With the development of science and technology, from a few K to Gigabit networks, the network’s speed continues to increase. When it comes to internet speed, what is the first thing that comes to your mind?
It’s the network cable! The optical network is gradually evolving from the home-level market to the enterprise-level market, and more and more campuses choose all-optical networks. When it comes to optical fiber, the optical fiber jumper is an important component that has to be mentioned. When it comes to the Internet, what is the first thing that comes to your mind? Fiber optic cable? Fiber Jumper? At present, everyone knows that network transmission is nothing more than three methods: coaxial cable, network cable, and optical fiber. Coaxial cables have faded out of people’s sight and are eliminated. Network cables and optical fibers have become the two most important carriers in network signal transmission. When we choose, we must sort out the difference between network cables and fiber optic jumpers and choose the right one. Today we will focus on the differences, advantages, and disadvantages of fiber optic patch cords and network cables!
Fiber Optic Patch Cord: (also known as Fiber Jumper) means that both ends of the optical cable are equipped with the connector to realize the active connection of the optical path; one end with the connector is called the Fiber Optic Pigtail.
Fiber optic patch cords are jumpers from equipment to fiber optic cabling links. It has a thicker protective layer and is generally used to connect the optical transceiver and the terminal box.
There is the connector at one end of the pigtail, and the other end is the broken end of the cable core, which is connected to other cable cores by fusion splicing. It is connected to other optical fiber cores by welding. It often appears in optical fiber terminal boxes and is used to connect optical cables and optical fiber transceivers. (Couplers, Fiber Jumpers, etc. are also used between them).
Fiber optic connectors are devices for detachable connections between fiber optic cables. It precisely butts the two end faces of the optical fiber so that the optical energy output by the transmitting optical fiber can be coupled to the receiving optical fiber to the maximum extent. And to minimize the impact on the system due to its intervention in the optical link, this is the basic requirement of the fiber optic connector. To a certain extent, fiber optic connectors also affect the reliability and performance of optical transmission systems.
Optical Fiber Patch Cord is similar to coaxial cable, except that there is no mesh shield. In the center is the glass core for light propagation.
In a multimode fiber, the diameter of the core is 50μm to 62.5μm, roughly equivalent to the thickness of a human hair. The single-mode fiber core has a diameter of 8μm to 10μm. A glass jacket surrounds the core with a lower refractive index than the core to keep the fiber inside the core. On the outside is a thin plastic jacket to protect the envelope.
Network cables: A network cable is a cable that connects computers to computers, and computers to other network devices. Commonly used network cables include twisted pairs and coaxial cables. Of course, the network cable mentioned in our monitoring project mainly refers to twisted pairs.
Twisted pairs can be divided into unshielded UTP) and shielded STP). The difference between the two lies in whether there is a layer of metal isolation film in the twisted pair. There is a layer of metal isolation film in the twisted pair of STP, which can reduce electromagnetic interference during data transmission, so it has higher stability and is slightly more expensive than UTP twisted pair. The UTP twisted pair does not have this layer of metal isolation film, so its stability is poor, but its price is relatively cheaper.
STP is divided into two types: 3 types and 5 types, and UTP is divided into 3 types, 4 types, 5 types, and 5 super types. Category 3 lines are mainly used in 10Mbps network cards, while Category 5 lines and Category 5e lines are used mainly in 100Mbps network cards. UTP category 3 twisted pair cables are composed of four pairs of twisted pairs, the purpose of which is to reduce the degree of signal interference. Each pair of twisted pairs is generally formed by twisting two insulated copper wires. Its wiring rule is that 1236 lines are useful and 4578 lines are idle (as shown in the figure below).
Fiber optic Patch Cords and network cables are two ways of network transmission. The main differences between them are as follows:
The function of the optical fiber patch cable is to speed up better the transmission of different network information of data, while the network cable is used to access the device and improve the data efficiency of the network information transmission between the devices.
Fiber Optic Patch Cables are mainly used in optical fiber broadband communication, which can bring interactive multimedia information such as video, graphics, communication, and information to customers—for example, work conference video, Internet interactive games, remote video monitoring, etc. The network cable is used to access equipment, mainly for project wiring, network connection, and equipment port system access. For example, switches, hubs, firewalls, and other equipment.
The Cat7 cable, with the better network cable, has a transmission data frequency of at least 500MHz, which is more than twice that of Cat6 and Cat6e, and the transmission rate reaches 10Gbps. Fiber optic patch cable is the fastest medium for data transmission at this stage, which can reach 40G-100G.
Due to the advanced processing technology used in the twisted pair transceiver, the attenuation of the video signal amplitude of the twisted pair and the attenuation difference between different frequencies are perfectly compensated, and the brightness, color, and real-time performance of the original image are maintained. When the transmission distance reaches 1km or more, the image signal is basically without distortion. If the relay method is used, the transmission distance will be farther.
Any pair of network cables widely laid in buildings can transmit a video signal without additional wiring. Suppose a pair of wires are used to transmit video signals. In that case, the other pairs of wires can also be used to transmit audio signals, control signals, power supply, or other signals, which improves the utilization rate of cables and avoids the trouble caused by separate wiring of various signals, reducing the project cost.
Like fiber optic jumpers, network cables can transmit excellent image signals in strong interference environments. Moreover, several pairs of twisted pairs in one cable are used to transmit different signals respectively, and there will be no interference between them.
Many network cables can be easily installed by yourself through simple instructions and are also very simple to use. No professional knowledge is required, and there is not many operations or one-time installation.
This is one of the advantages of network cables. Compared with optical fiber jumpers, all network cables currently used are much cheaper, and the purchase channels are convenient.
Therefore, network cables still occupy an important position in the application of video and voice transmission, indoor Internet, integrated wiring system, POE system, etc., and will not be completely replaced by optical fiber cables. The technology of network cables is still in decline to achieve many equipment connection requirements in the future. Therefore, don’t worry that it will be replaced by the times.
With the development of the digital economy, broadband has become an indispensable tool in work and life. Although traditional network cables can meet the needs of daily life and work, with the continuous iterative update of application products, there are still network delays and download speeds. Insufficient, limited application loading and other conditions that do not adapt to the development of the times. Nowadays, various APP applications emerge in an endless stream, various industrial applications are iteratively updated, and the requirements for broadband speed are increasingly high; the optical communication industry chain will still grow fast in the following years. If you want to know more about fiber optic patch cords, please visit this link: https://holightoptic.com/fiber-optic-products/fiber-optic-patch-cable/
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