Fiber Optics Assessing the Uses

Fiber Optics

Assessing the Uses and Benefits of Fiber Optics

Designed and engineered for high-speed data transfer applications, fiber optic cabling technologies use a modulated light source across 50m of glass cable to achieve 500 Kbps to 6.4 Tbps transfer rates, among the fastest of any interface and communications technology (Davey, Nesset, Rafel, Payne, Hill, 13). Using a transmitter, regenerator and receiver, fiber optical networks are designed to support high burst types of transmissions and data transactions. Cable television, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), data-intensive local area networks and CCTV-based networks use fiber optic cabling as this technology has inherent advantages over copper and other network transport materials (Johnson, Gilfedder, 63, 64). This analysis presents the unique attributes of fiber optics technology, its advantages over copper cabling and networks, and an analysis of this networking technology based on fiber configuration and key characteristics. Fiber optic technologies are also pervasively used throughout disk drive interfaces for bandwidth-intensive applications as well (Ferelli, 15, 16).

Comparing Copper and Fiber Optic Cables

Compared to copper, fiber optic network technologies have significantly greater bandwidth, higher transfer speeds, significantly lower maintenance costs, greater security and stability of messaging as well. The most fundamental difference however is the variation in how the electronics that manage fiber optic interfaces use a modulated signal per fiber in the cable. There are single and multi-model fiber cables which are significantly different than those found in copper cabling, which rely on just a single configuration. Single mode fiber cables transmit one signal per filter and have small cores of approximately 9 microns which are used for transmitting infrared light (Ferelli, 23, 24). Single-mode fibers are often used in telephone and cable television systems as they are relatively inexpensive to produce from a mass production standpoint, have significantly greater levels of reliability than copper, and also have exceptional agility in being used in more complex configurations (Davey, Nesset, Rafel, Payne, Hill, 13). Multi-mode fibers are the second type of fiber optic cable produced, and this specific cabling technology supports many signals per fiber being sent in full synchronous and asynchronous modes (Davey, Nesset, Rafel, Payne, Hill, 13). An essential part of this technology is that the cores are 62.5 microns and transmit data in infrared light bursts over the fiber optic cable (Hunt, 28, 29) ensuring signal accuracy through the use of Carrier Sense Multiple Detection / Collision Detection (CSMA/CD) carrier arbitration which is inherent in a TCP/IP network's structure. The ability to operate at significantly higher speeds and not have to content with interference form the attributes of the cabling is another significant advantage of fiber optic over copper as well.

Multimode fiber optic networks are now the technology of choice for Local Area Network (LAN) and wide-area network (WAN) configurations that often must interlink operating centers, manufacturing centers, and most commonly, it centers (Hunt, 30). Copper cable has a longer range that fiber optic cabling, yet has significant disadvantages in terms of security, scalability as a network cabling standard, cost, power consumption and configurability as a networking component.

Fiber optic cabling used as the foundation of a LAN or WAN has significant advantages over copper for short-range communications. When longer-range network configurations are taken into account, the advantages of fiber optic become even more pronounced (Johnson, Gilfedder, 63, 64). Due to the fact that fiber optic cabling is very thin, light, permeable and easily managed in more difficult physical locations, it is also less expensive to install and maintain as well (Hatfield, Lamb, Tegarden, 24, 25). Second, fiber optic cable also has significantly less impedance than copper, and therefore it is more effective in managing more asynchronous information flows across broader networks compared to copper-based networks (Johnson, Gilfedder, 63, 64). As a result there is significantly less signal degradation and loss of communications. Fourth, as fiber optic lacks conductivity it does not heat up, expand, contract or lose any of its conductivity properties over time. Fiber optic cable therefore has a lower Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) as a result of not having to contend with the continual wear and tear on the metallurgical values of the wire (Ferelli, 23, 24).

The Specific Advantages of Fiber Cabling over Copper:

Taking a Closer Look

It's been established in this analysis that fiber optic cabling can support single-mode and multimode fibers which further differentiates this cabling technology from copper. There are finer gradations of differences in fiber optics vs. copper cabling however that is also explained here. First, fiber optic cables can also be built to order depending on their wavelength range, maximum propagation distance, maximum bitrates, and potential for cross-talk between wires. There are no configuration options for ordering copper cable that are comparable to these. Fiber optic cabling is also specifically designed to be shielded to minimize crosstalk and also ensure higher accuracy rates for asynchronous and synchronous communication (Ichikawa, Shimizu, Akabane, Ishida, Teramoto, 55, 56). Figure 1 presents a graphical representation of a fiber optic cable, illustrating why it is more suited for high density applications.

Figure 1: Diagram of Fiber Optic Cable

Source: (Davey, Nesset, Rafel, Payne, Hill, 13)

As a result of the structure of this cabling, fiber optic networks are also less impacted by power surges and outages, including interference vs. copper cabling (Ferelli, 24, 25). Despite all of these advantages however, fiber optic cabling is among the most expensive there is and is often only used for enterprise deployments where the Total Cost of Ownership can be underwritten by the total cot of the implementation. Despite their high price however, fiber optic networks deliver the highest performance relative to competing cable technologies. Table 1, Comparison of Speeds and Costs of Media provides an overview of the various communications mediums or connectivity wiring options available for creating WANs and LANs.