WDM Network

CWDM

CWDM (Coarse Wavelength Dense Multiplexing) is a method of combining multiple signals on laser beams at various wavelengths for transmission along fiber optic cables. CWDM uses five or six wavelengths which are from 1270 nm to 1610 nm with a channel spacing of 20 nm. The channel width itself is 13 nm, and the remaining 7 nm is designed to secure the space to the next channel. This 20nm intervals allows the use of low-cost, uncooled lasers for CWDM. CWDM is technologically simpler and easier to implement than DWDM, and it addresses traffic growth demands without overbuilding the infrastructure. But the wavelengths it can support are limited, so it is suitable for a short distance transmission.

DWDM

DWDM is the abbreviation of dense wavelength division multiplexing, which is a type of WDM systems. It works by combining and transmitting multiple signals simultaneously at different wavelengths on the same fiber. DWDM can maintain a more stable wavelength than CWDM, because it has a more dense wavelength intervals which can support more than 80 channels at present, and each channel can carry 2.5Gbps light signal. This allows DWDM to be suitable for long distance optical transmission. As it costs higher than CWDM, it is not available for the use of normal people.

CWDM Mux/Demux

CWDM Mux/Demux is a passive device which is very reliable and simple to use. These devices are designed to multiplex multiple CWDM channels into one or two fibers. The common configuration is 4, 8, 16 and 32 channels. These modules multiplex the light signal outputs from four or more electronic devices, and send them over a single optical fiber, then finally demultiplex the signals into separate, distinct signals for output into electronic devices at the end of the fiber optic cable.

Fiber Optic Splitter

Fiber optic splitter, also called beam splitter, is a type of technology which takes a single optic signal instead of an electrical signal and divides it into multiple signals to send data from one place to another. It is used in passive optical network (PON) as a key component to divide the power of the light over multiple fibers. A single fiber optic splitter can be used in the GPON network. Note that optical splitter can also be employed in the central office alongside the OLT or in the basement of a building for a multiple dwelling unit (MDU) installation. Optical splitters are manufactured commonly in two types according to working principle—FBT (Fused Biconical Taper) splitter and PLC (Planar Lightwave Circuit) splitter. Each type has its own performance.

Fiber Optic Attenuator

Fiber optic attenuator is a device used to reduce the power level of an optical signal, either in free space or in an optical fiber. It is usually used when the signal arriving at the receiver is too strong and hence may overpower the receiving elements. To achieve power loss, technologies including air-gap, absorption, scattering and interference filter are often used for the attenuator products. Fiber optic attenuators can take a number of different forms, and are typically classified as fixed and variable attenuators. Furthermore, according to different types of connectors, there are LC, SC, ST, FC, MU, E2000 attenuators, etc.

FTTH

FTTH is the the acronym of fiber-to-the-home, which is an installation and use of optical fiber to provide unprecedented high-speed internet access from a central point directly to individual buildings such as residences, apartment buildings and businesses. In FTTH deployment, families and officers can both utilize the network in an easier way. FTTH dramatically increases the connection speeds available to computer users compared with technologies now used in most places. Certainly, FTTH is one of the fastest growing applications worldwide.

PON

PON (Passive Optical Network) is a technology in fiber optic communication which implements a point-to-multipoint architecture (P2MP), where unpowered fiber optic splitters are used to enable a single optical fiber to serve multiple end-points such as customers instead of providing individual fibers between the central office and the customers. A PON system consists of an optical line termination (OLT) at the communication company’s office, and a number of optical network units (ONU) near end users. Depending on the termination of the PON, the system can be divided into fiber-to-the-home (FTTH), fiber-to-the-curb (FTTC), fiber-to-the-building (FTTB), etc.

CWDM SFP+ Transceiver

CWDM SFP+ transceiver (Coarse Wavelength Division Multiplexing Small Form Factor Pluggable) also known as SFP 10G CWDM transceiver is based on the popular SFP transceiver. It can reach a maximum speed of 11.25 Gbps and is commonly used in 10G Ethernet but also as 8x fiber channel or 4x fiber channel speed. CWDM SFP+ commonly comes in three versions including LR, ER and ZR. The LR has 10dB power budget while the ER has 15 dB and ZR 24 dB.

Fiber Media Converter

Fiber media converter is a simple network equipment which can connect two dissimilar media types such as twisted pair with fiber optic cables. And it supports a number of different data communication protocols such as Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet, Serial Datacom interfaces, and so on. Fiber media converter is an essential part of fiber networking because it has long distance operation, high bandwidth capacity and it reliably makes fiber optics the most desired channel for data communication. The types of fiber media converter ranges from small independent equipment to PC card converter and high-end mouth density chassis.

Fiber Patch Panel

Fiber patch panel, also called fiber distribution panel, is an integrated unit for fiber cable management to terminate the fiber optic and provide access to the individual fiber for cross connection. There are two main types of fiber patch panels. One is a wall-mounted device, and the other is a rack-mounted panel. Fiber patch panel helps network technicians in minimizing the clutter of wires when setting up fiber optic cables, organizing and distributing the optical cables and the branches.