Commonly Used Fiber Optic Cleaners

As cleanliness of the interfaces in fiber optic networks can directly affect the transmission quality, fiber optic cleaning is a must-have process during fiber optic network installation, testing and maintenance. You should always keep it in mind. You need to clean the fiber optic interface on the test equipment and fiber optic connectors before you actually doing the test. You need to clean the fiber optic connector or interfaces regularly in your daily maintenance. Various fiber optic cleaning methods are created. No matter you use dry cleaning or wet cleaning, basic tools are needed. However, we might be confused during the selecting of the fiber optic cleaning tools, cause there are so many different kinds of fiber optic connectors, interfaces and working environments. This post is to introduce the most commonly used fiber optic cleaners for different kinds fiber optic connectors.

One-Click Fiber Optic Cleaner

One-click fiber optic cleaner is one of the most popular fiber optic cleaner which eliminate the use of alcohol or solvents. Thus, it can save time efficiently with excellent performance. I would like to call it “Click and Cleaned”. Here I will introduce how to used one click fiber optic cleaner firstly.

The following picture is the top of an one-click connector, the cleaning tip of the cleaner is covered with a guide cap for fiber optic connectors. A cover is on the top of the guide cap, which can provide protection to the cleaning tip combining with the guide cap.

If you need to clean a fiber optic connector, the guide cap plays the function of a fiber optic adapter. Insert the cleaning tip into the connector with the guide cap as shown in the following picture, and press the cleaner until you hear a click. Then a cleaning is done by fiber optic cleaner.

If you need to clean a fiber optic adapter, you should firstly remove the whole guide cap on the one-click cleaner. Then insert the cleaning tip into the adapter as shown in the following picture. Just by simple pressing, until you hear the click, a cleaning for a fiber optic adapter is done. It is very useful during test, cause the test equipment usually have an interface of adapter.

Different types of connectors might have ferrules of different sizes. Thus, there are also accordance fiber optic cleaners for various connectors. Introduces several popular one-click fiber optic cleaners for different connectors.

One-Click Cleaner for LC/MU 1.25mm Ferrules

• Price: $19.00
• Item Part Number: FS-CLK-1.25
• Package Form: One-click cleaner
• Target Use: LC, MU
• Cleaning Times: Over 800 times per unit

One-Click Cleaner for SC/ST/FC 2.5mm Ferrules

• Price: $19.00
• Item Part Number: FS-CLK-2.5
• Package Form: One-click cleaner
• Target Use: SC, ST, FC
• Cleaning Times: Over 800 times per unit

One-Click Cleaner for MTP/MPO Connector  

• Price: $48.00
• Item Part Number: CLE-MPO-600
• Package Form: One-click cleaner
• Target Use: MPO/MTP
• Cleaning Times: Over 600 times per unit

Reel-Type Fiber Optic Cleaner

Reel-type fiber optic cleaner contains a refillable lint free reel of cloth that is moved after each cleaning, always presenting a clean surface. Reel-type fiber optic cleaners come in different package forms, but most of them are cassette form.

This type of fiber optic cleaner is able to clean a wide rage of fiber optic connectors, which also avoid the using of alcohol or solvents. The following shows the basic structure of a reel-type fiber optic cleaner and its replacement tape. The cleaning with this cleaner is also very simple. Firstly depress lever to expose cleaning slot and cloth. Second, slide the connector end face gently. Third, keep connector perpendicular to cleaning surface. Then a cleaning is done.

CLE-BOX Fiber Optic Cassette Cleaner for LC/MU/SC/FC/ST/MPO/MTRJ

• Price: $21.00
• Item Part Number: FS-CLE-BOX
• Package Form: Cassette cleaner
• Target Use: LC, MU, SC, FC, ST, MPO, MTRJ
• Cleaning Times: Over 500 times per unit

Replacement Tape for CLE-BOX Fiber Optic Cassette Cleaner

• Price: $16.00
• Item Part Number: CLE-BOX-RT
• Package Form: Cassette cleaner
• Target Use: Replace tape for cassette cleaner
• Cleaning Times: Over 500 times per unit

The above mentioned fiber optic cleaners are just a small part of the cleaning product family and are generally for dry cleaning. Kindly visit FS.COM or contact sales@fs.com for more details about the wet cleaning for other fiber optic cleaning products.

