How To Choose The Best Fiber Optical Jumper for Your Network?

The main types of fiber optical jumper are OM1, OM2, OM3, OM4 and OS2 single mode. There are other types as SC, ST, FC, LC, MTRJ and E2000, etc. . When the actual application has no fixed choice, you need to choose according to your own actual use situation.

How do you select the correct fiber optic jumper for your network? Follow these six steps.

Step 1: Choose the correct connector type (LC / SC / ST / FC / MPO / MTP)

Different connectors are used to plug in different devices. If the ports of the two devices are the same, we can use LC-LC / SC-SC / MPO-MPO jumpers. If you want to connect devices with different port types, LC-SC / LC-ST / LC-FC jumpers should be suitable for you.

Step 2: Choose between single-mode and multi-mode fiber optic cable type

Single-mode fiber patch cords use 9/125um fiber, and multi-mode fiber patch cords use 50/125um or 62.5/125um fiber. Single-mode fiber jumpers are mainly used for long-distance data transmission. Multimode fiber jumpers are mainly used for short-distance transmission. The sheath of general single-mode fiber jumpers is yellow, while the sheath of multi-mode fiber jumpers is orange or blue.

Step 3: Choose between simplex and duplex fiber optic cable type

Simplex means that this fiber optic patch cord has only one fiber optic cable and only one fiber optic connector at each end, which is used for bidirectional BIDI optical modules. Duplex can be seen as two fiber jumpers side by side, used for ordinary optical modules.

Step 4: Choose the correct jumper length (1m / 5m / 10m / 20m / 30m / 50m)

The length of the fiber jumper is different, usually 0.5m to 100m. You should select the appropriate cable length according to the distance between the devices to be connected.

Step 5: Choose the correct connector polishing type (UPC / APC)

Since the loss of the APC connector is lower than the loss of the UPC connector, the optical performance of the APC connector is generally better than that of the UPC connector. In the current market, APC connectors are widely used in applications that are more sensitive to return loss such as FTTx, Passive Optical Network (PON) and Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM). However, APC connectors are usually more expensive than UPC connectors, so you should consider whether you need APC connectors according to your actual situation. For those applications that require high-precision optical fiber signals, APC should be the first consideration, but other less sensitive systems will also perform well using UPC. Generally, the color of the fiber jumper using APC connector is green, and the color of using UPC connector is blue.

Step 6: Choose the right fiber jumper sheath (PVC / LSZH / OFNP / armored)

Generally, there are three types of jumper sheaths: PVC, LSZH, OFNP. The jumper sheath made of PVC material is common to everyone, with average fire resistance and the lowest price; LSZH jumper sheath is made of low-smoke and halogen-free materials, which is environmentally friendly and flame-retardant, but the price is more expensive; OFNP jumper The wire sheath refers to the American Fire Protection Commission standard, which can be flame retardant. This material will automatically extinguish when it leaves the fire source. It is the most expensive and suitable for large data centers. You can choose according to your own situation.

In addition to the above three jumpers, there is another armored fiber optic jumper. Its steel sleeve structure can protect the fragile optical fiber very well, and the bending resistance is relatively strong. Such jumpers can withstand higher pressure, so they are suitable for routing along the floor and other areas that may be trampled on. This kind of optical fiber jumper also has the advantages of strong abrasion resistance, anti-pull, anti-rat bite and so on.