Less fibers, more performance: New singlemode version creates high bandwidth for even longer distances
Augsburg, December 7, 2017 – Rosenberger Optical Solutions & Infrastructure (Rosenberger OSI), manufacturer of innovative cabling infrastructures based on fiber optics, is announcing that the PreCONNECT® OCTO product, a comprehensive system for structured parallel optical data transmission cabling, is now also available in a singlemode version. “Our new solution creates a powerful and efficient multi-fiber cabling product by using eight fibers per MTP® connection, achieving optimal results through cost and attenuation reduction,” explains Thomas Schmidt, Managing Director of Rosenberger OSI. Parallel optical data transmission for datacenter cabling used to be the domain of multimode cabling, performed via the Ethernet applications 40 GBE-SR4, 100 GBE-SR10, 100 GBE-SR4 or the fiber channel application 4x16 GFC. However, since the length limits of these protocols on multimode fibers are, depending on the protocol, at most 150 meters (IEEE 802.3), they quickly led to limitations in the cabling structure – even within data centers. Thus, it was to be expected that the technology would be extended to singlemode applications.
Larger Distances as well as more economic prices possible
Rosenberger OSI has thus extended its PreCONNECT® SR4 cabling concept to singlemode applications under the name PreCONNECT® OCTO, to tackle these new challenges with a holistic approach: With the Ethernet transmission protocol 100 GBE-PSM4, the constraining length limitation of the multimode version is removed. PSM4 technology has been developed as a cost-effective singlemode solution, which can position itself between the multimode solutions and the longer-range 100 GBE-LR4 transmission, and can handle 500 meter transmission at 3.26 dB channel attenuation (IEEE 802.3bm).
Twelve fibers become eight
Parallel optical data transmissions based on the SR4 protocols only connect eight fibers, even if the MTP® 12x connector is used as an interface. Modern cabling infrastructures for parallel optical data transmissions thus only use cables with eight fibers or a multiple thereof, instead of the formerly common twelve fibers for MTP®-based cabling solutions.
Flexible and easy to install
The Rosenberger OSI system consists of MTP® trunks (male), MTP® patch cords (female), MTP® type B adapters for multimode and type A adapters for singlemode in SMAP-G2 housing. Applications for the system include Ethernet 40 and 100 GBASE-SR4, Fiber Channel 4 x 16G and 4 x 32G, InfiniBand 4x and 100G PSM4. The advantages of the system are reflected in the cost reduction, which has been achieved in various ways, such as the omission of module cassettes and the above-described use of 8 fibers instead of 12. The plug & play system ensures safe installation, and the products used are backward compatible. In addition, the singlemode variant is characterized by reduced insertion loss and migration flexibility.
Future-proof and efficient cabling
“The length limitations of the transmission protocols mentioned above are an essential element even in the planning of data centers. For the future-proof and efficient design of cabling infrastructure connections, it must be underlined that it is the precise analysis of the protocols already used today and the developments to be expected over the next few years that are of crucial importance,” concludes Schmidt.
