OM4 Multimode Fibers For The Next Generation Of Enterprise

As the demand for bandwidth in enterprise applications such as data centers continues to boom, new transmission media must be developed continually to meet end user requirements. The latest in optical transmission media for the enterprise is called OM4 fiber.

OM4 fiber is a 50 micron (μm) laser-optimized multimode fiber with extended bandwidth. It is designed to enhance the system cost benefits enabled by 850 nm Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Lasers (VCSELs) for existing 1 and 10 Gb/s applications as well as future 40 and 100 Gb/s systems.

Supporting Ethernet, Fibre Channel, and OIF applications, OM4 fiber allows extended reach upwards of 550 meters at 10 Gb/s for ultra long building backbones and medium length campus backbones. It offers an Effective Modal Bandwidth (EMB) of 4700 MHz-km, more than double the IEEE requirement for 10 Gb/s 300 meter support.

To help you use this advanced fiber to its greatest advantage, this paper describes the technology behind OM4 fiber, high-lights the key differences with other fiber types, and explains how its high bandwidth is ensured through stringent measurement methods.

Multimode Fiber Options

As demand for bandwidth and transmission speed continues to increase, the fiber industry has responded by developing evermore capable multimode product types, which are identified by the OM (“optical mode”) designation as outlined in the ISO/IEC 11801 standard:

OM1, for fiber with 200/500 MHz•km overfilled launch (OFL) bandwidth at 850/1300

nm (this is typically 62.5/125-µm fiber);

OM2, for fiber with 500/500 MHz•km OFL bandwidth at 850/1300 nm (typically,

50/125-µm fiber);

OM3, for laser-optimized 50-µm fiber having 2000 MHz•km effective modal bandwidth

(laser bandwidth), designed for 10 Gbits/sec transmission. (See the table on page 22 for

more details.)

OM4 fiber will support Ethernet, Fibre Channel, and OIF applications, allowing extended reach upwards of 550 meters for ultra long building backbones and medium length campus backbones. With an Effective Modal Bandwidth (EMB, also known as laser bandwidth) of 4700 MHz•km (more than double the IEEE requirement for 10 Gbits/sec 300 meter support), OM4 fiber is also well suited for shorter reach data center and high performance computing applications. The reason is that optical loss budgets for these applications are rather tight at 10 Gbits/sec (and expected to get even tighter at 40 and 100 Gbits/sec), and the high 4700 MHz•km bandwidth can actually provide extra channel insertion loss headroom when OM4 fiber is deployed at less than its rated distance.

OM4 Fiber Patch Cable From Fiberstore

OM4 fiber patch cable can be regarded as improvement on the existed OM3 standards. its' assemblies are ready to meet the requirement for future 40G and 100G fiber optic networks, we have simplex, duplex and multimode fiber patch cord OM4 types. There are LC OM4 duplex fiber patch cable, OM4 SC simplex fiber patch cable, OM4 ST fiber patch cable, ect. Our OM4 50/125 fiber patch cord has high environmental reliability test and designed to meet the IEC standards, GR-326-CORE, in the test of optical characteristics, vibration test, thermal cycling, impact resistance, salt spray erosion, thermal aging, humidity resistance and others.

OM4 Fiber Patch Cord Features

100% optically tested

Core Size: 50/125um

PC, UPC, and APC polish types

LC, SC, ST, FC, MTRJ, MU, E2000, SMA

Good performance on return loss

Full support for VCSEL laser and LED sources

Allow 10 Gig / second link distances of up to 550m

Custom fiber optic cable lengths and jacket colors

Insertion loss testing performed on every assembly

OM4 Fiber Standards

Two standards define the use of OM4 fiber in high-speed networks: TIA document TIA-492AAAD, which contains the OM4 fiber performance specifications; and the IEC 60793-2-10 international standard, which provides equivalent OM4 specifications under fiber type A1a.3. ISO/IEC 11801 will add OM4 fiber as an industry-recognized fiber type, and IEEE 802.3ba for 40G and 100G Ethernet will include OM4 fiber as an option that provides a reach of 150 meters (50 percent greater than OM3).

OM4 bandwidth can be measured the same as OM3, but OM4 has more stringent test specifications. During the course of the development of the standard for OM4, OFS completed a study showing strong correlation between the DMD mask method and system failure. While the standard permits testing with either the DMD mask method or the calculated EMB method, Belden requires conformance to both methods to ensure consistent reliability of the OM4 fiber optic cabling products we offer.

Conclusion

OM4 fiber provides next generation multimode fiber performance for today and tomorrow’s high speed applications. With its significantly higher bandwidth, network designers and operators can be assured that multimode fiber will continue to provide the most cost effective solutions for short reach applications in data centers and LANs.

About Fiberstore

Fiberstore Inc., a leading provider of unique fiber optic telecommunication solutions, announced they are now supplying multimode fiber patch cables with OM4 fiber to both existing and new customers. Unlike many suppliers that mainly focus on supplying cables with OM3 fiber (suitable for 10GB and also available from Fiberstore), these cables make use of OM4 fiber which is ideal for 40/100GB applications. Our Fiber Patch Cables are standard fiber optic cables terminated with LC/SC/ST/FC/MTRJ/MU/SMA connectors on both ends, such as LC-LC, LC-SC, LC-ST, SC-ST, SC-SC, ST-ST etc. These fiber patch cables are used for fiber link connection between equipment during fiber cabling.