How to Choose High Quality MPO|MTP® Fiber Patch Cable?

MTP®|MPO fiber patch cable plays an important role in high-speed, high-density data center cabling. The materials of MPO fiber cable determine the stability and durability of network. Thus, how to choose high quality MTP®|MPO cable? Get guidelines in this post.

Factors to Choose High-quality MTP®|MPO Cable

To purchase the best MTP® cable, many factors can be taken into consideration. Below are five main features that a high-quality MTP®/MPO fiber patch cord should have.

1) Brand Fiber Core Can Ensure the Optimized Performance

MTP®|MPO optic patch cord is usually deployed in compact spaces such as fiber optic distribution boxes, data center cabinets or etc. In these cases, the fiber optic cores will be bent at a small angle, which requires the fiber optic to have a certain bending radius. If inferior optical fiber is used, fiber patch cord will often cause signal loss and cause a high transmission interruption rate. Using well-known brand optical fiber can significantly enhance the bending performance, greatly reducing the risk of signal loss, and achieve faster and more convenient fiber optic cabling wiring and installation. Therefore, it is particularly important to choose a branded optical fiber core for MTP|MPO fiber patch cords.

2)Meet Industry-standard MTP®|MPO Fiber Connectors

MTP®|MPO fiber optic connectors can pack 8, 12, 16, 24, or even more fibers into one ferrule to increase fiber optic cabling density, so it is popular in data centers where space is limited. Industry-recognized MTP®|MPO fiber connectors, such as US Conec's MTP® fiber connector, can ensure high-quality physical contact between end faces by providing precise alignment of the female and male sides, reducing insertion loss and return loss, thereby improving the high-quality transmission of optical signals. The MTP® fiber connector has a rugged structure and is durable enough to meet hundreds of mating cycles. The joint of the fiber connector and the wire uses use round multi-core cables that can be routed and mechanically loaded from any direction of the MTP® connector port, making cable installation easier. Therefore, it is also important to purchase a good quality MTP®|MPO fiber optic connector.

3)Low Insertion Loss Is a Key Factor

Insertion loss (IL) is one of the key factors affecting the performance of fiber optic networks. The smaller the insertion loss, the better the performance of the network. Generally, the insertion loss of MTP®|MPO multimode patch cable is below 0.6dB, and the insertion loss of single-mode MTP®|MPO fiber patch cord is below 0.75dB. For high-quality single-mode and multi-mode MTP®|MPO patch cord, the insertion loss is usually required to be within 0.35dB. Therefore, it is critical to choose the right one according to the actual needs of the network. When choosing MTP® optical patch cord, you can choose suppliers that provide insertion loss test reports.

4)Flame Retardant Grade Is Necessary to Consider

The jacket of the MTP®|MPO fiber jumper can be made of different materials, and different materials have different corresponding fire resistance and are suitable for various scenarios, including PVC, OFNR, OFNP, LSZH, etc. most of which have good flame retardant properties. If there are higher requirements for the installation environment, such as suspended ceilings or raised floors, it is recommended to choose fiber patch cord with higher flame retardant grades. When purchasing MTP®|MPO fiber optic patch cord, first check their flame retardant ratings and select the appropriate optic patch cords based on the protective jacket of the fiber optic patch cord and the actual applicable environment of the flame retardant ratings.

5)Strict Fiber Cable Test Should Be Taken

① End-face inspection: To ensure that the fiber optic connector has qualified or higher performance, the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) has developed the IEC 61300-3-35 standard to define whether the connector end-face is qualified. The end-face of the MTP®|MPO fiber patch cord connector is divided into four areas: the core area, the cladding area, the glue edge area, and the ferrule surface. It has requirements for scratches and defects in each area inside the connection. Scratches represent permanent linear surface features. Defects include all detectable nonlinear features on the optical fiber, including particles, other debris, pits, debris, edge fragmentation, etc. The cleaner the end-face, the better the cable quality. Therefore, to buy the best MTP|MPO cable, you should choose a fiber optic patch cord that passes the end-face inspection.

②Interference (3D) geometric dimension detection: According to the geometric parameter requirements of the MTP®|MPO fiber optic patch cord connector defined by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), whether the fiber optic line can be successfully connected depends on the quality of the optical fiber, but the quality of this fiber optic patch cord is determined by the geometric dimensions of the end-face of the connector itself. In order for the network to operate long-term and reliably, the geometric dimensions of the connector need to be strictly controlled. Therefore, it is particularly important to strictly select manufacturers that meet (or exceed) IEC standards (SM:61755-3-31; MM:63267-3-31). If the geometry cannot meet the requirements, there will be a huge risk of system connection failure. So it is very important to choose the MTP®|MPO cable which passes the 3D Interferometer test.

Conclusion

From all the above, there are many factors we could consider before buying MTP®|MPO cable. Nowadays, numerous vendors could offer MTP®|MPO patch cord. However, not all the fiber patch cord are quality assured. To get the best MPO|MTP fiber, choose the one that can meet all the standards mentioned above. AFOPLUS is a high-tech enterprise integrating R&D, production and sales, basing on multiple high-performance production lines. Our products have undergone rigorous reliability testing and are in compliance with international standards such as IEC 61755-1 & IEC 61755-3-31 MTP|MPO optical performance. Our MPO-12, MPO-16 and other products support the intercommunication of multiple optical modules, providing stable and high-quality signal transmission guarantee for optical communications. Therefore, AFOPLUS's MTP®|MPO patch cord is an ideal choice for users who pursue high quality and high reliability.