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by www.fiber-mart.com As we all know, fiber optical networking has two transmission ways: dual fiber transmission and single fiber transmission. The difference between them is that the former one requires two fibers—one is for transmitting and the other is for receiving, while the latter only uses one fiber for both transmitting and receiving. Single fiber transmission emergence reduces network deployment cost, especially in  WDM systems . This blog intends to introduce how to achieve single fiber connections in CWDM and DWDM networks.   Understanding Single Fiber Transmission Single fiber transmission, also called bidirectional (BiDi) transmission, sends data in both directions with one strand fiber. For enterprise networks or telecom networks providers who are with limited budgets and fiber capacity, the single fiber transmission is no doubt an ideal choice.   In addition, single fiber transmission is popular in many places. Point to Point, Ring or linear ...

by www.fiber-mart.com Wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) is a commonly used technology in optical communications. It combines multiple wavelengths to transmit signals on a single fiber. To realize this process, CWDM and DWDM mux/demux are the essential part. As we all know, there are several different ports on the WDM mux and demux. This article will give a clear explanation to these ports and their applications in WDM network.   Overview of Different Ports on  WDM MUX/DEMUX Line Port Line port, sometimes also called as common port, is the one of the must-have ports on CWDM and DWDM Mux/Demux. The outside fibers are connected to the Mux/Demux unit through this port, and they are often marked as Tx and Rx. All the WDM channels are multiplexed and demultiplexed over this port.   Channel Port Like the line port, channel ports are another must-have ports. They transmit and receive signals on specific WDM wavelengths. CWDM Mux/Demux supports up to 18 channels f...

by www.fiber-mart.com Tight-buffered cables oftenn are used for intra-building, risers, general building and plenum applications. Tight buffer fiber contains a thick coating of a plastic-type material which is applied directly to the outside of each individual fiber. Loose tube fiber optic cable is typically used for outside-plant installation in aerial, duct and direct-buried applications.  Loose tube fiber  contains multiple strands of fiber in a single jacket. Since the fibers are “loose” inside the jacket, outside forces are less likely to reach the fibers. This makes it the more durable option of the two.   Loose Tube Cable Loose-tube fiber generally consists of 12 strand of fiber, but can range anywher as low as 6, all the way up to 244 strands. Loose tube cables can be either dielectric or optionally armored. The modular buffer-tube design permits easy drop-off groups of fibers at intermediate points, without interfering with other protected buffer tubes ...

by www.fiber-mart.com In a power-splitting PON, an optical power splitter is the passive device in the outside plant that physically connects to the CO with a feeder fiber. It also connects to a number of ONUs via a series of distribution fibers. In the past few years, significant improvements in reliability, cost per port, insertion loss, and splitting-ratio nonuniformity, have been demonstrated with planar lightwave circuit (PLC)-based splitters. Central to the splitter is a PLC chip comprising of optical waveguides fabricated on a planar substrate, typically made of silicon or quartz, to form a cascade of Y-branches. For a 1 × splitter, one side of the PLC chip is aligned to a fiber whereas the opposite side is aligned to an array of PON is typically N = 16 and N = 325, but with an increasing demand of up to N = 64， thereby making the alignment of the fiber array to the PLC chip more challenging. Compared to fused biconical-taper-based splitters, PLC technology allows for chip-s...

by www.fiber-mart.com OTDR refers to Optical Time-Domain Reflectometer, a test instrument that analyzes the light loss in an optical fiber and verify inline splices on concatenated fiber optic cables and locate faults. If you use fiber optic cables for network connectivity, you ought to know about the applications and basic setting of OTDR.   Applications: application of OTDR in life OTDR  can be used for return loss measurements, although quoted accuracy is not particularly high. It is very useful for measuring points loss on installed systems where it is used to find faults and measure point losses such as caused by splicing. However, to do this accurately is more complicated and time consuming than is commonly supposed. Since a measurement should be taken from both ends of the system and then averaged.   OTDR is useful for testing fiber optic cables. It can verify splice loss, measure length and find faults. It simply shows you where the cables are termin...

by www.fiber-mart.com OTDR that is short for optical time domain reflectometry, is a fiber optic tester for the characterization of optical networks that support telecommunications. It can be used to measure loss, optical return loss (ORL) and optical distance on a fiber optic link. Besides, by providing pictorial trace signatures of the fibers under test, an OTDR can offer a graphical representation of the entire fiber optic link. However, there are so many OTDR brands in the market. Choosing the right OTDR for your application can be challenging. So this post is intended for giving some reminders when choosing an OTDR. Hope it may help you.   Why You Need an OTDR? As we all know, fiber testing is an essential procedure to make sure that the network is optimized to deliver reliable and robust services without fault. So here are two reasons for why an OTDR is needed.   First, service providers and network operators want to insure that their investments into fiber n...

by www.fiber-mart.com Although the 40G/100G optical modules are on the very top trend for enterprise and data center for the interconnection, 10G transceiver modules are still in great demand. There are several types of 10G optical transceiver modules available for sale including the XENPAK, X2, XFP, small form-factor plable plus (SFP+) transceiver, of which 10g SFP transceiver (due to its small size and low power) is the most popular type for 10G network. According to the 10 Gigabit Ethernet standard, SFP+ transceiver can be classified into many categories: 10GBASE-SR SFP+, 10GBASE-LR SFP+, 10GBASE-ER SFP+, and 10GBASE-LRM SFP+. This article will focus on the introduction of the  10GBASE-LR SFP+  and 10GBASE-LRM SFP+ transceivers.   10GBASE-LR SFP+ 10GBase-LR can support up to 10km over single-mode fiber and uses 1310nm lasers. There is no minimum distance for LR, either, therefore it is suitable for short connections over single mode fiber too. The Cisco 10GBA...

