Multimode Fiber Price Comparison

Recent years, telecom industry develops rapidly. Data center, as the central nervous system of the whole network building, becomes larger and larger in size, with more and more complicated cabling system. To make cabling easy and ensure network performance at the same time, a type of cable characterized by light weight and high transmission rate is needed. Fiber optic cable is such type of cable. In addition, optical fiber cable can be divided into different types, such as singlemode fiber, multimode fiber, simplex cable, duplex cable and so on. This article will focus on multimode fiber price comparison and I hope it can help you choose cost-effective multimode fiber cabling solution.

Singlemode and Multimode Fiber Price Comparison

We know that singlemode fiber cable is used for long-haul optical link, while multimode fiber cable is suitable for short-reach network. In fact, singlemode systems are usually, but not always more expensive because of the laser diodes and precise calibration required to inject light into the cable. The result of singlemode and multimode fiber price comparison is negligible, but singlemode devices often cost more.

Multimode Fiber Price Comparison

Now on the market, there are five types of multimode fiber jumpers: OM1, OM2, OM3, OM4 and OM5. In addition, multimode fiber cable varies from each other depending on fiber count, connector type, jacket material and so on. This part will make comparison from different levels. Firstly, let’s take FS.COM multimode fiber for example.

OM1 Multimode Fiber Price Comparison

Type	Cable Length	Connector Type	Fiber Count	Jacket Materialv	Price
OM1	5 m	LC to LC	Simplex	PVC(OFNR)	US$ 1.80
OM1	5 m	LC to LC	Duplex	PVC(OFNR)	US$ 3.50
OM1	5 m	SC to SC	Simplex	PVC(OFNR)	US$ 1.80
OM1	5 m	SC to SC	Duplex	PVC(OFNR)	US$ 3.50

OM2 Multimode Fiber Price Comparison

Type	Cable Length	Connector Type	Fiber Count	Jacket Material	Price
OM2	5 m	LC to LC	Simplex	PVC(OFNR)	US$ 1.72
OM2	5 m	LC to LC	Duplex	PVC(OFNR)	US$ 3.50
OM2	5 m	LC to LC	Duplex	LSZH	US$ 3.70
OM2	5 m	SC to SC	Duplex	PVC(OFNR)	US$ 3.50
OM2	5 m	SC to SC	Duplex	LSZH	US$ 3.70

OM3 Multimode Fiber Price Comparison

Type	Cable Length	Connector Type	Fiber Count	Jacket Material	Price
OM3	5 m	LC to LC	Duplex	PVC(OFNR)	US$ 4.00
OM3	5 m	LC to LC	Duplex	LSZH	US$ 4.20
OM3	5 m	LC to LC	Duplex	OFNP	US$ 5.40
OM3	5 m	SC to SC	Simplex	PVC(OFNR)	US$ 2.00
OM3	5 m	SC to SC	Duplex	PVC(OFNR)	US$ 4.00
OM3	5 m	SC to SC	Duplex	LSZH	US$ 4.20
OM3	5 m	SC to SC	Duplex	OFNP	US$ 5.40

OM4 Multimode Fiber Price Comparison

Type	Cable Length	Connector Type	Fiber Count	Jacket Material	Price
OM4	5 m	LC to LC	Duplex	PVC(OFNR)	US$ 5.20
OM4	5 m	LC to LC	Duplex	LSZH	US$ 5.40
OM4	5 m	LC to LC	Duplex	OFNP	US$ 6.60
OM4	5 m	SC to SC	Simplex	PVC(OFNR)	US$ 2.60
OM4	5 m	SC to SC	Duplex	PVC(OFNR)	US$ 5.20
OM4	5 m	SC to SC	Duplex	LSZH	US$ 5.40
OM4	5 m	SC to SC	Duplex	OFNP	US$ 6.60

OM5 Multimode Fiber Price Comparison

Type	Cable Length	Connector Type	Fiber Count	Jacket Material	Price
OM5	5 m	LC to LC	Duplex	PVC(OFNR)	US$ 15.00
OM5	5 m	LC to LC	Duplex	LSZH	US$ 15.00
OM5	5 m	SC to SC	Duplex	PVC(OFNR)	US$ 15.00
OM5	5 m	SC to SC	Duplex	LSZH	US$ 15.00

