OPTICAL DISPERSION TEST ANALYSIS
Combining CD and PMD for precise link characterization
Designed for ultra-longhaul and 40/100 Gbit/s applications, EXFO’s FTB-5500B PMD and FTB-5800 CD analyzer combo provides you with the speed, accuracy and high performance you need to ensure high-quality network services. Housed in the expert FTB-500 platform, the FTB-5500B and FTB-5800 test modules survive splashes, knocks and drops—ideal for CO and field conditions.
Characterizing chromatic dispersion in the field
Chromatic dispersion (CD) causes pulse broadening and can have a very negative impact on transmission performance by increasing the Bit Error Rate. EXFO’s FTB-5800 CD Analyzer offers high performance in a field-ready unit for all chromatic dispersion testing situations.
New market reality requires a new CD/PMD testing approach
The high-speed networking market has been trying to reconcile two conflicting objectives: deliver the faster data rates—10G, 40G and 100G—demanded by subscribers, and keep OPEX down to maintain profitability. Most network operators are well on their way to achieving the first objective, thanks to new fiber deployments and new technology advances such as coherent detection, DPSK/DQPSK and ROADM-based mesh networks.
However, the additional field work—installation, activation as well as the greater dispersion granularity now required—can push operation expenses in the wrong direction. These new requirements force operators to retain the services of more field crews, potentially reducing the average expertise level of technicians and increasing the rate of repeat jobs.
Optimizing installed fiber infrastructure
With the prohibitive cost of installing new fiber, service providers often prefer to use installed fiber rather than build new infrastructure. Sometimes, older fibers might have been deemed unusable because of poor performance, in particular due to PMD. In other cases, a lower data rate might have been chosen (e.g. 2.5G) because a fiber with high PMD was considered unsuitable for fast data rates (e.g. 10G). That was before distributed PMD analysis. This innovative PMD measurement method enables service providers to leverage the installed fiber infrastructure to its full potential.
Since traditional PMD measurement techniques only provide a total end-to-end value compared against Pass/Fail thresholds, it used to be impossible to determine what caused a link to “fail” its PMD test, i.e., the whole link, or only localized sections. The distributed PMD analysis approach was developed to avoid such grey areas, and to help network operators tackle the PMD assessment challenge.
Measuring PMD as a function of the distance
EXFO’s FTB-5600 is the very first quantitative distributed PMD analyzer on the market. The technological breakthrough on which it is based provides operators with a cost-effective, time-efficient alternative to costly network upgrades. By breaking down the PMD measurement results, distributed PMD analysis pinpoints high-PMD sections and accurately qualifies them.
Combining CD and PMD for precise link characterization
Designed for ultra-longhaul and 40/100 Gbit/s (and higher) applications, EXFO’s FTB-5500B PMD and FTB-5800 CD analyzer combo provides you with the speed, accuracy and high performance you need to ensure high-quality network services. Housed in the expert FTB-500 platform, the FTB-5500B and FTB-5800 test modules survive splashes, knocks and drops—ideal for CO and field conditions.
Measuring polarization mode dispersion the fast way
Polarization mode dispersion (PMD) represents a significant danger to both legacy and newly deployed networks because high PMD can induce Bit Error Rate (BER). EXFO’s FTB- 5500B PMD Analyzer helps you get ahead in the field. Whether you need to verify the capacity of legacy fiber or upgrade a network to any speed, the modular FTB-5500B is fast, reliable and ready to go.