Products also available in OM5

Rosenberger OSI products now also available in OM5

 

New multimode fiber type allows transmission of 100 GB Ethernet over two fibers

Augsburg, April 11, 2018 – Rosenberger Optical Solutions & Infrastructure (Rosenberger OSI), manufacturer of innovative fiber optic cabling infrastructures, announces that with immediate effect all products are available using OM5 upon request. In doing so, the cabling specialist is following the current standard. The new OM5 products can transmit 100 gigabit Ethernet over two fibers, enabling simultaneous data transmission over four different wavelengths. “In view of steadily growing data rates, we are pre-emptively offering our customers forward-looking infrastructure solutions,” explains Thomas Schmidt, Managing Director of Rosenberger OSI.

OM5 was established in October 2017 as the cabling classification standard for broadband multimode optical fibers. The designation is also intended for inclusion in the issuances of the standardization organizations ISO/IEC 11801, DIN EN 50173-1 and ANSI/TIA-568.3-D.

100 gigabit Ethernet with OM5 fibers

The OM5 fiber is capable of transmitting up to 100 gigabits per second per fiber pair using SWDM (shortwave wavelength division multiplexing) technology. With SWDM technology, four data streams of 25 gigabits per second (100 GB Ethernet) can be transmitted over four different wavelengths (850, 880, 910 and 940 nm). This requires special multimode fibers that can transmit the different wavelengths to approximately the same degree. The new OM5 fibers are optimized for light with a wavelength of 850 to 950 nm. With the new Ethernet variant and OM5 fibers, 100 gigabits per second would then be possible over a maximum line length of 150 meters using only two fibers and LC duplex connectors as the device interface. Taking parallel optical transmission over eight fibers into account, which is also now possible for the OM5 fiber, this results in a data rate of 400 gigabits per second.

Application in building cabling and data centers

Usage scenarios for 100 gigabit Ethernet over two OM5 multimode fibers include high-performance switches and for connecting high-performance servers. With a cable length of 150 meters, OM5 products are also suitable for multi-floor building cabling or server rooms. By contrast, 400 gigabit Ethernet with a total of eight OM5 fibers are predestined for use in data centers, with their enormous data throughput.

Huge transmission lengths even with 10 Gbit technology

In general, SWDM using 10 Gbit/s technology can also be run over OM3 and OM4. The maximum achievable transmission lengths are 240 meters over OM3 and 350 meters over OM4. The OM5 fiber, which has been specially developed for this application, has in comparison a significantly greater transmission length of 440 meters. Transmission lengths of 500 meters with 40 Gbit/s data transmission and 300 meters transmission lengths with 100 Gbit/s data transmission over an OM5 fiber have already been achieved in the laboratory and at trade fairs.

Conclusion

“All considerations should take into account that the advantages of OM5 fiber can currently only be exploited with SWDM technology. For all other multimode applications, OM4 fiber is still the fiber of choice,” concludes the managing director.