BICSI news
m a g a z i n e
september/october 2012
volume 33, number 5
plus
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+ Migration to High-Speed Ethernet
+ DAS in Your World
+ Planning Health Care Infrastructure
+ Fiber Considerations for 100 Gig
&
technology
innovation
A significant factor that
is expected to escalate
the adoption of optical
fiber cabling for inbuilding networks is
the advent of easy
connectivity methods for
on-site installation.
Innovations Aid in Deploying
In-building Optical
Fiber Networks
Loni L. Le Van-Etter is a
product development specialist
in the general laboratory for
the 3M Communications
Markets Division. She
regularly participates in
industry associations,
most recently joining the
TIA TR-42 subcommittee.
Loni has a Bachelor of Science
in electrical engineering from
the University of Texas.
She can be reached at
[email protected].
by Loni L. Le Van-Etter
From the data center to the backbone to the local area
network (LAN), recent trends show that optical fiber
deployment in premises infrastructure installations is rising.
One example of this trend is the recent success and
traction in the market of passive optical network
(PON) solutions that provide an optical
fiber to the desk (FTTD) architecture.
Electronic reprint with permission from BICSI News Magazine-September/October 2012 Issue
To support high-speed transmission requirements, decision
makers are increasingly choosing
optical fiber media solutions for
more types of in-building networks.
According to the April 2012 World
Structured Cabling report by the
Building Services and Research Information Association, data center infrastructure in the United States
increased to a ratio of 56 percent
optical fiber compared with copper.
The report also states that of the
$486 million in optical fiber structured cabling, 47 percent was deployed for LANs. This article explains how
innovations in optical fiber technology and easy mechanical optical fiber
connectivity methods are helping to
escalate this trend in the industry.
Optical Fiber Has Come
a Long Way
In 2002, the first bend-insensitive
singlemode optical fiber cable was
launched in the U.S. It was capable
of a 10 millimeter (mm [0.4 inch
(in)]) bend radius without affecting
signal performance. Since that time,
manufacturers have improved this
feature and developed optical fiber
with specifications that support
7.5 mm (0.3 in) and 5 mm (0.2 in)
bend radii. Current low-water peak
singlemode optical fiber (OS2) offers
attenuation levels of less than 0.35
decibel (dB) per kilometer (km) at
1310 nanometers. This means that
optical fiber cabling media can be
handled easily and offers advantages
with regard to durability and
performance (see Figure 1).
Optical fiber media is easy to
install due to the following traits:
 Lower bend radius—The minimum
bend radius for optical fiber
cable is 5 to 10 mm (0.2 to 0.4
in), depending on the type.
Optical fiber installation bend
radii specifications are easy to
obtain with smaller interconnect
and cross-connect apparatus.
The minimum bend radius
for category 6 copper cabling
is approximately 30 mm (1.2
in) and up to 51 mm (2 in) for
category 6A, depending on the
diameter and shielding of the
copper cabling.
Electronic reprint with permission from BICSI News Magazine-September/October 2012 Issue
 Robust pulling tension—Optical
fiber media typically has a
50- to 100-pound-force (lbf)
pulling tension specification.
To maintain the required twists
of copper conductor pairs and
prevent performance degradation,
traditional copper media is
specified to a 25 lbf tension
for cables that are installed by
pulling.
 Optical fiber is small—Optical
fiber cables used for longer
distribution runs have a 2.5 mm
(0.1 in) or less outer diameter
(OD), which can reduce space
requirements, congestion and
installation time. The OD of
category 6 copper cabling is
approximately 6.3 mm (0.25 in),
and current Telecommunications
Industry Association (TIA®)
standards allow for category 6A
cable to have an OD of up to 9
mm (0.354 in).