Source: http://www.fiber-optic-tutorial.com/commonly-used-fiber-optic-cleaners.html

Double Density QSFP (QSFP-DD) Is Coming

Recently the building of QSFP-DD (Multi Source Agreement) Group has excited optical communication industry. This group, including 13 members which are all the leading vendors in the industry, like Cisco, Brocade and Finisar, aims to create a upgraded version of QSFP transceiver, which is called QSFP-DD ( double density QSFP) and will be able to support 200G/400G Ethernet.

Introduction

The QSFP-DD is similar to the current QSFP. But there are many differences between the current QSFP. The reason why the new transceiver is called "double density" is related to the current 100G QSFP28 transceivers. The "double density" means the doubling of the number of high-speed electrical interfaces that the module supports compare to regular QSFP28 module.

QSFP-DD and QSFP28

We can understand the QSFP-DD better by comparing it with the current 100G QSFP28 module. QSFP28 transceiver is a four-channel transceiver which is able to transmit and receive 100G per second simultaneously. With the advantages of high speed and low power, QSFP28 transceiver is becoming more popular than other 100G transceivers like CFP2 and CFP4. The 100G QSFP28 transceiver is implemented with four lanes with each supporting data rate of 25G.

The working principle of QSFP-DD is similar with 100G QSFP28 transceiver. The QSFP-DD MSA group will increase the lane to eight. There will be a row of contacts providing for an eight lane electrical interface in QSFP-DD. If modulated by NEZ, each lane of the QSFP-DD can support data rate up to 25G, thus, it can support a total data rate of 200G. If modulated by PAM4, QSFP-DD transceiver can support data rate up to 400G with each lane supporting data rate of 50G. The MSA group also announced that the QSFP-DD can enable up to 14.4Tbps aggregate bandwidth in a single switch slot, which can definitely satisfy the increasing need for higher bandwidth.

Another great feature of QSFP-DD is that its system will be backwards compatible, allowing them to support existing QSFP modules and provide flexibility for end users and system designer. This means the data center could save a considerable sum of money in the future upgrading.

Future and Present

The appearance of QSFP28 transceiver has changed the regular development road map of Ethernet. The regular upgrade road is 10G to 40G and then 100G. While the QSFP28 transceiver has changed it from 25G directly to 100G. The road map of this QSFP-DD is also drawing our attention. It is predicted that QSFP-DD will become a useful family of modules for the industry with application at greater than 400G. Meanwhile, there is no efforts underway to define these new speeds but it is expected that QSFP-DD will have a roadmap that supports.

Any way, no matter where the QSFP-DD lead our Ethernet to, it is good news for our future networking system. The creating of this new module will still need some time. For now, many data centers are considering about upgrading their data center with 100G QSFP28 transceivers. And there are a variety of switches which support QSFP28 interfaces on the market. However, 100G QSFP28 transceiver is still not cheap in the current market. For example, the price of a 100GBASE-SR4 QSFP28 transceiver is generally more than $2000.00. However, in FS.COM, supported by OEM, the price is much more favorable. A 100GBASE-SR4 QSFP28 transceiver only cost $650.00 in FS.COM. The following chart is detailed information of 100G QSFP28 transceivers in FS.COM.

FS P/N	Form Type	Data Rate	Wavelength	Max Cable Distance	Interface	Cable Type	DOM Support
100G QSFP28-SR4	QSFP28	103.1 Gbps	850 nm	100 m	MPO (MTP12)	MMF	Yes
100G QSFP28-LR4	QSFP28	103.1 Gbps	1310 nm	10 km	LC Duplex	SMF	Yes

For more details, please contact us at sales@fs.com or visit FS.COM.

Source: http://www.fiber-optic-tutorial.com/double-density-qsfp-qsfp-dd-is-coming.html