by www.fiber-mart.com Telecom industry embraces the prosperity of 100G optics market in 2017. With such a bright future, fiber optic market attracts a wide attention, and many vendors want a piece of the pie. The 100G optics like the CFP, QSFP28 modules and cables are varied in different standards. QSFP28 100G, along with its compact size and reliable performances, gradually becomes the mainstream form factors of the 100G optics market. QSFP28 modules come in different standards (LR4, SR4, PSM4, CWDM4), and the QSFP28 AOC and DAC cables are also available for 100G systems. Which one is ideal for your 100G network? This article attached with the detailed information of all the 100G optics, will blew your mind.   QSFP28 DAC Inside Rack: <5 m QSFP28 passive DAC cables  are launched to decrease the cost of 100G systems, which provide a cost-effective I/O solution for 100GbE connectivity within 5 m. QSFP28 to QSFP28 DACs and QSFP28 to 4x SFP28 DACs are the two common t...

by www.fiber-mart.com We know that fiber can carry more data over long distances than any other physical medium. That makes fiber a very precious material. And how to make the most use of your fiber plant becomes a question. So there comes Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM).   Why Should We Deploy WDM ? WDM can multiply your fiber capacity by creating virtual fibers. The foundation of WDM lies in the ability to send different data types over fiber networks in the form of light. By allowing different light channels, each with a unique wavelength, to be sent simultaneously over an optical fiber network, a single virtual fiber network is created. Instead of using multiple fibers for each and every service, a single fiber can be shared for several services. In this way WDM increases the bandwidth and maximizes the usefulness of fiber. Since fiber rental or purchase accounts for a large share of networking costs, substantial costs can be saved through the application of WD...

by www.fiber-mart.com Optical amplifier , with the introduction in 1990s, conquered the regenerator technology and opened doors to the WDM technology. It is mainly used to amplify an optical signal directly, without the need to first convert it to an electrical signal. There are many types of optical amplifiers, namely Raman amplifiers, erbium doped-fiber amplifiers (EDFAs), and semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA). This article will make a clearer introduction to SOA amplifier, and analyze its advantages and disadvantages. The Basics of Semiconductor Optical Amplifier (SOA) SOA optical amplifiers use the semiconductor as the gain medium, which are designed to be used in general applications to increase optical launch power to compensate for loss of other optical devices. Semiconductor optical amplifiers are often adopted in telecommunication systems in the form of fiber-pigtailed components, operating at signal wavelengths between 0.85 µm and 1.6 µm and generating gains of up...

by www.fiber-mart.com For the data center or network upgrade, 40G network is a trending choice. Then where do you buy the 40G QSFP transceiver? Will you choose an OEM one or a third-party one? There are some differences between third-party 40G QSFP transceiver and OEM 40G QSFP transceiver, which will be shown below.   Features of OEM 40G QSFP Transceiver Modules As we know, the OEM 40G QSFP transceiver from name brand like Cisco, Juniper and Brocade is widely used in data center and enterprise network. They all have some great features. The Cisco 40G QSFP transceiver offers a wide variety of high-density and low-power 40 Gigabit Ethernet connectivity options for data center, high-performance computing networks, enterprise core and distribution layers, and service provider applications. Here are some benefits of Cisco 40 Gbps transceiver:   Hot-swappable input/output device that plugs into a 40 Gigabit Ethernet Cisco QSFP port Flexibility of interface choice (fo...

by www.fiber-mart.com Power-over-Ethernet ( PoE ) is the technology that allows network switches to transmit power and data through an Ethernet cable at the same time. PoE switch streamlines both of the processes of powering and providing data to the device, which makes it a straightforward and reliable device for home network and small enterprise application. This article describes two types of PoE (PoE and PoE+) that are commonly used and provides information on what types of PoE can be used according to different applications.   PoE Versus non-PoE Technology Power over Ethernet technology facilitates powering a device (such as an IP phone, IP Surveillance Camera, or NVR recorder) over the same Ethernet cable as the data traffic. Figure 1 shows an Ethernet Network with IP camera, PoE Switch, NVR recorder and Wireless router. Compared to non-PoE devices, PoE devices feature with flexibility that allow you to easily place endpoints anywhere in the business, even places wh...

by www.fiber-mart.com With the advances in fiber optic technology and transmission systems, reliable cabling systems are becoming even more important. Active optical equipment, which is often worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, is all connected into the network via the humble fiber optic patch cord or patch lead. The risk of network downtime due to unreliable cabling is one that should be avoided. Therefore, these types of networks, along with many other Data Center and high speed Commercial networks require reliable cabling infrastructure in order to maximize performance and to ensure long term reliability. Today’s article will introduce Grade A optical fiber cables.   What Are Grade A, Grade B, Grade C Fiber Optic Connector? IEC standards dictate the connector performance requirement for each grade of  fiber optic patch cord connector . These standards guide end users and manufacturers in ensuring compliance to best practices in optical fiber technology. Accord...

by www.fiber-mart.com An Ethernet switch acts as a bridge to connect different parts of a network together. Although many routers also possess the network switching capabilities and multiple Ethernet ports, the Ethernet switch is not the replacement for routers. It is worth emphasizing that Ethernet switches are smarter than routers in that they operate at the data link layer (Layer 2) and the network layer (Layer 3) of the OSI Reference Model and therefore support any packet protocol. Ideally, switches will make better use of bandwidth if you prefer wired to wireless connections but have more devices than available Ethernet ports. On the other hand, an Ethernet switch is a costly way to expend the network in home or small business. So it is very important to invest an Ethernet switch with the appropriate number of ports to fit your needs. In the midst of various Gigabit Ethernet switches, a 24-port switch is considered as the most common Gigabit switch that connect devices in a loc...