribution, multimode fibre can be divided into two types: Step-Index Multimode fibre vs Graded-Index Multimode fibre.

Plastic Optical Fibre (POF)

POF is a large core step-index optical fibre with a typical diameter of 1 mm. The large size enables it to easily couple lots of light from sources and connectors that do not need to be high precision. So typical connector costs are 10-20% as much as for glass fibres and termination is simple. Being plastic, it is more durable and can be installed in minutes with minimal tools and training. For applications do not require high bandwidth over great distances, POF is more competitive, making it a viable option for desktop LAN connections and low speed short links.

FS offers single-mode and multi-mode patch cables, covering a variety of types including OS2, OM1, OM2, OM3, OM4, and OM5, with customisation services available. Additionally, various specialised patch cables are available for purchase, such as armoured, industrial, and high-density options. All FS patch cables undergo rigorous testing to ensure you receive a high-quality product.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Optical Fibre

Though optical fibre has speed and bandwidth advantages over copper cable, it also contains some drawbacks. Here are the advantages and disadvantages of optical fibre cable.

Advantages of Optical Fibre

Greater bandwidth & faster speed—Optical fibre cable supports extremely high bandwidth and speed. The large amount of information that can be transmitted per unit of optical fibre cable is its most significant advantage.

Cheap—Long, continuous miles of optical fibre cable can be made cheaper than equivalent lengths of copper wire. With numerous vendors swarm to compete for the market share, optical cable price would sure to drop.

Thinner and light-weighted—Optical fibre is thinner, and can be drawn to smaller diameters than copper wire. They are of smaller size and light weight than a comparable copper wire cable, offering a better fit for places where space is a concern.

Higher carrying capacity—Because optical fibres are much thinner than copper wires, more fibres can be bundled into a given-diameter cable. This allows more phone lines to go over the same cable or more channels to come through the cable into your cable TV box.

Less signal degradation— The loss of signal in optical fibre is less than that in copper wire.

Light signals—Unlike electrical signals transmitted in copper wires, light signals from one fibre do not interfere with those of other fibres in the same fibre cable. This means clearer phone conversations or TV reception.

Long lifespan—Optical fibres usually have a longer life cycle for over 100 years.

Disadvantages of Optical Fibre

Low power—Light emitting sources are limited to low power. Although high power emitters are available to improve power supply, it would add extra cost.

Fragility—Optical fibre is rather fragile and more vulnerable to damage compared to copper wires. You’d better not to twist or bend fibre optic cables too tightly.

Distance — The distance between the transmitter and receiver should be kept short or repeaters are needed to boost the signal.

How to Select the Right Optical Fibre Cable?

Optical fibre cable has gained much momentum in communication networks, and there emerges a dazzling array of vendors competing to manufacture and supply fibre optic cables. When selecting optical fibre, you’d better start with a reliable vendor and then consider the selection criteria. Here’s a guide to clarify some of the confusions about choosing fibre optic cable.

Check Manufacturer Qualification

The major optical cable manufacturers should be granted ISO9001 quality system certification, ISO4001 international environment system certification, the ROHS, the relevant national and international institutions certification such as the Ministry of Information Industry, UL certification and etc.

Fibre Mode: Single Mode or Multimode

As illustrated above, single mode fibre is often used for long distances while multimode optical fibre is commonly used for short range. Moreover, the system cost and installation cost change with different fibre modes. You can refer to Single Mode vs Multimode fibre: What’s the Difference? and then decide which fibre mode you need.

Optical Cable Jackets: OFNR, OFNP, or LSZH

The standard jacket type of optical cable is OFNR, which stands for “Optical fibre Non-conductive Riser”. Besides, optical fibres are also available with OFNP, or plenum jackets, which are suitable for use in plenum environments such as drop-ceilings or raised floors. Another jacket option is LSZH. Short for “Low Smoke Zero Halogen”, it is made from special compounds which give off very little smoke and no toxic when put on fire. So always refer to the local fire code authority to clarify the installation requirement before choosing the jacket type.

