Connection of Fiber Devices and Troubleshooting Common Failures This guide provides an end-to-end overview of the process, troubleshooting common connectivity issues, and answers to frequently asked questions. 1. Introduction to Sixnet Transceivers and connectors 2. Fiber Transceiver Performance Specifications – Reference Tables 3. Calculating Fiber Optic Distances 4. Troubleshooting an end-to-end fiber connection 5. Frequently Asked Questions Section 1: Introduction to Sixnet Transceivers and Connectors Sixnet offers two distinct types of tranceivers: • 1x9 (SC or ST connectors) • SFP (LC connectors) 1x9 Tranceivers with SC or ST Connectors The 1x9 tranceiver is offered on the fiber optic fast Ethernet (100 Mbps) ports. The notation “1x9” refers to the industry-standard pin-out of 1 row by 9 pins. Sixnet offers these transceivers with dual ST or SC style connectors. They are available as Multimode, Singlemode, or Singlemode Long Haul. Other variations are available as special order. 1x9 Transceiver with SC Connectors 1x9 Transceivers with ST Connectors SFP (Small Form Pluggable) Tranceivers (aka Mini-Gbic) with LC Connectors These tranceivers are offered on the fiber optic gigabit Ethernet (1000 Mbps) ports. These transceivers plug into a cage assembly that is already in place in the Sixnet switch. They are more compact than the more traditional 1x9style transceivers. Sixnet offers these transceivers with dual LC connectors. They are available as Multimode, Singlemode, or Singlemode Long Haul. Other variations such as CDWM (Coarse Wavelength Division Multiplexing) are available as a special order. SOLUTIONS FOR YOUR INDUSTRIAL NETWORKING CHALLENGES Sixnet, LLC 331 Ushers Road Ballston Lake, NY 12019 USA 1.518.877.5173 Fax 1.518.877.8346 www.sixnet.com Name [Date] Page 2 of 7 SFP Transceiver out of cage SFP Transceiver inserted in cage Section 2: Fiber Transceiver Performance Specifications – Reference Tables The following tables give the performance specifications of the fiber tranceivers. SIXNET Fiber Transceivers Performance Specifications Ethernet Type Mode Data Rate (Mbps) Signal Rate (MHz) Wave-length (nm) IEEE Standard Fast Ethernet Multi 100 125 1310 100BaseFX Fast Ethernet Single 100 125 1310 100BaseFX Fast Ethernet Single – long haul 100 125 1310 100BaseFX Gigabit Ethernet Multi 1000 1250 850 1000BaseSX Gigabit Ethernet Single 1000 1250 1310 1000BaseLX Gigabit Ethernet Single – long haul 1000 1250 1310 1000BaseLX Gigabit Ethernet Single – long haul 1000 1250 1550 1000BaseLH Gigabit Ethernet Single – long haul 1000 1250 1550 1000BaseLH SOLUTIONS FOR YOUR INDUSTRIAL NETWORKING CHALLENGES Sixnet, LLC 331 Ushers Road Ballston Lake, NY 12019 USA 1.518.877.5173 Fax 1.518.877.8346 www.sixnet.com Name [Date] Page 3 of 7 SIXNET Fiber Transceivers Performance Specifications (continued) Ethernet Type Mode Fast Ethernet Power Budget (Power - Sensitivity) Transmitter Power* Receiver Sensitivity* Min. Typ. Max. Min. Typ. Max. dB dB dB dB dB dB Typical Worst Multi 14 (-17 minus -31) 10 (-21 minus -31) -21 -17 -14 -- -34 -31 Fast Ethernet Single 20 (-11 minus -31) 16 (-15 minus -31) -15 -11 -8 -- -36 -31 Fast Ethernet SingleLong haul 31 (-3 minus -34) 29 (-5 minus -34) -5 -3 0 -- -36 -34 Gigabit Ethernet Multi 12 (-6 minus -18) 9 (-9 minus -18) -9 -6 -3 -- -- -18 Gigabit Ethernet Single 14 (-6 minus -20) 11 (-9 minus -20) -9 -6 -3 -- -- -20 Gigabit Ethernet SingleLong haul 22 (-1 minus -23) 19 (-4 minus -23) -4 -1 2 -- -- -23 Gigabit Ethernet SingleLong haul 22 (-1 minus -23) 19 (-4 minus -23) -4 -1 2 -- -- -23 Gigabit Ethernet SingleLong haul 25 (2 minus -23) 23 (0 minus -23) 0 2 5 -- -- -23 * For transmitter power, the higher the number the better. The opposite is true for receiver sensitivity, the lower the number the better. Fiber Cable Parameters (typical) Cable Size Wavelength (core/cladding) Mode (nm) (µm) Connector Losses (dB per connection) Splice Loses (db per splice) Distance Losses (dB per km) Multimode Singlemode Modal