Being potential consumers a bargain is the thing we’re always looking for when wanting to buy something. This is no different when we’re considering a possible purchase of fiber optic cables or related accessories. It’s only logical to want to make sure you are paying the fairest price but at the same time getting accessories and supplies that meet the industry standard of quality. There are various options that one can go about in acquiring fiber optic cabling and related items, and no way is really better than the other it’s really all about what is going to be best for that particular individual who wants to buy fiber optic equipment.
Expectations of what’s good and not good in a retailer of fiber optic cables vary from person to person and this also applies to the level of experience of the shopper as well. In this article we’ll be more than glad to give you some guidance on how to go about this the best way. For instance one way to purchase this equipment is to go to a retailer in person a specialty electronics store sells cabling and fiber optic technology is no stranger to these folks. A benefit of this method is that you get your merchandise on the spot and don’t have to wait for a delivery. Of course they have to have the item in their inventory at the time but many these places as well as the big box retailers like a Best Buy have the foresight of either running a website or having a special order option in store to get you what you need.
There are variables though that will affect what kind of bargain you are getting on your item if that’s your primary criteria. Sometimes an item will be on a special sale price but most competitors will match that price so usually that factor balances things out. However, service plans (if available) can vary from store to store. So sometimes an item you pay 10 dollars more at one store may end up costing the same price at another or possibly even less than the same thing advertised at a cheaper price but with a higher fee for extended service. Since fiber optic cables and their related accessories are a very important purchase that you’re making it’s always best to do your home work on each vendor’s rates for items and miscellaneous services regardless of whether they are internet or in store.
That’s another thing we want to address real quick with internet purchases are shipping costs. Sometimes these fees factor into your final price, of course if you order is going to have a high cost sometimes you’ll get a break. Also if you’re purchasing from an online retailer in your home state you have to keep in mind that sales tax is more than likely going to factor in. So unless what you’re looking for can’t be special ordered or found in store you may not want to just rush into an internet retailer when looking for fiber optic cables.
This isn’t to knock internet purchases because they are a valuable service in every sense of the word but sometimes the traditional conventions of purchasing may work out better in the long run. Also if you’re a foreign resident or live in a U.S. Territory you may have to pay yet another surcharge or unfortunately not be eligible to purchase fiber optic cables or any other equipment from an internet vendor. However this is typically rare to have happen.
We thank you for your time in learning about a few of the building blocks in purchasing fiber optic cables and related accessories. We wish you the best of luck in your search and recommend consulting website search engines and talking to specialty electronic stores to find the right fiber optic cable and associated equipment.
Service providers have deployed more and more fiber optic cables for their high bandwidth, low costs, greater reliability and flexibility. But just deploying is not enough; a successful fiber network also requires a solid infrastructure based on a professional fiber optic cable management system.
Fiber optic cable management affects a network's reliability, performance, cost and maintenance. It provides the ability to reconfigure network, restore service and implement new services quickly.
Four goals to achieve with professional fiber optic cable management
1. Protect fiber optic cable from microbends and macrobends loss
Microbends are small deformities in the optical fiber and macrobends are larger bends of the fiber cable. Fiber bends beyond the specified minimum bending radius can cause signal loss or even break the fiber, causing service disruption.
As a rule of thumb, the minimum bending radius should be bigger than ten times the outer diameter of the fiber cable. Telcordia recommends a minimum 38mm bending radius for 3mm fiber optic patch cords.
Fiber optic cable management system should provide bend radius protection at all points where a fiber optic cable makes a bend. This helps ensure the network's long-term reliability; thus reduces the network operation cost by reducing network down time.
2. Well defined fiber optic cable management routing paths
The leading cause of fiber optic cable minimum bend radius violation is improper routing of fibers by fiber installation technicians.
In a proper fiber cable management system, routing paths are clearly defined and easy to follow; such that the technician has no other option but to route the cables properly.
Well defined routing paths reduce the training time required for technicians and increase the uniformity of work done. It also makes accessing individual fibers easier, quicker and safer.
3. Easy access to installed optical fibers
Allowing easy access to installed fibers is critical in maintaining proper bend radius protection. The system should be designed to ensure that individual fibers can be installed or removed without inducing a macrobend on an adjacent fiber. Accessibility is critical during network reconfiguration.
4. Physical protection of installed optical fibers
Well defined fiber optic cable management system physically protects the fibers from accidental damage by technicians and equipment throughout the network.
Fiber optic cable management system procurement
When making the decision on purchasing your fiber optic cable management systems, the goal is getting the most cost-effective system that provides the best cable management, flexibility, and growth capabilities.
Going with the cheapest approaches for fiber optic cable management can cost more money in the long run. A strong fiber cable management system will enable you to extract the maximum value from your installed optical fiber networks.
Specifying Fiber Cable Management Systems: Cost and Value
As a means of keeping operational costs down, service providers around the world are increasingly turning to systems integrators to install their networks.
This practice allows the service provider's technicians to focus on operations and maintenance, rather than network installation. There is, however, an inherent risk in this practice.
As the purchasing decision for the fiber cable management system moves from the service provider's engineering group to the systems integration prime contractor, the cable management features of the distribution system are generally not specified.
What can happen, then, is the equipment installed may lack key features and functionalities. In light of the importance of proper cable management within the ODF, the service provider needs to specify the basic requirements for the cable management system.
There are several industry-standard specifications that can assist service providers in writing specifications for their cable management systems. Two of these specifications are:
? Telcordia Generic Requirements for Fiber Distribution Frames GR-449-CORE, Issue 2, July 2003
? Network Equipment Building System (NEBS) Generic Equipment Requirements, TR-NWT-000063
Both Chris Lees & Colin Yao are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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