My TN Connection

I read an interesting article in the October 2007 issue of Cabling Installation and Maintenance magazine. The article, entitled Using an OTDR: How to keep it simple, does a good job of explaining how you can easily use a tool that is often thought of as a very intimidating piece of equipment.

What is an OTDR
An OTDR (optical time-domain reflectometer) is a tool used by cable contractors to test and certify their fiber installations. It is also used by Telcos and Service Providers to troubleshoot fiber issues in their large public networks. While this tool can be expensive, it is often justified based on their high volume of work involving fiber optic cabling. Yet, a network administrator of a smaller enterprise level network could benefit from the use a tool like an OTDR, even if they only need it once or twice a year. These infrequent users can still affordably gain access to this equipment through rental companies who often rent OTDR’s on a weekly basis. continue »

I wanted to let everyone know about a webinar in which we recently participated hosted by Cabling Installation and Maintenance magazine (CI&M). Partnering with Corning Cabling Systems, we did a presentation on Utilizing Fiber Optics with Data Center Copper Electronics. From the CI&M website:

Are your cable trays about to collapse from copper cable overload? Learn how you can save more space in your data center’s cable trays by moving from copper cabling to fiber-optic cabling while utilizing your current copper equipment infrastructure. This webcast will show you how you can reduce the space you need for cabling by 93% and lower your cooling costs!

Not only was the presentation a great case study in the use of fiber optics in Data Center applications, but it also talked about the Corning Plug and Play(TM) Universal Systems Gigabit Ethernet Media Conversion Module developed by Corning and Transition.

If you get a minute, we think the information will be well worth your time!