Dispersion Dispersion (ps / nm x km) (MHz x km) 62.5/125 µm Multi 850 nm 1 dB 0.2 dB 3.3 dB 300 -- 50/125 µm Multi 850 nm 1 dB 0.2 dB 2.7 dB 700 -- 62.5/125 µm Multi 1310 nm 1 dB 0.2 dB 1 dB 500 -- 50/125 µm Multi 1310 nm 1 dB 0.2 dB 0.8 dB 800 -- 9/125 µm Single 1310 nm 1 dB 0.2 dB 0.5 dB -- 3.5 9/125 µm Single 1550 nm 1 dB 0.2 dB 0.25 dB -- 19 SOLUTIONS FOR YOUR INDUSTRIAL NETWORKING CHALLENGES Sixnet, LLC 331 Ushers Road Ballston Lake, NY 12019 USA 1.518.877.5173 Fax 1.518.877.8346 www.sixnet.com Name [Date] Page 4 of 7 8/125 µm Single 1550 nm 1 dB 0.2 dB 0.2 dB -- 19 NOTE: The parameters listed in this table are guideline numbers only. Refer to your cable specifications for more accurate values. Section 3: Calculating Fiber Optic Distances There are two primary ways to calculate how far you can go with your fiber optic links. To be safe, you should go by the shortest result from the two methods, if you use both such as you can with Multimode fiber. Also, you should design for up to a 25% safety margin to be conservative and allow for degradation of the signal and cable over time. Method 1: Modal Dispersion for Multimode Links Only Maximum Distance = modal Dispersion / Signal rate Cable Diameter (µm) Modal Dispersion Signal Rate (MHz) Max. Distance Based on Modal Dispersion Speed Wavelength Mode (nm) Fast Ethernet Multi 850 nm 62.5/125 300 125 2.4 km Fast Ethernet Multi 850 nm 50/125 700 125 5.6 km Fast Ethernet Multi 1310 nm 62.5/125 500 125 4 km Fast Ethernet Multi 1310 nm 50/125 800 125 6.4 km Gigabit Ethernet Multi 850 nm 62.5/125 300 1250 240 m Gigabit Ethernet Multi 850 nm 50/125 700 1250 560 m Gigabit Ethernet Multi 1310 nm 62.5/125 500 1250 400 m Gigabit Ethernet Multi 1310 nm 50/125 800 1250 640 m SOLUTIONS FOR YOUR INDUSTRIAL NETWORKING CHALLENGES Sixnet, LLC 331 Ushers Road Ballston Lake, NY 12019 USA 1.518.877.5173 Fax 1.518.877.8346 www.sixnet.com Name [Date] Page 5 of 7 Method 2: Based on Optical Budget Power Budget = Transmitter Power - Receiver Sensitivity Spare Optical Budget = Power Budget - Power Losses (splices and connectors) Maximum Distance = Spare Optical Budget / Distance Losses Power Budget Typical Spare Distance Max. (Worst Losses* Power Losses Distance case) Speed WaveMode Cable Size length Fast Ethernet Multi 62.5/125 µm 1310 nm 10 dB 6 dB 4 dB 1 dB 4 km Fast Ethernet Multi 50/125 µm 1310 nm 10 dB 6 dB 4 dB 0.8 dB 5 km Fast Ethernet Single 9/125 µm 1310 nm 16 dB 6 dB 10 dB 0.5 dB 20 km Fast Long haul 9/125 µm 1310 nm Ethernet 29 dB 6 dB 23 dB 0.5 dB 46 km Gigabit Ethernet Multi 62.5/125 µm 850 nm 9 dB 6 dB 3 dB 3.3 dB 0.9 km Gigabit Ethernet Multi 50/125 µm 850 nm 9 dB 6 dB 3 dB 2.7 dB 1.1 km Gigabit Ethernet Single 9/125 µm 1310 nm 11 dB 6 dB 5 dB 0.5 dB 10 km Gigabit Long haul 9/125 µm 1310 nm Ethernet 19 dB 6 dB 13 dB 0.5 dB 26 km Gigabit Long haul 9/125 µm 1310 nm Ethernet 19 dB 6 dB 13 dB 0.25 dB 52 km Gigabit Long haul 9/125 µm 1310 nm Ethernet 23 dB 6 dB 17 dB 85 km 0.2 dB *Typical losses include 2 dB (two connectors), 3 dB (safety margin) and 0.4 (two splices) = 6 dB (rounded up) Example An industrial user has a series of Ethernet devices operational at Location A. They are building a new facility 8km away. At this distance they are certainly going to have to plan on using single mode fiber. They want to transmit (or plan to transmit) at Gigabit speeds. The SM fiber that they have decided to use attenuates at a rate of .3dB/km. There will be 3 splices along the route and then connectors at each end. Cable attenuation = 8km x .3dB/km = 2.4dB Splice loss = 3 splices x .2dB/splice = .6dB SOLUTIONS FOR YOUR INDUSTRIAL NETWORKING CHALLENGES Sixnet, LLC 331 Ushers Road Ballston Lake, NY 12019 USA 1.518.877.5173 Fax 1.518.877.8346 www.sixnet.com Name [Date] Page 6 of 7 Connector loss = 2 connectors x 1dB/connector = 2dB Total loss along physical link = 5dB Safety factor of 25% = 1.25dB Total loss budget = 6.25dB Looking at the Gigabit fiber transceiver performance specifications, we can see that the single