Troubleshooting Your Optical Fiber Networks - Introduction to OTDR
In fiber optic networks, OTDR (Optical Time Domain Reflectometer) is an opto-electronic instrument used to characterize an optical fiber. An OTDR may be used for estimating the fiber's length and overall attenuation, including splice and mated-connector losses. It may also be used to locate faults, such as breaks. More ...
Network Topologies
The physical arrangement of the cables, computers and components is referred to as the networks topology. There are five basic topologies, bus, star, ring, mesh, and wireless. More ...
What Are Fiber Optic Attenuators?
A fiber optic attenuator, also called an optical attenuator, simulates the loss the would be caused by a long length of fiber. For a fiber optic receiver, too much light can overload it and degrade the bit error ratio. More ...
What is an Ethernet Bridge?
Bridges are used to divide larger networks into smaller sections. A bridge reads a frame's MAC address, and decides to either forward or filte the frame from crossing the bridge to the other part of the network. More ...
VLAN (Virtual Local Area Network) Basics
"A VLAN is a LOGICAL network where devices might be on separate PHYSICAL networks. The purpose of implementing a VLAN is to improve the performance of a network or apply security features. More ...
Wireless Network Vlans - How to Implement Wireless Vlans
Wireless access points operate as bridges with no routing defined anywhere on the wireless network segment. VLANs are defined on the wired switches and mapped with specific SSIDs at each access point. The wireless client associates with a specific SSID which in turn will map client with membership in a specific VLAN. More ...
Trunking, Bonding, Aggregation; What Does it Mean?
Each port on a network switch would be connected to one network device, such as a computer. But to connect a server you need higher bandwidth. For this purpose you could combine multiple Ethernet channels into one. More ...
Understanding Basic Terms in Indoor Fiber Optic Cable Installation
Fiber optic cables are exposed to electrical, mechanical, chemical and environmental elements, so proper installation is critical for the long-term stability and survival of fiber cables. Cable installation must also meet the NEC (National Electric Code) and local building codes. More ...
What is an Ethernet Switch?
An Ethernet switch is a networking device that is able to interrogate the data within the Ethernet Frames to provide forwarding and filtering and loop avoidance. More ...
Network Hubs
A hub lives at Layer 1 of the OSI model, so it does not make forwarding decisions. Instead, a hub receives bits on one port and then retransmits those bits out all other ports. Because of this a hub is sometimes called a repeater. More ...
How In-Row Cooling Increases Data Center Efficiency
Increased data center densities enable operators to meet the demands of cloud and hyper-scale environments. As more power is consumed per rack, however, heat becomes a big problem. Most modern data centers have adopted some sort of aisle-containment solution to minimize the mixing of hot and cold air. More ...
Introduction to SONET (Synchronous Optical Networking)
SONET (Synchronous Optical Networking) standards were developed to take advantage of low-cost transmission over optical fibers. It defines a hierarchy of data rates, formats and optical signal specifications. More ...
MPO Connector, MTP Connector, What's the Difference?
MPO stands for Multi-fibre Push On and is a fiber optic connector type. MTP is a registered trademark of US Conec. The MTP design complies with the MPO standard. More ...