Different Brands Multimode Fiber Price Comparison

Brand	Type	Cable Length	Connector Type	Fiber Count	Jacket Material	Price
Amazon	OM3	10 m	LC to LC	Duplex	PVC	US$ 36.86
Newegg	OM3	10 m	LC to LC	Duplex	LSZH	US$ 20.32
C2G	OM3	10 m	LC to LC	Duplex	PVC	US$ 40.99
Monoprice	OM3	10 m	LC to LC	Duplex	OFNR	US$ 18.55
FS.COM	OM3	10 m	LC to LC	Duplex	PVC	US$ 5.70

It’s not difficult to find that multimode patch cord price has three grades: OM1 fiber and OM2 fiber, OM3 fiber cable and OM4 fiber cable, OM5 fiber. In addition, duplex multimode patch cable is more expensive than simplex multimode patch cable. As for the comparison among different brands, FS.COM is a great option.

Conclusion

From the above multimode fiber price comparison, we can conclude that multimode fiber cable is a cost-effective cabling solution for network connection over short distance. But before you buy multimode patch cable, you have to make sure which type, connector type or jacket material is suitable for your network building, then choose a cheap one to save cost.

Practical Knowledge About Fiber Optic Cable

The increasing demand of higher bandwidth has become a trend, which push the development of the transmission media. Fiber optic cable is now popular among many users. Consisting of one or more optical fibers, fiber optic cable is used to transmit large amounts of information over longer distances and at higher bandwidths. It plays an important role in optic communication network. This article will focus on practical knowledge about fiber optic cable.

Overview of Fiber Optic Cable

Fiber optic cable has five parts: the core, the cladding, the coating, strengthening fibers and the cable jacket. You can have a basic understanding of the construction of fiber optic cable from the following figure. Fiber optic cable has many types according to different categories, such as singlemode fiber optic cable and multimode fiber optic cable, simplex fiber optic cable and duplex fiber optic cable, indoor cable and outdoor cable, etc. In addition, the common form of fiber optic cable used in networking application is fiber patch cable. Terminated with fiber optic connectors on both ends, fiber patch cable also has many types, such as LC fiber optic cable and SC fiber optic cable.

Advantages And Disadvantages of Fiber Optic Cable

The Advantages of Fiber Optic Cable

• Fiber optic cable has a higher capacity of transmission data rate than most other transmission mediums.
• Fiber optic cable can directly upgrade the transmission capacity without replacing the cable.
• Fiber optic cable is less susceptible to interference.
• Fiber optic cable is secure. It is difficult to tap because it does not emit signals that can be monitored.
• Fiber optic cable is light in weight.

The Disadvantages of Fiber Optic Cable

• Fiber optic cable is expensive—but price has dropped and it becomes more popular.
• Fiber optic cable is difficult to install, because it is susceptible to damage from the environment as well as during the cabling.

Applications of Fiber Optic Cable

Fiber optic cable is widely used in big data center, like 10G, 40G and 100G network, and it is usually used with fiber optic transceiver. Take Ethernet 40G for example, there are 40G QSFP+ SR4 transceiver and 40G QSFP+ LR4 transceiver. The former one is with MTP/MPO interface, so it has to be used with MTP/MPO fiber cable; the latter one is with LC interface, so it has to be used with LC to LC fiber cable single mode.

Fiber optic cable also gains great popularity among home networking users. Recently, some residential internet providers have invested in extending their fiber installations to suburban neighborhoods for direct access by households, such as FTTH (Fiber to the Home) and FTTD (Fiber to the Desk) project.

What’s more, fiber optic cable is applied in different fields, such as mechanical inspections, surgery and dentistry, military and space application, automotive industry, and so on.

Conclusion

As an advanced transmission media, fiber optic cable provides a convenient, cost-effective and easy solution to networking applications. This article mainly introduce the advantages and disadvantages as well as applications of fiber optic cable. And I hope after reading the article, you can have a better understanding of fiber optic cable.