Optical Fibre Internal Construction: Tight Pack or Breakout or Assembly or Loose Tube

Tight pack cables are also known as distribution style cables, features that all buffered fibres under a single jacket with strength members for Enclosure to Enclosure and Conduit under Grade installations. Breakout fibre cable or fan out cable is applicable for Device to Device applications with tough and durable advantages. Assembly or zip cord construction is often used for making optic patch cables and short breakout runs. While loose tube construction is a Telco standard used in the telecommunications industry.

Indoor vs. Outdoor

The choice greatly depends on your application. The major difference between indoor and outdoor fibre cable is water blocking feature. Outdoor cables are designed to protect the fibres from years of exposure to moisture. However, nowadays there have been cables with both dry water-blocked outdoor features and indoor designs. For example, in a campus environment, you can get cables with two jackets: an outer PE jacket that withstands moisture and an inner PVC jacket that is UL-rated for fire retardancy.

Fibre Count

Both indoor and outdoor fibre cable have a vast option of fibre count ranging from 4-144 fibres. If your fibre demand exceeds this range, you can custom the fibre count for indoor or outdoor optical cable. Unless you are making fibre patch cords or hooking up a simple link with two fibres, it is highly recommended to get some spare fibres.

Conclusion

Optical fibre provides a fast, constant and stable Internet connection that allows a lot of data to be transmitted over incredible distances. As data demands become enormous, fibre optic cabling is the sure way to go for network flexibility and stability.

FS offers a wide range of network devices and can also customise products to meet specific user needs. Our expert team can design tailored solutions for building cost-effective and high-quality networks. Visit the FS website now to learn more about our products and solutions. Our professional technicians are always available to answer any questions you may have.

Four Questions You May Ask About Fiber Optic Connector Cleaning

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Fiber optic connectors, as one of important linking components, can be found everywhere in fiber optic networks. With fiber optic connectors, you can easily add, drop, move and change the networks. And it’s also well known that a clean and reliable optical connector can provide high performance fiber infrastructure and extend the life of network. Then how much do you know about fiber optic connectors cleaning? Today, these questions may help you know more about  it.

Why Fiber Optic Connector Should Be Cleaned?

Cleaning consideration is a crucial issue in fiber optic cable technology today. If not cleaned properly, the ferrule in connectors is easy to be damaged when connecting, which can result in high costs. What’s more, it’s known to us that the fiber ferrules in the connectors make physical contact with another within the connectors alignment sleeve. Any contamination or dirt on one of the ferrules can easily be transferred to the mating ferrule, which can cause physical damage to the fiber’s end-face and further lead to information transmission failures. Hence, fiber optic connectors should be cleaned carefully.

fiber-optic-connector

How to Clean Fiber Optic Connectors?

Generally, there are two ways to clean fiber optic connectors. One is dry cleaning, and another is wet cleaning. Following is a brief introduction.

Usually, dry cleaning is to use a reel-based cassette cleaner to wipe the connector end-face against a dry cleaning cloth in one direction. For APC (angled physical contact) polished connectors, it’s essential to ensure the end-face surface mates with the cleaning cloth. Generally, dry cleaning can remove airborne contamination.

As for wet cleaning, first wipe the end-face against the wet area and then onto a dry area to clean potential residue from the end-face. Wet cleaning is more aggressive than dry cleaning, and can remove both airborne contamination and light oil residue.

What Types of Fiber Optic Cleaners Are There?

With more and more fiber optic components widely used, fiber optic cleaning is required for an optimum connection between both active fiber equipment and passive fiber equipment. Without cleaning, your network performance and reliability can be influenced. Here recommends two common types of fiber optic cleaners.

