AUGUST 24, 2006 -- Berk-Tek and Ortronics/Legrand say they have simplified structured cabling system planning through their new fiber-optic cable plant loss budget calculator. Moving beyond simple attenuation and insertion loss considerations, the new tool demonstrates the advantages of utilizing low differential mode delay (DMD) optical fiber coupled with reduced modal noise connections, say the companies.
Berk-Tek's and Ortronics' NetClear MM10 fiber solution is designed to reduce Inter-Symbol Interference (ISI) penalties associated with high-speed transmission systems, such as 10GBASE-SR. 10GBASE-SR is the IEEE standard for multimode 10-Gigabit Ethernet operating at the 850-nm wavelength.
"Taking advantage of these technologies provides significant increases in the cable plant loss budget, allowing additional insertion loss headroom, critically important for today's most advanced 10-Gbit/sec systems," explains Todd Harpel, director of marketing, Berk-Tek. "Through extensive research and testing in our data communication competency centers, Berk-Tek and Ortronics/Legrand are introducing an exciting new tool to simplify the design process for system designers, consultants, and end-users who are creating today's most advanced enterprise networks," he adds.
Relying upon the Differential Mode Delay (DMD) characteristics of 50-micron laser-optimized multimode fibers (LOMF) such as Berk-Tek's GIGAlite-10 and GIGAlite-10XB, a portion of the loss penalty reserved by the IEEE for ISI can be reassigned to the channel's total allowable cable and connection loss budget.
"This improvement in budget translates into higher pass/fail limits and/or flexible systems with additional connector mated pairs such as those found in pre-terminated 'ready to connect systems' such as the Ortronics Momentum cassette-based system," notes Mike Hines, director of fiber systems and products, Ortronics/Legrand. "This plug-in and go approach is significant in the design of data centers where there are short link length requirements, a need for rapid installation, and frequent moves, adds, and changes."
The cable plant loss calculator was developed with simplicity and user friendliness in mind, say the companies. The Microsoft Excel-basedItool can be downloaded from the NetClear Alliance Website.
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