 Optical fiber is lightweight—
Optical fiber cabling media
weighs 1.8 kilograms (kg [4
pounds (lb)]) per 305 meters
Fuse-on Connectivity
Factory Assemblies
Mechanical Connectivity
Tool Investment
High
None
Very Low
Labor Cost/Skill Level
High
Very Low
Low
Parts Cost
Medium
High Premium Price for Pre-terminated
Medium
Inventory Costs
Low/Connector Parts
High/Multiple Assembly Lengths
Low/Connector Parts
Cable Management
Custom Length
Extra Slack Storage
Custom Length
Maintenance Costs
High/Labor, Tooling
High/Time and Money if Any Part is Damaged
Very Low/100% Yield Possible
Work Environment Affected by Humidity and Dust/Power Required
Any Environment
Any Environment/Non-powered
Figure 2
Innovative Mechanical,
Manually Installed
Splices or Connectors
Offer the Following
Features and Benefits:
Connector specifications of < 0.2
dB typical IL and -65 dB reflectance
Splice specifications of < 0.07 dB
typical IL and better -65 dB reflectance
Typical splice installation time of less than 30 seconds and connector installation time of less than three
minutes, including stripping, cleaving and optical fiber prepara-
tion (cleaning)
A possible 100 percent yield, minimizing costs in time and materials due to expensive defective scrap or yield issues
Nonpowered inexpensive plastic tooling provided free of charge with splices/connectors
Minimal training for installation and troubleshooting certification
One-piece splice/connector assembly, eliminating the chance
of misplacing loose parts
(m [1000 feet (ft)]), making it easy
to handle during installation. For
the same length, category 6 and
category 6A copper cable weigh
10 and 17.7 kg (22 and 39 lb),
respectively.
Optical fiber offers high speed
over longer distances and long-term
performance capabilities:
 Category 6A copper cabling is
specified to support 10 gigabits
per second (Gb/s) transmission
for 10GBASE-T Ethernet applications to a distance of 100 m
(328 ft). Singlemode optical fiber
10 Gb/s applications, such as
10GBASE-LX4 and 10GBASE-L,
are specified to 10 km (6.2 miles
[mi]) per TIA cabling standards. It
is expected that the standards will
support 10GBASE-E Ethernet over
singlemode optical fiber to 40 km
(25 m) and PON applications to
60 km (37 mi).
 Singlemode optical fiber
media is capable of supporting
transmission rates well beyond
terabit speeds over long distances,
making it suitable for generations
of electronics upgrades. Copper
structured cabling has historically
evolved approximately every five
years (i.e., category 5e, category
6, category 6A and category 7A).
 With a general lifetime reliability
expectancy of 25 to 50 years,
Electronic reprint with permission from BICSI News Magazine-September/October 2012 Issue
optical fiber is a good choice for
future proofing infrastructure
investment.
Optical fiber can be an
environmentally responsible and
sustainable choice for the following
reasons:
 An all or partial optical fiber
choice for the installed inbuilding network can provide
benefits of environmental
sustainability. For example, an
all-optical fiber LAN can save
thousands of pounds in raw
materials of plastic and copper
for a sizable cabling project.
 The U.S. Green Building Council’s
internationally recognized
Leadership in Energy and
Environmental Design (LEED®)
program can reward building
owners who choose optical
fiber with certified accreditation
based on points criteria, leading
to increased property values for
certified buildings.
Optical fiber is also a secure
transmission media because it
is difficult to tap into and not
vulnerable to compromising
emissions of radiated signals.
Optical fiber networks do not
require shielding to mitigate issues
of electromagnetic/radio frequency
interference (EMI/RFI), which can
cause performance degradation.
Because optical fiber cable is all
dielectric, it offers virtually no
fire hazard. Optical fiber can also
support numerous separate or
converged networks (like PONs) on
independently managed multiple
transmission light wavelengths.
In addition to the above
advantages of optical fiber cabling
media, some are surprised to learn
that an optical fiber inside plant
cabling infrastructure is easy to test,
certify and commission for correct
installation and qualification typically
required to obtain a manufacturer’s
extended warranty. According to
TIA cabling standards, which are
often used as a basis for obtaining
an extended warranty, optical fiber
inside plant cabling requires one
measurable metric to verify a proper
installation—channel attenuation
(loss). This measurement is obtained
by use of a simple power meter and
light source reading. If arrayed optical
fibers are used in the network, they
should be visibly checked for proper
polarity, and the length of the optical
fiber itself should be recorded.
According to industry
standards, optical time domain
reflectometer (OTDR) readings are
only recommended for outside plant
or when troubleshooting problems.
According to the ANSI/TIA 568-C
cabling standards, copper cabling
requires measured verification of
seven technology parameters for
confirmation of the installed copper
infrastructure performance, including
insertion loss (IL), return loss, pairto-pair near-end crosstalk (NEXT),
pair-to-pair attenuation-to-crosstalk
ratio far-end (ACRF), propagation
delay, wire map, continuity for signal
conductors, short circuits, open
circuits and screened conductors, if
present. If any parameters fall outside
of the limits, troubleshooting is
typically required.
