Fiber optic cable (or optical fiber) is unlike most types of cables; it utilizes light instead of electricity to transmit signals. As you have already known, light is the fastest method of transmitting information, and fiber optic cable has the additional advantage of being immune to electrical interference. Thus, you can run it just about anywhere and anytime. Because light meets very little resistance, you can run fiber optic cable over very long distances, literally countries apart, without having to boost or clean the signal. Just think of what it means for a normal network installatin to process signals that have been transmitted over thousands of miles away. It would be impossible.

Fiber optics also has speed as its advantage. It can send signals at more than 10GB per second and still has a much cleaner signal than traditional electrical cabling. To put it into perspetive, fiber optic cabling is to digital information as electrical cabling is to analog information. They are completely different.

Right now, fiber optic cable is used primarily for connecting network segments, making short runs, connecting buildings and floor aand connecting electrical cable to fiber optic cable through Ethernet converters. Although fiber optic cabling can be very expensive, but as it becomes more popular, which it will be, the price of fiber optic cable (and related devices including Ethernet converters and transceiver modules) should drop.

Knowing what’s inside this very functional invention is good to know. The parts of a fiber optic cable consist of the core, cladding, strength member, buffer and jacket. Let’s become more familiar with them!

The core of the cable is made of one or more glass or plastic fiber, and it provides the pathway through which the transmitted light can flow. Normally made of plastic, the cladding provides a refractive surface for light beams to reflect back into the core and continue its journey. The buffer is made of one or more layers of plastic and stregthens the cable and avoids damage to the core. As the name implies, the strength members are strands of very hard material, such as fiberglass, steel or Kevlar, and provide extra strength for the cable. Finally, the jacket which is the outer covering or shield of the cable can either be plenum or nonplenum.

Fiber optic cable comes in two forms: single-mode and multi-mode. Single-mode cable is so narrow that light can only travel through it in a single path. This type of cable is extremely expensive and is very difficult to work with. Alternatively, multi-mode cable has a wider core diameter which gives light beams the freedom to travel several paths. Unfortunately, the multi-path configuration of the multi-mode fiber permits the possibility of signal distortion at the receiving end.

At some point in your connection, you will come across connecting either a single-mode or multi-mode fiber optic cable to a traditional copper cable. This can pose a problem which can disconnect the communication you have already established. But you don’t have to worry as there are Ethernet converters and transceiver modules that serve to route, boost, and deliver the signals across these two opposite cables. On top of these, there are other related devices such as gigabit converters and SFP mini GBICs readily available on the market that you might find useful in your network.

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