Datacom > Extenders & Line Drivers

Fiber optic cable not only gives you immunity to interference and greater signal security, but it’s also constructed to insulate the fiber’s core from the stress associated with use in harsh environments.

The core is a very delicate channel that’s used to transport data signals from an optical transmitter to an optical receiver. To help reinforce the core, absorb shock, and provide extra protection against cable bends, fiber cable contains a coating of acrylate plastic.

In an environment free from the stress of external forces such as temperature, bends, and splices, fiber optic cable can transmit light pulses with minimal attenuation. And although there will always be some attenuation from external forces and other conditions, there are two methods of cable construction to help isolate the core: loose-tube and tight-buffer construction.

In a loose-tube construction, the fiber core literally floats within a plastic gel-filled sleeve. Surrounded by this protective layer, the core is insulated from temperature extremes, as well as from damaging external forces such as cutting and crushing.

In a tight-core construction, the plastic extrusion method is used to apply a protective coating directly over the fiber coating. This helps the cable withstand even greater crushing forces. But while the tight-buffer design offers greater protection from core breakage, it’s more susceptible to stress from temperature variations. Conversely, while it’s more flexible than loose-tube cable, the tight-buffer design offers less protection from sharp bends or twists.

While there are many applications for basic T1 rate service (1.536 Mbps), some applications require much more bandwidth. One of the most attractive features of T1 is the number of options available to accommodate these kinds of demands. The important thing to remember is that all of these higher-speed services operate with the same consistent framing formats as the standard T1 service.

T1 is a high-speed service with a clock speed of 1.544 Mbps. It’s made up of 24 64-kbps DS0 (Digital-Signal [zero]) subchannels that together can support throughput rates of up to 1.536 Mbps. But there are higher levels of T1 service that are also available. For instance, T1C service doubles the T1 rate. It supports 3.152 Mbps with a total of 48 DS0s for top-speed applications. In a T1C environment, two T1 lines are combined into one using a special T1 mux.

The next-highest level of service is called T2. It offers 6.312 Mbps over 96 DS0s by multi-plexing 4 T1 lines into a single high-speed line.

The next two levels of service are exponentially larger than T2. A high-speed T3 trunk line is 28 times larger than a standard T1 line. T3 brings 44.736 Mbps to a customer site via 672 DS0s. This tremendous capacity is made possible by multiplexing 28 T1 lines or combina?tions of T2 and T1 lines.

Finally, T4 service offers a bandwidth potential of 274.176 Mbps, made up of 4032 64-kbps DS0 subchannels. At 168 times the size of a standard 1.544-Mbps line, T4 service dwarfs T1. The physical connections require multiplexing 6 T3 lines or 168 T1 lines into a single high-speed trunk.

With so many incredibly high-speed T-level service options available, system administrators have great flexibility to configure their operations for maximum efficiency and economy.

It’s important to remember that these various levels of T1 services can be implemented simultaneously within a particularly large enterprise to support complex network configurations.

Of course, this kind of application has the potential to become somewhat overwhelming from a management standpoint. However, as long as you keep track of the individual DS0s, you should always be able to accurately gauge how much available bandwidth you have at your disposal.