One-Push Cleaner

One-push cleaner is designed to clean male connectors, female bulkhead adapters, fiber patch cables and test equipment. It cleans the ferrule end-face by removing dust, oil and other contamination without scratching the end-face. FS provides several kinds of this cleaners such as one-push cleaner for LC/MU 1.25mm ferrules, one-push cleaner for SC/ST/FC/LSH 2.5mm ferrules, one-push cleaner for MTP/MPO connector and so on.

Pen cleaners

Fiber Optic Cassette Cleaner

The cassette cleaner can wipe away contamination from optical connector end-face with ease. It’s very easy to use and suitable for LC/SC/FC/ST/MU/D4/DIN connectors. Usually, the body of this cleaner is made from antistatic materials which will not produce dust. And the common type of cassette cleaner is CLE-BOX fiber optic cassette cleaner.

cassette cleaner

What Should Be Noticed When Cleaning Fiber Optic Connectors?

There are various ways to clean fiber optic connectors. But we still should be careful when cleaning fiber optic connectors because they are easily damaged. Following are some helpful notes that should be given attention to when cleaning connectors.

  • Do not forget to inspect the fiber optic connector, component, or bulkhead before starting cleaning.
  • Do not allow the end of the fiber optic connectors to contact with any surface including fingers.
  • Do not use alcohol or wet cleaning if no residue left on the end-face. It can do harm to the equipment.
  • Do not push it with heavy pressure. Use the fiber optic cleaner correctly by inserting it at the correct angle and clean connectors carefully.
  • Do not forget to reinspect the connectors when cleaning has been finished.
Conclusion

Keeping fiber optic end-face clean is extremely important and one of the most critical requirements for ensuring accurate measurements and operation. Hence, choosing suitable cleaning tools for fiber optic connectors is significant. FS provides a number of fiber optic cleaning tools such as pen cleaner, cassette cleaner and so on. All this cleaning tools have good quality and high performance, which can make your fiber optic cleaning works easier and more convenient. Welcome to contact sales@fs.com.

How to Clean the Data Center?

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Dust and dirt in data center could be a nightmare that troubles most of the telecom engineers. Now and then as they try to put their fingers on a distribution cabinet or a patch panel in a data center, the fingers are always stained by dust or dirt. However, this annoying situation is not rare for those engineers working in the field of telecommunication. Some of them may have realized the importance of cleanliness in data center, but they seldom take action to remove the dust and dirt. It means people simply attach less importance to keep the data center clean enough. Some contaminants can easily be seen or checked by eyes and hands, but there are still myriads of them existing inside the equipment which may lead to disastrous consequences such as overheating as well as various network failures if no proper action was taken to clean.

The Importance of Cleaning Data Center

Imagine what would happen if there is no regular cleaning in the data center? As it was mentioned above, the most direct result of contaminant is overheating. Since dust and pollutants in the data center are usually light-weight, If there is air flow, dust or dirt will move with it. The cooling system of the data center is depending largely on server fan which can bring the dust and dirt into the cooling system. The accumulation of these contaminant can cause fan failure or static discharge inside equipment. The heat dissipation will need more time and heat emission efficiency is limited. The following picture shows the contaminant at a server fan air intake that can explain this phenomenon.

the contaminant at a server fan air intake

As the cooling system is affected by the dust and dirt, the risk of the data center increases largely. Contaminants will capture every possible place in the data center where they are capable of. In addition, data center nowadays relies heavily on electronic equipment and fiber optic components like fiber optic connectors, which are very sensitive to contaminants. Problems like power failures, loss of data and short circuit might happen if the contaminants are not removed completely. What’s worse, short circuit might cause fire in the data center, which could lead to irreparable damage. The following picture shows the data center after a fire. It is really a disaster for the data center managers.

the data center after a fire

Dust and dirt can also influence the life span of data center equipment as well as their operation. The uptime of a data center may decrease if there are too many contaminants. Cleaning the data center regularly would help to reduce data center downtime and extend the life span of data center infrastructure equipment. It is proved to be cost efficient and energy saving comparing with restarting the data center or repairing the equipment.