Know More About LC And SC Fiber Patch Cable

Fiber patch cable plays an important role in optical links. It is a fiber optic cable terminated with one fiber optic connector on both ends. Among the various types of fiber patch cables, LC to LC patch cable and SC fiber optic cable are two of the most commonly used fiber patch cables. It is not difficult to understand that the difference between LC and SC fiber patch cable lies in LC connector and SC connector. So, learning about LC connector and SC connector will help you know more about LC and SC fiber patch cable.

Overview of LC Connector And SC Connector

LC connector has a push and latch structure, with plastic shell and accurate 1.25mm ceramic ferrule. It is in small size and has good performance. Standing for Subscriber Connector or Square Connector or Standard Connector, SC connector is a kind of push and pull connector. It has a locking tab which can make accurate alignment through ceramic ferrule. The following figure shows LC connector and SC connector.

Comparison Between LC Connector And SC Connector

This part will make comparison between LC connector and SC connector from three aspects: size, handing and application.

Size: LC connector is half the size of SC connector. The ceramic ferrule of LC connector is 1.25mm, while SC connector’s ceramic ferrule is 2.5mm.

Handing: LC is a push and latch connector while SC is a push and pull connector. You can have better understanding of this from the above figure.

Application: Structured with half the footprint of the SC connector gives LC connector huge popularity in data communication and other high-density patch applications. In addition, the combination of small size and latch feature makes LC connector very popular and widely used for dense installation. While SC connector features low cost, simplicity as well as good durability, and it remains the second most common connector for polarization maintaining applications. The SC connector is ideally suited for data communication and telecommunication applications including point to point and passive optical networking.

Another Fiber Patch Cable

As LC connector and SC connector have their own advantages, both LC patch cable and SC patch cable are widely used in optical network deployment. But, is there a kind of fiber patch cable that combines LC connector and SC connector? The answer is “Yes”. There is a kind of SC to LC patch cable on the market. As the figure below shows, it is a high quality 50/125μm OM4 multimode fiber patch cable. This LC to SC cable is housed in a PVC (OFNR) retardant jacket, with UPC polish. It support 850/1300nm wavelength. It’s a great option for high-speed, high bandwidth transmissions over Gigabit Ethernet/fiber channel networks.

Conclusion

As the demand for higher bandwidth is increasing, fiber patch cable is commonly used in network deployment. Both LC patch cable and SC patch cable are designed to achieve such a kind of transmission, and they have their own advantages. What’s more, LC to SC fiber patch cable is also available to realize the transmission between devices terminated with LC and SC connector.

The Application of Fiber to the Desk (FTTD)

As communication technology develops rapidly, the demand for higher bandwidth is increasing. To solve this problem, optical cable is widely used as the backbone of communications network cabling, especially in big data center. In recent years, projects like FTTH (Fiber to the Home) and FTTB (Fiber to the Building) are carried out to provide better services for customers. To future capitalize on the benefits of optical cable, Fiber to the Desk (FTTD) is recommended for enterprises, financial institutions and federal agencies, which need high security and high data transmission speed. This article will guide you to have a closer look at application of FTTD.

Overview

FTTD refers to the extension of the fiber optic infrastructure directly to user locations, just as the following figure show, optical cables are directly connected to desktops, laptops, or other communications equipment. FTTD can be used for virtual networks using thin clients and LAN networks with extended distances to workstations. It can satisfy the requirement for increasing bandwidth availability, moving large amounts of data at high transmission rates. In addition, it is able to bring service to locations where power is limited or unavailable as well as provide a more secure connection for organizations who are concerned about tapping or other security vulnerabilities.

Advantages

We know that RI45 Ethernet cable can also be used as transmission media. What makes optical cable superior to RJ45 Ethernet cable? This part will show you the advantages of using optical cable for FTTD project.

Security

Optical cable is immune to electromagnetic interference (EMI) and radio-frequency interference (RFI), so it is more difficult for hackers to tap on optical cable. Besides, optical cable uses light that is completely shielded, so hackers would have to physically splice into the line, which is difficult to do and easily detected. While RJ45 Ethernet cable emits electromagnetic signals which allows hackers to read data from nearby without physically touching the lines. In contrast, optical cable is a more secure option for applications concerned with data security.

