Friday, May 15, 2020

Picking out Fiber Optic Cable

There are many different types of fiber optic cable.  FiberCables.com stocks hundreds of varieties and we can custom build thousands of other types. 

The sheer number of options can be overwhelming to people that don't work with fiber optic cable regularly.  So here are some common questions.

 fiber optics technician

Do you need singlemode or multimode fiber optic cable?

If you already have a cable and you need more of it, you can usually tell the type of cable by the color of it.  Single-mode cable is typically yellow.  Multi-mode cable (either 62.5 micron or 50 micron) is usually orange.  And 10GB multi-mode cable is usually aqua.

If you don't know the color, you have to find some sort of documentation that describes the type of cable you need.  Below are some terms and the type of cable they are usually associated with.

OS1, OS2, 9 micron, 9µm, 9/125 = Singlemode
OM1, 62.5 micron, 62.5µm, 62.5/125 = Multi-mode 62.5
OM2, 50 micron, 50µ, 50/125 = Multi-mode 50
OM3, 10GB, 10gig, 50 micron, 50µm, 50/125 = 10GB Multi-mode
As you can see, it can be a bit confusing since both 50 micron and 62.5 micron are multi-mode and are orange.  It's also confusing because 50 micron cable can also be 10GB aqua cable.  In cases where it isn't clear, you may have to find documentation for the hardware you are using to figure out what you really need.

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