Furthermore, data center cleanliness can offer an aesthetic appeal to a clean and dust-free environment. Although it is not the main purpose, a clean data center can present a more desirable working environment for telecom engineers, especially for those who need to install cable under a raised floor or working overhead racks and cabinet. No one would reject a cleaning data center.

Contaminants Sources of Data Center

There is no doubt that data center cleanliness is necessary. But how to keep the data center clean? Before taking action, source of contaminants in the data center should be taken into consideration. Generally, there are two main sources. One is inside the data center, and the other is from outside of the data center. The internal contaminants are usually particles from air conditioning unit fan belt wear, toner dust, packaging and construction materials, human hair and clothing as well as zinc whiskers from electroplated steel floor plates. The external sources of contamination include cars, electricity generation, sea salt, natural and artificial fibers, plant pollen and wind-blown dust.

Data Center Cleaning and Contaminants Prevention

Having known where the dust and dirt come from, here offers some suggestions and tips to reduce the contaminants.

  • Reduce the data center access. It is recommended that limited access to only necessary personnel can reduce the external contaminants.
  • Sticky mats should be used at the entrances to the raised floor, which can eliminate the contaminants from shoes largely.
  • Never unpack new equipment inside the data center, establish a staging area outside the data center for unpacking and assembling equipment.
  • No food, drink or smoking in the data center.
  • Typically all sites are required to have fresh air make-up to the data center, remember to replace on a regular basis.
  • Cleaning frequency depends on activity in the data center. Floor vacuuming should be more often as the traffic in the data center increased.
  • Inspect and clean the fiber optic components regularly, especially for fiber optic connector and interface of switches and transceivers.
  • The inside and outside of racks and cabinets should be cleaned.

Conclusion

Data center operates like an information factory nowadays as it processes countless data and information as well. Therefore, the cleanliness of the data center becomes increasingly important. If this essential “factory” is polluted by dust and dirt, it will eventually fail to provide reliable and qualified services. Not to mention that a clean data center could ensure a much more extended life span of equipment and applications thus to effectively save a great amount of money for the maintenance.

Things You Should Know about Fiber Optic Connector Polishing

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Optical fiber is utilized for high-speed and error-free data transmission across connector assemblies. So the connector end faces need to be polished to optimize performance. And also the connectors must follow acceptance criteria related to insertion and back reflection loss as well as end-face geometry specifications. This article will talk about the fiber optic connectors polishing.

Polishing Process

Early physical contact connectors required spherical forming of their flat end faces as part of the polishing procedure. It involved a four-step process: epoxy removal, ferrule forming, and preliminary and final polishing. These steps utilized aggressive materials for epoxy removal and ferrule forming, generally accomplished with diamond polishing films. Now the polishing process has developed into a sequence of epoxy removal, followed by rough, intermediate and final polishing cycles because almost all connectors are manufactured with a pre-radiused end face. One goal is to avoid excessive disruption of the spherical surface, while still producing a good mating surface.

Polishing Specifications

Polishing specifications for fiber connectors fall into two categories related to performance and end-face geometry. Back reflection and insertion loss specifications are the most critical measures of polished end functionality. The insertion loss is the amount of optical power lost at the interface between the connectors caused by fiber misalignment, separation between connections (the air gap) and the finish quality of each connector end. The current standard loss specification is less than 0.5 dB, but less than 0.3 dB is increasingly specified. Back reflection is the light reflected back through the fiber toward the source. High back reflection can translate to signal distortion and, therefore, bit errors in systems with high data transfer rates.

