Acterna enhances Optical Fiber Mapping software
January 18, 2005 Germantown, MD -- Test and measurement equipment provider Acterna today announced that its Optical Fiber Mapping (OFM) software can now help determine the best fiber-optic route to connect two points as well as manage inner duct connections and usage.
Acterna's OFM software already is able to hone in on the exact location of faults, outages, affected nodes, and customer sites, as well as shed light on the entire fiber-optic network. With OFM software, users from different divisions within an organization can also generate customized reports or displays and get the specific information they need. Acterna contends it is the only company offering a comprehensive portfolio addressing all the needs of service providers delivering voice, data, and video over FTTx.
The OFM-500's new features are powerful solutions for both telecommunications and cable operators, both of which utilize next-generation fiber-optic networks. By identifying the best fiber-optic route according to criteria specified by the user--such as the lowest attenuation, the shortest length, or the minimum number of connections--the software eliminates countless hours finding spare fibers in each cable and virtually splicing the fibers. Additionally, in the case of a fiber fault, OFM-500 software finds, in matter of minutes, other optical fiber routes that can be used as a backup.
The software also manages ducts and inner ducts, which is important for operators who want to limit their upfront investment by installing inner ducts that will be filled with cables at a later date when demand increases. For each section of the access network, Acterna's OFM-500 software indicates information regarding the usage of ducts and inner ducts, the cables inside the ducts and inner ducts, and the customers served by those cables. When it is necessary to modify the network for maintenance tasks, the user will know which customers or services are likely to be affected.
"Acterna's OFM-500 software is already ahead of the competition because it can import and view OTDR traces measured in the field, allowing the user to compare the network description recorded in the database with the actual measurements of the network elements," contends Enzo di Luigi, general manager for Acterna's Fiber Optics. "This ensures that what the telecommunications or cable operator sees in its network map is the same as what is actually in the network."
Because of the high fiber density in metro networks, the explosion of high-bandwidth, data-intensive traffic requires connections to be frequently modified. As a result, operators must have up-to-date documentation that includes original schematics created by a designer in paper or electronic formats, maps, photos, plant assets, and network element data. Although installers may make modifications, the documentation is rarely updated because technicians performing regular operation and maintenance (O&M) procedures do not have access to the original files. With minimal information on the as-built network, much of the existing documentation is rendered useless when the network goes down.
The Acterna OFM software can be used as a standalone software package installed on any desktop PC or deployed as a multi-user architecture accessing to centralized database on a server.
OFM can also be integrated with Acterna's Remote Fiber Test System (RFTS) to form the complete Acterna Optical Network Management System (ONMS). With ONMS, continuous monitoring, trouble-ticketing, alarm reporting, and complete performance management with data analysis, statistics, performance, and quality reports are provided. According to the company, the system is DWDM ready and its open architecture provides scalability within the ONMS platform as well as easy integration with other applications.