What"s the Deal With Network Cable in Your Data Center?
Originally there was only one commonly used fiber optic cable in the LAN and datacenter network space: "multimode".
Today, there are five basic types of fiber optic cabling in common use.
What are the differences? Why do you need the different fiber types? Let's look at the common fiber optic cabling that is often encountered within today's datacenter facilities: Multimode: Multimode fiber optic cable today falls into three categories: 50/125, 62.
5/125, and the newest "10G" or OM3 fiber.
The first two types are commonly orange in color and the numbers represent the core and cladding diameters, respectively, of the glass optical strand within the cable.
It is important to note that the different types of multimode fiber optic cabling should not be mixed within any given link - the entire optical cable should consist of only one type of fiber.
62.
5/125 was the original "multimode" cable commonly used for FDDI applications in the early 90's.
62.
5/125 can support 100Mb/s Ethernet, and gigabit ethernet but will have some distance limitations at the gigabit level.
50/125 is a newer variant of multimode cable.
It is optimized more for the transmission rates used in gigabit ethernet links.
It is backwards compatible with 62.
5/125 systems but will support extended distances for gigabit links.
This type of cable is generally considered the newer standard and most new systems are installed using this type of cabling today.
10G fiber, also sometimes called OM3 fiber, is a laser-optimized 50/125 cable commonly aqua in color.
This cable is specifically intended for use in 10 gigabit applications and supports extended distances up to 300 meters in 10G applications.
This cable also has potential applications for higher data rate applications in the future.
This fiber is used mainly in 10G systems but can also be used in 1G systems if there is the potential need to upgrade to 10G in the future.
Singlemode: Singlemode fiber optic cable is used for nearly all outdoor applications.
Singlemode supports far longer distances than any of the multimode cables and can be used for more advanced applications such as WDM systems as well.
There are two basic types of singlemode fiber optic cable: SMF28/SMF28E (and equivalents) are normally yellow in color, "bend insensitive" cables are normally blue in color.
The standard yellow cables are the most common, but the bend insensitive blue cables are growing in popularity due to their ability to handle tighter bend radii without signal loss.
In many high-density applications the newer bend-insensitive cables will allow for easier cable routing with respect to the requirements for the more traditional "yellow cables".
In most facilities the three types of multimode cabling will be used and very little, if any, singlemode cabling will be present.
Singlemode cables are generally used primarily by the telecommunications industry for links using outdoor cabling, but many datacenters will have singlemode for handoffs to carrier equipment for circuits such as OC48s and the like.
Singlemode and multimode cables are not interchangeable.
Today, there are five basic types of fiber optic cabling in common use.
What are the differences? Why do you need the different fiber types? Let's look at the common fiber optic cabling that is often encountered within today's datacenter facilities: Multimode: Multimode fiber optic cable today falls into three categories: 50/125, 62.
5/125, and the newest "10G" or OM3 fiber.
The first two types are commonly orange in color and the numbers represent the core and cladding diameters, respectively, of the glass optical strand within the cable.
It is important to note that the different types of multimode fiber optic cabling should not be mixed within any given link - the entire optical cable should consist of only one type of fiber.
62.
5/125 was the original "multimode" cable commonly used for FDDI applications in the early 90's.
62.
5/125 can support 100Mb/s Ethernet, and gigabit ethernet but will have some distance limitations at the gigabit level.
50/125 is a newer variant of multimode cable.
It is optimized more for the transmission rates used in gigabit ethernet links.
It is backwards compatible with 62.
5/125 systems but will support extended distances for gigabit links.
This type of cable is generally considered the newer standard and most new systems are installed using this type of cabling today.
10G fiber, also sometimes called OM3 fiber, is a laser-optimized 50/125 cable commonly aqua in color.
This cable is specifically intended for use in 10 gigabit applications and supports extended distances up to 300 meters in 10G applications.
This cable also has potential applications for higher data rate applications in the future.
This fiber is used mainly in 10G systems but can also be used in 1G systems if there is the potential need to upgrade to 10G in the future.
Singlemode: Singlemode fiber optic cable is used for nearly all outdoor applications.
Singlemode supports far longer distances than any of the multimode cables and can be used for more advanced applications such as WDM systems as well.
There are two basic types of singlemode fiber optic cable: SMF28/SMF28E (and equivalents) are normally yellow in color, "bend insensitive" cables are normally blue in color.
The standard yellow cables are the most common, but the bend insensitive blue cables are growing in popularity due to their ability to handle tighter bend radii without signal loss.
In many high-density applications the newer bend-insensitive cables will allow for easier cable routing with respect to the requirements for the more traditional "yellow cables".
In most facilities the three types of multimode cabling will be used and very little, if any, singlemode cabling will be present.
Singlemode cables are generally used primarily by the telecommunications industry for links using outdoor cabling, but many datacenters will have singlemode for handoffs to carrier equipment for circuits such as OC48s and the like.
Singlemode and multimode cables are not interchangeable.
