Fiber Patch Cables - Stranded vs. Solid and Length
The fiber patch cables are often viewed as one of the most replaceable, commoditized components in the data center and common networking system.
But as the primary connection for servers in the data center and switches in the LAN, patch cords are the front line of defense against downtime. Since a cable channel is only as good as the weakest link, you should give your fiber patch cords a little more attention.
Stranded vs. Solid Fiber Patch Cables
One of the most common questions is whether to use solid or stranded conductors for patch cords. Solid conductors are comprised of a single solid piece of copper, while stranded conductors are made up of multiple smaller copper strands wrapped around each other. Stranded conductors used in category cabling are often comprised of six-around-one for a total of seven strands per conductor that result in an overall diameter that is about the same as a solid conductor.
Solid conductors offer overall better attenuation and lower DC resistance over stranded conductors. As we move to higher frequencies and the higher power of PoE Plus, solid conductors are much better able to support today’s higher data rates and increased power. They are a must for horizontal cable runs in the LAN—higher attenuation renders stranded cable insufficient for any run greater than about 10 meters.
On the other hand, stranded conductors are considered more flexible than solid conductors and therefore are often used for patch cords where the higher attenuation is not as much of a concern due to the shorter lengths. But what if you could get the best of both worlds—the flexibility of a stranded conductor with the performance of a solid? You can with Bonded-Pair technology.
Length of a Fiber Patch Cord
How to choose the length of a fiber patch cord?
If you are working on a rack build where you are going to have to be fairly precise with the length of the patch cords.
Main use of fiber patch cords is to connect a network switch to a patch panel directly to a switch port on a piece of networking equipment directly above or below it. This can produce especially neat results as you do not have to use any sort of cable management, being ideal for small wall mounted racks that do not have a large amount of space.
For applications that need patch cables to be routed through "in rack" cable management and then to a network switch, firewall, server etc. things get a little more complicated. The fiber optic patch cord has to go through an indirect route, meaning that choosing the right length can become a little harder to work out. Here are a couple of important tips on working out the lengths of fiber patch cord that you will need:
Find a length of cable and run it between the interfaces you want to connect following the exact route the cord you are going to install will follow. When we plan a rack installation we usually have a couple of off cuts from a bulk cable roll that we use for this purpose.
Make sure you put the cable you are using to measure completely into the interface, to make sure that you are getting a measurement that represents the full length of the patch cord including interfaces.
ps: Length of the entire patch cord is from the end of one connector to the other. It is NOT the length of the cable without the connectors or the boots!
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