Polishing Material

Today several types of connectorized fibers are available, the most common of which are 2.5 mm, 1.25 mm and multifiber. Connector end faces must first be air-polished to ensure a proper mating surface. This will be followed by a sequence of polishing steps depending on the type of connector, the back reflection and the insertion loss specifications. Regardless of the connector type, most polishing sequences begin with aggressive materials, including silicon carbide to remove epoxy and diamond lapping films for beginning and intermediate polishing. These remove both surrounding material and fiber at the same rate. But the last polishing step needs a less aggressive material to attack only the fiber, such as silicon dioxide. Using a material for final polishing that is too aggressive could result in excessive undercut. The wrong final-polish material can cause excessive protrusion, leading to fiber chipping and cracking during the connector mating process.

Impact Factor

Issues to be examined include the polishing films used, the type of epoxy and lubrication. Films are the most significant impact because the gradations and quality vary from supplier to supplier. End users should pay attention on selecting film type. Excessively aggressive films can destroy a 125-μm fiber and the end-face radius. Epoxy removal is also essential to contamination-free polishing. Some types of epoxies can be removed more easily with specific grades of silicon-carbide polishing films. The films to use in this step depend on the size of the epoxy bead mounted on the connector end face and the epoxy type. Epoxies have different varieties. Some will be tacky, some firm. In all, a contamination-free environment is essential to optimizing connector polishing.

Polishing may be an old art form, but for the immediate future, it’s here to stay. Undoubtedly inspection criteria will increase. Polishing procedures will be driven to change, and new connector style will also make us continuously strive to reinvent our approach to polishing. Fiberstore has various products about fiber optic polishing. For more details, please visit FS.COM.

Fiber Optic Access Network Will Be The Main Force Of Internet Information Highway In The Future

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As with the rapid development of social information, fiber optic technology and devices which are dedicated to provide transfer of a new business for WAN and fiber optic access network. Developments of MSTP and PON are the most representative. They are also the best solution to provide various new business in the MAN and fiber optic access network which are based on fiber optic transmission technology. As water to the fish, the developments of fiber optic access technology can not without the support and development of fiber optic access devices.

Due to the constantly updated fiber optic access technology and more and more manufacturers’ accession, nowadays the fiber optic access devices categories are more and more obvious, mainly divided into three categories:

  • Fiber optic connection elements, it is applied into telecommunications and computer network terminal connections, related product: Fiber optic patch cable, fiber optic connector and so on.
  • Fiber optic transceiver, it is utilized for computer network data transmission, related products: Fiber optic splitter, fiber patch panels and so on.
  • Fiber optic engineer devices and fiber optic testers, it is specially for large-scale project, related products: Fiber optic fusion splicer, fiber optic testers.

Next we will introduce these three fiber optic access devices with a representative products respectively, they are fiber patch cables, fiber optic splitter, fiber optic fusion splicer.

Fiber optic patch cable (shown as the figure）is fiber optic cable or fiber optical unit which without fiber optic connector, it is used in fiber distribution frames on various link roads. Fiber patch cables are also used in long distance local optical network, data transmission and private network, various testing and control system.

Fiber optic splitter （shown as the figure), someone calls it as fiber coupler, it belongs to optical passive components, it is used in the telecommunications networks, fiber cable television networks, subscriber loop system. Fiber optic splitters can be divided into standard coupler (double branch, unit 1 x 2, that is, the light signal into two power, for example, 1×2 fiber optic splitter, 1 x4 fiber optic splitter, 1 x 8 fiber optic splitter and so on), star/tree fiber splitters and wavelength division multiplexer (WDM, if the wavelength is a high-density separation and wavelength spacing is narrow, it belongs DWDM).

Fiber optic fusion splicer（shown as the figure) is mainly used in telecommunication for fiber optic cables construction and maintenance, it is applied into telecommunication operators, engineering companies, private network, also used in the production of optical passive and active devices and fiber optical modules for fiber splicing.

All above the fiber optic access devices highly improve the data transmission and processing capabilities of fiber optic access network, and at the same time they can bring two advantages:

First, it solved the long distance transmission problems of fiber line attachment,and made its coverage range more widely. In this way, then it can reduce the number of transit nodes through whole the coverage network, make the structure of the network easier.

