What Is Pre-terminated Cabling System in Essence?

As 40G and 100G have been applied in data centers to satisfy the demands of massive data transmission, high-density cabling system has become a common phenomenon. Solutions characterized by quick installation are preferred since they can save time and money. Pre-terminated cabling system has come into data center managers’ sight in recent years, because it can provide quick, plug-and-play network deployment for structure cabling. Then, what is pre-terminated cabling system in essence? And what we can expect from this cabling alternative? The information about pre-terminated cabling system will be fully covered in this article.

Overview of Pre-terminated Cabling System

Pre-terminated cabling system refers to factory manufactured cables and modular components with connectors already attached. Usually those cables and modular components have been tested, qualified and are ready to plug and play in network deployment. In addition, they are available in both fiber and copper cabling. Pre-terminated cabling system simplifies the installation of network devices by providing high-density and plug-and-play solution. Pre-terminated assemblies come in various forms, such as MTP trunk cable, MTP fanout cable or MTP breakout cable, MTP fiber optic cassette and pre-terminated cable bundles with protective pulling grips installed over the connectors at one end (shown as the following figure).

Advantages of Pre-terminated Cabling System

Pre-terminated cabling system can bring a raft of advantages to cable installers and end-users.

Time Saving

The high speed deployment offered by pre-terminated cabling system is an equally important feature which helps to save time in various ways. The quick plug-in connections of network devices allow fiber and copper links to be installed in significantly less time than traditional field-terminated links. In addition, since the assemblies are factory terminated, the transmission testing is performed by the manufacturer before shipment. This greatly saves testing and troubleshooting time. Also, pre-terminated assemblies are factory terminated which reduce many of the problems that may occur with field terminations.

Space Saving

For data centers, the available space for high-density cabling is always precious. Components that contributes to promoting space utilization will gain popularity among data center managers. With massive cables being adopted in the data centers to carry out data transmission, pre-terminated assemblies offer cabling with much higher density and flexibility for data center upgrades.

Labor Saving

With pre-terminated assemblies, you don’t need as many on-site engineers pulling cables in and terminating them. As the pre-terminated links have been pre-tested, this vastly mitigates the need for troubleshooting and retesting.

Cooling Advantage

It is necessary to pay attention to heating and cooling issues in high-density cabling environment. Pre-terminated cabling system allows much more flexibility in configuration for installers working in compact space. It is also able to optimize airflow by using pre-terminated assemblies such as MTP trunk cable and MPO cassette, in conjunction with high density frames.

Applications of Pre-terminated Cabling System

Pre-terminated cabling system is commonly used in two fields: data center and open office. In response to the accelerated network capacity and application processing demands, data centers are expanding dramatically both in number and size. Pre-terminated cabling system provides an ideal plug-and-play solution for links between switches, servers, patch panels, and zone distribution areas in the data center. The open office also benefits from the pre-terminated cabling system which can be quickly reconfigured to match the moves, adds and changes. Pre-terminated cabling system offers unsurpassed advantages over conventional field installed system, which partially explains why the use of factory pre-terminated assemblies continues to grow, especially for data centers.

Conclusion

With several advantages of time saving, space saving, labor saving and cooling, pre-terminated cabling system provides an increasingly popular way of delivering a project in a more timely and cost effective manner. If your data center or network application needs speed and testing simplified installation, pre-termination cabling system is an ideal choice.

Overview of MPO/MTP Cabling Solutions for 40G And 100G Ethernet

With the development of network technology, the demand for high-speed data transmission and data capacity is becoming much greater than ever before. As many data centers are in the process of 10G to 40G and 100G migration, the optical components applied in the cabling system have to be upgraded to meet the requirements. MPO/MTP cabling solutions are gradually popular among data center managers, since they can provide fast installation, high density and high performance cabling for data centers. This article is going to focus on some components used in MPO/MTP cabling solutions and advantages of MPO/MTP cabling solutions.

Components Used in MPO/MTP Cabling Solutions

MPO/MTP Connector

MPO (multi-fiber push on) connector is a multi-fiber connector which is most commonly defined by two documents: one is IEC-61754-7, the commonly sited standard for MPO connectors internationally; the other one is EIA/TIA-604-5, also known as FOCIS 5, the most common standard sited for in the US. Based on MT ferrule, MPO connector is designed to to enable multi-fiber connectivity for higher density, higher bandwidth based applications. MTP (multi-fiber termination push on) connector is a high performance MPO connector with multiple engineered product enhancements to improve optical and mechanical performance when compared to generic MPO connector. In addition, MTP connector is in complete compliance with all MPO connector standards. Here shows a picture of MPO/MTP connector for you.

MPO/MTP Trunk Cable

MPO/MTP trunk cable, terminated with MPO/MTP connectors at both ends, is available with 12, 24, 48, and 72 fibers. It can create the permanent fiber links between panels in a structured environment. And it is typically used as backbone or horizontal cable interconnections. With efficient plug and play architecture, MPO/MTP trunk cable can greatly reduce the installation and maintenance costs. Here is a figure of MPO/MTP trunk cables for you.

MPO/MTP Harness Cable

MPO/MTP harness cable, also named MTP/MPO fanout cable or MPO/MTP breakout cable, is terminated with a male/female MTP connector on one side and several duplex LC/SC connectors on the other side, providing a transmission from multi-fiber cables to individual fibers or duplex connectors. It is typically used to connect equipment in racks to MPO/MTP terminated backbone cables. MPO/MTP harness cable is designed for high density applications which require high performance and speedy installation without on-site termination. From the figure below, you can have a deep understanding of the structure of MPO/MTP harness cable.

MPO/MTP Cassette

MPO/MTP cassette is a modular module, which enables users to take the fibers brought by a trunk cable and distribute them to a duplex cable. Loaded with 12 or 24 fibers, LC or SC adapters on the front side and MPO/MTP at the rear, MPO/MTP cassette serves to transition ribbon cables terminated with MPO/MTP connector to the more common LC or SC interface used on the transceiver terminal equipment. This kind of cassette provides a quick and efficient way to deploy up to 24 LC or 12 SC fiber ports in a single module. To better understand the inner structure of MPO/MTP cassette, here is a figure for you.

Advantages of MPO/MTP Cabling Solutions

First, designed with a simple push-pull latching mechanism, MPO/MTP products can realize easy and intuitive insertion and removal. Second, with the same size as a SC connector, the MPO/MTP connector can accommodate 12/24 fibers, which provides 12/24 times the density and greatly saves the rack space. Third, as the installation process of MPO/MTP products is simple and easy, the installation time involving a costly highly qualified workforce can be reduced to a minimum. Fourth, most MPO/MTP products are modular solutions, which can be a good choice to ease future expansion and for quick and easy system reconfiguration.

Conclusion

With the advent and popularity of cloud computing and big data, 40G and 100G Ethernet is now a trend and hotspot for data center cabling system. Since MPO/MTP connectors are the up-and-coming standard optical interface for 40G and 100G Ethernet network, it is predicted that MPO/MTP cabling solutions will eventually flood the data center. After all, the high fiber count in one connector creates endless possibilities.