Advancements in
Manual Optical Fiber
Connectivity
A significant factor that is
expected to escalate the adoption
of optical fiber cabling for inbuilding networks is the advent
of easy connectivity methods for
on-site installation. In the past few
years, innovative single-piece, fieldinstallable optical fiber connectors
and inexpensive nonpowered tools
have been introduced. These simple
tools enable low-cost, quick and
easy on-site optical fiber connector
terminations.
System integrators and installers
of copper cabling media do not
typically measure and order to length
horizontal cabling runs to the work
area as this would introduce increased
material cost for pre-terminated
solutions, complications in inventory
Electronic reprint with permission from BICSI News Magazine-September/October 2012 Issue
management, downtime while
troubleshooting installation problems
and longer lead times. Copper cabling
is terminated to 8-position, 8-contact
connectors and patch panels, and
preterminated patch cords are then
used to connect active equipment.
Optical fiber terminations for
in-building networks are now as
simple as common copper cabling
terminations. Factory-terminated
cable assemblies have been the easiest
method to obtain quality installations
for optical fiber solutions because
they offer guaranteed performance
criteria from the cable assembly
vendor. The only alternative to
ordering preterminated solutions
was investment in fusion splicing
technology and equipment that
ranged from $4,000 to $15,000,
depending on the sophistication.
Splicing also requires significant
Figure 3
investment in training for personnel
to operate the splicing equipment.
Today’s mechanical optical fiber
connectors for on-site termination
offer specifications to the same
standards criteria of preterminated
or fusion splice-on connectors.
Similar to a copper installation,
preterminated optical fiber patch
cords may still be used to connect
active equipment. These mechanical
connectors also require a lower
investment in inventory, project
management, tooling and training,
providing an overall lower total cost
of ownership (TCO). Due to easy
on-site optical fiber connectivity
methods, installers now have the
same customizable installation
capabilities as copper and easy,
quality termination methods for inbuilding optical fiber networks.
Total Cost of Ownership
Examples
New mechanical optical fiber
connectivity solutions can provide
quantifiable benefits (see Figure 2 on
page 42). An analysis of total installed
costs between three methods of
optical fiber connectivity solutions
for in-building networks shows that
mechanical connector solutions
offer a reduced upfront and installed
cost compared to fuse-on connector
solutions and a similar upfront and
installed cost for preterminated
solutions (see Figure 3).
The overall labor total when
using mechanical connectors is not
affected significantly compared with
preterminated solutions because the
labor to install each horizontal cable
run is a larger contributing factor.
These graphs are for illustration
purposes only. Actual costs will vary
and will depend on several factors,
including actual costs of materials
and parts inventory, training, optical
fiber termination kits and fusion
splice equipment, installation time
and scrap/waste incurred. Cost
analysis was based on the following
assumptions:
 On-hand inventory of cable
for Solution 1 is triple that of
Solutions 2 and 3, due to needing
to hold inventory of three
lengths of spare assemblies—
short, medium and long. On-site
connectorized Solutions 2 and 3
also account for spare inventory
cost to assemble 10 drops total.
 All solutions assume a 61 m
(200 ft) length of plenum-rated
singlemode optical fiber (OS2) per
G.657.A2 bend-insensitive optical
fiber specifications.
 Scrap/damaged assembly cost
is calculated at 5 percent for
Solution 1 and zero for Solution
3 since some mechanical
connectors can be reterminated if
needed.
 Upfront training cost is zero for
Solution 1, 24 hours minimum
for Solution 2 and four hours
maximum for Solution 3.
Electronic reprint with permission from BICSI News Magazine-September/October 2012 Issue
A singlemode FTTD PON installation using mechanical optical
fiber termination methods for 1000
Ethernet ports costs 25 to 50 percent
less in initial materials, depending
on the material and configuration
choices. Labor expenditures related
to the installation can be reduced
significantly as well, due to the
following reasons:
 Singlemode optical FTTD PONs
allow aggregated services over
a single optical fiber solution,
eliminating the need for separate
cables required for voice, video
and data services.
 Reduced labor time is required
to install, test and certify a
singlemode FTTD installation.
Conclusion
The trend toward optical fiber
design for in-building networks
continues to grow as optical fiber
offers the benefits of network
performance and future-proofing the
infrastructure investment, as well
as robustness and durability. Recent
innovations in manual optical fiber
connectivity methods are expected
to escalate the deployment of inbuilding optical fiber networks by
enabling an easy, quick and costeffective alternative to traditional
optical fiber connectivity methods.
TCO benefits can be gained by
adopting new innovative optical
fiber solutions and on-site fiber
terminations for in-building optical
fiber networks.