Second, it satisfied people’s needs to various broadband business, and improve the quality of new business data. It solved the problem of traditional copper cable access network fundamentally and laid a good foundation for achieving the dream of FTTH. I believe that in the future, fiber optic access network will be the main force of internet information highway.

New Application of Fiber Optic Connector Assembly at the Scene

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Recent years, PON technology has been more widely used in the fiber optic industry because of its advantages on building cost, protection cost and the broad width. And in China, the three major telecom operators – China telecom, China unicom and China mobile all bring the EPON and GPON into the telecommunication network, at the same time, in order to support the application of PON technology, ODN network is built strongly, then it put forward higher requirements to fiber optic connection, protection as well as the application and management of fiber cable devices, the most obvious device among them is fiber optic patch cable.

We all know that tradition fiber patch cables are made to follow as the certain length of fiber optic connector assembly process, different lengths of fiber cables and connectors composed of a wide variety of fiber patch cords, they can be used in fiber optic patch panels, fiber transfer boxes, fiber cable devices and the connection between the devices and other optical ports, but just because these different fiber patch cables, it bring heavy pressure to storage management. Except this, traditional factory custom the length of fiber patch cables usually more than the actual length if the route and it leaves the length of the excess in a small disk space, we can see from the figure that not only it adds the cost of distribution frame and other cable devices but also not easy to manage, and too longer fiber cables always happens intertwined, knotted squeeze and circumstances, then result in unnecessary trouble, increase the cost of maintenance and management.

longer cable

Therefore, how to control the length of fiber patch cables effectively, to avoid all the trouble. To solve the problem, Fiberstore makes his opinion. we use the on site assembly of fiber connectors, and on the 2 mm or 3 mm fiber pigtail?into end and make fiber patch cable at the scene, replacing the traditional custom factory fiber patch cables, it can greatly alleviate the traditional fiber patch cables left too long, difficulties of managements, frequent failure those a series of maintenance problems. Fiberstore comes with the close communication with all the operators and joint efforts, apply the fiber optic connector assembly of FTTH at the secne into fiber patch cables managements of fiber equipments.

After the constant experiments and used for many time successfully, we have to believe that the embedded optical fiber types of fiber optical connector assembly at the scene will be the first choice for the fiber distribution frame, cable box, optical distribution boxes and other cable device in the future, it also can give ODN network cabling system maintenance and management to bring a revolutionary change.

Tutorial- How To Assemble a Fiber Optic Connector

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Because there are many different types of fiber optic connectors have been developed, we will talk about fiber optic connectors in fairly general terms.

Most popular connectors in use today have some common elements. Let’s examine it below:

The most critical part, fiber is installed, is the ferrule. Ferrule is long, thin cylinder with the fiber mounted in the center hole. The size of the center hole is set to match the cladding of the fiber is usually 125 microns in diameter.

Fiber connector ferrules are made from several types of materials including ceramic (Zirconia), stainless steel and plastic.

The ferrule’s work is the center and align the fiber and protects it from mechanical damage. Finally at the end of the fiber ring and fiber end is polished smooth either flat or curvature.

The ferrule is mounted in the connector body and then the connector body is attached to the fiber optical cable structure. Finally, a strain-relief rubber boot protects the connector cable junction.

Unlike most electronic connectors, fiber optic connectors usually do not have the male-female polarity. Most fiber connectors are male only. Instead, fiber optic connectors to mate in the fiber optic adapter, it is often referred to as mating sleeves or coupling socket. Fiber optic adapter connector types used in different partners such as FC SC connector connector is called hybrid adapters.

Although this method needs to use a separate adapter, fiber optic connector it otherwise to reduce inventory requirements because now you only need to stock a type connector. Another advantage is that fiber optic adapters can be designed to mate one type of connector to another, which is a big plus compared to electronic connectors.

