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fiber optic cables...is there a best kind?

MZydorczyk2
Level 1
Level 1

My boss mentioned that he saw information on fiber cables and that there are certain cable type that are the best for 10 Gigabit Ethernet. He said that some might even have a color coding such as one's from Belkin. Anyone have any knowledge of this? Thanks.

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The fiber only carries what is being placed on it. 10GE copper links use 4 channels to make up the total bandwidth. However for fiber it is a full duplex media and will provide to you full 10Gbps bandwidth. Just make sure that you match the correct fiber to the type of GBIC that you are using...

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9 Replies 9

pciaccio
Level 4
Level 4

Fiber Optics come in 2 flavors Multi-Mode and Single Mode. Useally Multi-Mode is an Orange colored cable and Single Mode is a Yellow colored cable. The difference is that Multi-Mode has an optical diameter on the cable in the range of 50um to 62.5um. Single Mode fiber has a diameter of 8um. This means that in Multimode you have a larger optical diameter thus multiple wavelengths can travel through it causing more degradation of the signal.Multi mode costs less then single mode cable. You have more optical dispersion loss using mutlimode fiber. Single mode fiber only allows for 1 wavelength to travel across it meaning less of a loss of signal without a repeater. You can also go about 2km with multimode fiber as apposed to 24km with single mode. Single mode fiber is predominantly used by carriers as their OC-48 and above handoffs. Multimode fibers are used for OC-3's Gig-E and 10GE links within campus environments. Hope this clarifies things... Pls rate...

Actually I am aware of the single and multimode aspects but is there any other cable type designations? My boss said that he read that not all fiber cables give you "true" 10Gb ethernet.

The fiber only carries what is being placed on it. 10GE copper links use 4 channels to make up the total bandwidth. However for fiber it is a full duplex media and will provide to you full 10Gbps bandwidth. Just make sure that you match the correct fiber to the type of GBIC that you are using...

Ok thanks

I think what you're looking for is laser-optimized multi-mode fiber. Standard multi-mode fiber designed for LED sources won't carry laser signals very far due to differential mode delay (DMD). Laser-optimized MM fiber reduces DMD and is rated by the distance it will carry a 10 Gbps signal (350 meters, 500 meters, etc.) It's also backward-compatible with LED signal sources.

Just about any modern single-mode fiber in good condition will carry a 10 Gbps signal, assuming the system's loss budget is respected.

Singlemode fibers can also support multiple wavelengths using WDM (Wave Division Multiplexing).

The following link will help you review some of the 10GE options. Most the the decision of fiber is based on cost (optics are more expensive for singlemode fiber) plus link lengths.

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps6574/index.html

Actually, single mode fiber costs less than multi mode fiber.

'single mode fiber costs less' but the optics for single mode fiber cost more.

Correct, and single mode fiber should not be used on a multimode receiver.

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