BICSInewsm a g a z i n e

september/october 2012 volume 33, number 5

plus + Migration to High-Speed Ethernet + DAS in Your World+ Planning Health Care Infrastructure+ Fiber Considerations for 100 Gigshow Issue

&A significant factor that

is expected to escalate

the adoption of optical

fiber cabling for in-

building networks is

the advent of easy

connectivity methods for

on-site installation.

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 lllevan-etter@mmm.com.

technologyinnovation

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.

Innovations Aid in Deploying

In-buIldIng optIcal FIber networksby Loni L. Le Van-Etter

Electronic reprint with permission from BICSI News Magazine-September/October 2012 Issue

To support high-speed trans- mission 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 Infor-mation Association, data center infra-structure 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 struc- tured cabling, 47 percent was deploy-ed for LANs. This article explains how innovations in optical fiber technol-ogy 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.

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

Electronic reprint with permission from BICSI News Magazine-September/October 2012 Issue

(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 applica-tions 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,

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 in-building 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.

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

Figure 2

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

Electronic reprint with permission from BICSI News Magazine-September/October 2012 Issue

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, pair-to-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 in-building networks is the advent of easy connectivity methods for on-site installation. In the past few years, innovative single-piece, field-installable 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

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

Electronic reprint with permission from BICSI News Magazine-September/October 2012 Issue

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 in-building 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.

A singlemode FTTD PON install-ation 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 in-building optical fiber networks by enabling an easy, quick and cost-effective 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.

Figure 3

Electronic reprint with permission from BICSI News Magazine-September/October 2012 Issue