The fiber’s plastic coating is stripped first before the fiber is inserted in the ferrule. The center hole through the ferrule is large enough to fit the fiber cladding (which is usually 125um after fiber coating stripped off) but tight enough to hold the fiber in a fixed position without any further moving.

Standard bore diameters are 126 +1/-0 um for single mode connectors and 127 +2/-0 um for multimode connectors. Because of fiber cladding diameter’s variation from manufacturing, some fiber connector manufacturers also supply a range of ferrule bore sizes such as 124um, 125um, 126um and 127um.

Fiber optic epoxy or adhesive is inkected into the ferrule hole before the fiber is pushed in to hold the fiber in place. The epoxy or adhesive is then cured with high temperature oven according to adhesive manufacturer’s instruction. Finally the fiber end is polished to a smooth face on polishing films.

The ferrule is then slipped inside another hollow cylinder before it is mounted in the connector body. The connector body includes one or more pieces that are assembled to hold the cable and fiber in place. Connector body is made of metal or plastic.

The ferrule end protrudes beyond the connector body so it can slip into the mating sleeves (fiber adapters). A stain relief rubber boot is finally slipped over the cable end of the connector to protect the cable connector junction point.

In fiber optical cross connect boxes or fiber patch panels, an array of connector adpators are mounted inside, ready for you to plug an input fiber cable in one side and an output cable in the other. Fiber connector adapters are also mounted in wall outlets, just like standard phone jacket.

Corning’s Indoor Fiber Cables for Enterprise Networks

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Corning cable system (also known as CCS) provides a very complete optic fiber cable product line for enterprise networks. Enterprise fiber network market includes universities, businesses, medical compuses, and more. Application types very a lot from indoor to outdoor. So let’s dive into the types of fiber cables Corning provides in this market.

Corning’s Indoor Fiber Cables for Enterprise Networks

Indoor Ribbon Fiber Cable

Corning’s Ribbon Fiber Optic Cables are designed for use in plenum, riser and general purpose environments for instrabuilding backbone installations and for high-fiber-count data centers. These cables consist of 2 to 216 fibers organized into 12 fiber ribbons inside a central tube. Dielectric strength members provide tensile strength while a specially formulated flame-retardant jacket allows the design to meet the requirements of the NFPA 262 flame test.

Indoor Loose Tube Fiber Cable

Corning’s MIC 250 cables utilize 250um color-coded optical fibers, surrounded by dielectric strength members with a flexible, flameretardant outer jacket. These cables are well suited for creating multi-fiber preconnectorized assembly as 12 fibers groupings enable compatibility with multi fiber optic connector. The flexible, flame retardant jacket and non-preferential bend axis allows installation in space-constrained areas and the all dielectric cable construction requires no grounding or bonding. These cables come in 62.5um, 50um and single mode versions, including Gigabit Ethernet and 10 Gigabit Ethernet versions.

Indoor Tight Buffered Fiber Cable

Corning’s MIC Riser Cables are designed for use in riser and general purpose environments for intrabuilding backbone and horizontal installations. These multi-fiber cables use 900um TBII buffered fibers which makes easy, consistent stripping and facilitate termination. This cable has a dielectric central member, the fibers are surrounded by dielectric strength members and protected by a flame-retardant outer jacket. The all- dielectric cable construction requires no grounding or bonding, making these cables ideal for routing inside buildings including riser shafts, to the telecommunications rooms and workstations.

Indoor Interconnect

Corning’s Zipcord Riser Cables are designed for interconnect applications. Two 900 um tight buffered fibers are surrounded by aramid yarn dielectric strength members and a flame-retardant jacket. This cable design offers mechanical durability and flame resistance that meets UL-1666 requirements for riser and general building applications. This cable also meets requirements of the National Electric Code (NEC) Article 770 and the cables are OFNR and CSA FT-4 listed.