mode Gigabit fiber transceiver has a worst-case power budget of 11dB so this should work satisfactorily in this proposed fiber link. Fiber Optic Maximum Distance Summary Max. Distance Max. Distance Based on Based on Power Modal Budget* Dispersion* Speed IEEE WaveMode Cable Size Recommended length Distance Fast Ethernet Multi 62.5/125 µm 1310 nm 2 km 4 km 4 km Fast Ethernet Multi 50/125 µm 1310 nm 2 km 5 km 6.4 km Fast Single Ethernet 9/125 µm 1310 nm 15 km 20 km -- -- 46 km -- Fast Long haul 9/125 µm 1310 nm Ethernet Gigabit Ethernet Multi 62.5/125 µm 850 nm 220 m 0.9 km 240 m Gigabit Ethernet Multi 50/125 µm 850 nm 550 m 1.1 km 560 m Gigabit Single Ethernet 9/125 µm 1310 nm 5 km 10 km -- Gigabit Long haul 9/125 µm 1310 nm Ethernet -- 26 km -- Gigabit Long haul 9/125 µm 1310 nm Ethernet -- 52 km -- Gigabit Long haul 9/125 µm 1310 nm Ethernet 70 km 85 km -- * The maximum distance numbers are guidelines only. They are highly dependent on your cable and transceiver specifications. SOLUTIONS FOR YOUR INDUSTRIAL NETWORKING CHALLENGES Sixnet, LLC 331 Ushers Road Ballston Lake, NY 12019 USA 1.518.877.5173 Fax 1.518.877.8346 www.sixnet.com Name [Date] Page 7 of 7 Section 4: Troubleshooting an End-to-End Fiber Connection To troubleshoot an end-to-end fiber connection, do the following: 1. Make sure that all of your connectors are clean. Even a little bit of dust, dirt or grease on a connector face can significantly degrade a fiber signal. This includes the main fiber optic link as well as any patch cables that you may be using. When cleaning, it is important to use lint-free swabs or wipes, preferably of a clean room quality. These can be used dry or wet (with 99% isopropyl alcohol solutions). • Make certain that you are not cleaning an active fiber, as the laser can cause permanent damage to your eyes should you look into the end face. • Additionally, it is not necessary to scrub the end face, rather to just gently wipe it clean and then double-check the link. If additional cleaning is required simply repeat this process. 2. Ensure that the cable type you are using matches the transceiver type. That is, Multimode cable requires Multimode transceivers, and Singlemode cable requires Singlemode transceivers. 3. Ensure that the patch cords you are using match the fiber link cable. Again, Multimode needs to be used with Multimode, and Singlemode needs to be used with Singlemode. Additionally, it is important that 62.5um is used with 62.5um and 50um used with 50um. If the fiber cores are not aligned correctly significant attenuation will occur. 4. Make sure that all connectors are plugged completely into their proper ports. Again, if end faces are not lined up correctly with transceivers and/or mated fiber ends, the system may fail due to excess attenuation. 5. Make sure that the transmit cable at the near end is the receive cable at the far end. There needs to be a crossover for a fiber link to work correctly. Be sure to factor in all patch cords that may be used. Section 5: Frequently Asked Questions Q: I see no link activity on the fiber transceiver(s). A: Please see Section 4 above. Q: Can I connect a device with an SC or ST connector on one end to a device that has an LC connector on the other end? A: Yes, many vendors sell fiber optic cables with different connector types on each end. Q: Do we sell fiber optic cable, or do we recommend a specific vendor? A: No, Sixnet does not sell fiber optic cable nor do we recommend a specific vendor. Q: I have tried all the steps in Section 4, but they still have only intermittent or no communications on the link. Is there anything else I can do? A: Please send a complete description of the problem, model number, and the date code/serial number of the unit to [email protected] to be issued an RMA number for the evaluation and repair of the unit. SOLUTIONS FOR YOUR INDUSTRIAL NETWORKING CHALLENGES Sixnet, LLC 331 Ushers Road Ballston Lake, NY 12019 USA 1.518.877.5173 Fax 1.518.877.8346 www.sixnet.com