Bandwidth And Distance

Optical cable is able to support higher data rates than any other cable type, with capacity to transmit up to 100 Gbit/s. As demand for higher bandwidth is ever-growing, optical cable has the absolute advantage. What’s more, connected with appropriate optics, the transmission distance of optical cable can reach dozen kilometers. Although higher grades of RJ45 Ethernet cables can transmit 10G data signals, they will only be able to do so over very short distances. Therefore, optical cable is the best choice for transporting higher speed and higher bandwidth signals over longer distances.

Lower Overall Cost

Optical cable used to be more expensive than RJ45 Ethernet cable. As demand has increased, manufacturing costs have dropped. Also, if properly designed, the FTTD project could be affordable. Apart from this, optical cable can ensure your network cabling can keep up with the growth in network traffic over time and upgrade your network to higher bandwidth in the future without recabling. Considering the cost of cabling, this can be a huge advantage. Though the initial cost of fiber equipment may be slightly higher than copper, the benefits realized can save organizations significant cost in the long term.

Optical cable Vs. RJ45 Ethernet cable

Conclusion

FTTD is a high-bandwidth solution that expands the traditional fiber backbone system by running fiber directly to desktops. FTTD is a horizontal wiring option that pushes the available bandwidth beyond 10G. It is an intriguing, underestimated and overlooked way to create a beneficial system that is expandable and performance-driven. 

Originally published at: http://www.fiber-optical-networking.com/application-fiber-desk-fttd.html

Copper-Based or Fiber-Based Home Network?

In an age of network technology developing rapidly, we enjoy the convenience brought by Internet all the time. We can know what is happening around us by surfing the Internet. Also, we can chat with friends far away from us on the computer. Still, higher bandwidth is needed. We know that fiber optic cable can provide higher bandwidth and longer transmission distance than Ethernet cable. Therefore, many broadband service providers utilize fiber optic cable to serve customers. That’s what we call FTTH (Fiber To the Home) project. According to FTTH project, there are two kinds of home network deployment—copper-based hone network and fiber-based home network. This article will introduce them to you.

Copper-Based Home Network

In order to achieve quick installation, the broadband service provider will set a distribution point near or inside a building. Fiber optic cables are deployed in this building to connect every required house to this fiber distribution point, thus providing broadband services to end users. Usually, we will connect modem to Internet service port through RJ-11 cable or coax cable. Then we connect the modem to the router via Ethernet cable. The router can be connected with multiple Ethernet-ready devices. Finally, the copper-based home network is finished. However, in FTTH project, there is some differences. The fiber distribution cable from the broadband service provider is connected to an ONU (Optical Network Unit) which can convert the optical signals into electrical signals. Then we use Ethernet cable to connect ONU with router as well as router with Ethernet-ready device. At last, copper-based home network in FTTH project is completed. We can easily find that both of them utilize router to connect with Ethernet-ready device via Ethernet cable. However, the differences are that the previous one uses modem to connect with router, while the latter one uses ONU to connect with router.

Fiber-Based Home Network

It is not difficult to understand that in fiber-based home network, fiber optic cable is only used. To complete the deployment, we need some preparations. For connecting a computer directly to a fiber network, we can install a fiber optic PCI Ethernet adapter card which allows you to add a fiber port to your system through an available standard or low-profile PCI slot. And there are different interfaces for the card, such as LC, SC, FC, ST. Therefore, you can install corresponding fiber optic wall plates and use corresponding fiber optic cable. Once the fiber distribution cable is connected with the fiber optic wall plates, you can enjoy Internet with high bandwidth.

Copper-Based or Fiber-Based Home Network?

In fact, many people choose copper-based home network for the lower cost. And they often choose cat5e network cable or cat6 network cable for future-proof. But if you have higher requirement for bandwidth and do not worry about the budget, you can choose fiber-based home network. In addition, you do not have to think about future-proof. Besides, there is another thing that you have to think about carefully—the installation. From the perspective of installation, fiber optic cable is light in weight which makes it easier to handle than Ethernet cable. And it is thin, so it takes up much less space in cabling ducts. However, fiber optic cable is fragile which may be damaged during the installation. What we have discussed are just main differences between copper-based and fiber-based home network. Which one to choose depends on your actual requirement. I hope this article can help you make the right decision.