Source: www.fs.com

Fiber Transmission Communication Network – Optical Terminal Box

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Optical Fiber Termination Box in short OTB, optical terminal box is mainly used for the cable ends fixed, cable and pigtail splice and the remainder fiber asylum and protection. The communication network of fiber optic transmission optical cable terminal box series terminal wiring of auxiliary equipment, suitable for indoor fiber optic cable directly and branching connection of the fiber optic connector play a protective role.

The Material Performance

Optical cable terminal box where the parts are made of materials should have anti-corrosion properties, such as corrosion resistance should be treated with preservatives; Its physical and chemical properties must be stable; must be compatible between the various materials.

And sheath compatible with the cable jacket and wiring pigtail. In order to prevent corrosion and other electrical damage, these materials must also be compatible with other commonly used materials in the device.

Appearance of cable terminal box should be completer shape, no glitches, no bubbles, no cracks and voids, meta-warping element impurities and other defects. All background color shold be uniform and continuous. Beautiful appearance, convenient construction connecting additional attenuation reasonable structure, the fiber to strengthen the core fixed in the terminal box, cable metal outer sheath connected ground wire leads function applies to both the ribbon cable and fiber optic cable. Unique design, the terminal box on the 19-inch, wall-mounted terminal box.

Cable terminal box of the optical properties of the remaining fiber is coiled in the set fibers and optical fiber and fiber optic connectors, fiber optic terminal box installation of the operating additional attenuation.

Mechanical properties after the following tests, the cable terminal box box body and box should change, if necessary, for the fiber-ray examination.

1.Stretch: cable terminal box with a fiber optic cable should be able to withstand the axial tensile strength of not less than 500N, with either a wiring pigtail can withstand axial tensile strength of not less than 5N.
2. Flattening: The cable terminal box on each side of the box body should be able to withstand the vertical static pressure of not less than 200N.
3. Torsion: cable terminal box should be able to withstand the torsion angle.

Electrical performance

1. Insulation resistance: Cable connector box of metal components and optical metal reinforcing core fiber optic cable between the metal components, the insulation resistance between the cable metal parts and ground should not be less than 2 * 104MΩ [test voltage of 500V (DC).

2. Dielectric strength: cable terminal box with cable metal strengthening core fiber optic cable between the metal components, cable metal structures between the role of 15KV DC 1min, no breakdown, no flashover.

Optical Performance

The remaining fiber cable terminal box is coiled within the splice tray fiber and fiber optic connectors, cable terminal box installation of the operating there should be no additional attenuation.

Function

The splice closure is two pieces of fiber optic cable connection. The terminal box is the tip of the cable access, and then through the patch cord access optical switch. Therefore, the terminal box is usually installed in the 19-inch rack can accommodate fiber optic cable ends quantity more. The splice closure is two pieces of fiber optic cable connection. Terminal box is connected to the fiber optic cable with pigtail play a protective role. Indoor terminal box can be used for practical work with but very little splice closure when the terminal box uses not the same. 1. the transfer box can be divided into the cable transfer box and cable boxes. Their role in the user front-end wiring use. 2. Breakout boxes generally refers to the splice box, also known as fiber optic splice closure in some places, especially radio and television system, also known as optical splice pack, its role is to protect the cable connector does not damage by the outside world. Patch panel fiber optic patch panels and cable distribution frame, the role like the transfer case, but it is used in the engine room of the operators.

Application

Optical cable terminal box as a carrier of information transmission, fiber optic hardware as an information transmission medium, has become an important pillar of modern communication. optical cable terminal box technology from theory to the field of engineering technology experienced a few decades, to the realization of today’s high-speed fiber-optic communications, before and after the birth of the fiber-optic communications technology and in-depth development of information and communication in the history of an important reform.

Optical cable terminal box is widely used in telephone, if farmers network systems, data, image transmission system, CATV cable TV series for indoor fiber optic cable through power connection and branch connection, play a pigtail disc storage and protection of joint role, made of cold-rolled steel plate electrostatic spray, design, reasonable structure, appearance before a large fiber to strengthen the core fixed in the terminal.