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This activity describes how
to terminate the fibre link in a building so that the devices
in the building can exchange data over the fibre.
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Once
the fibre optic line has been brought into the building, there
are several methods for terminating the fibre so that it can
be easily connected to data devices. One of the most popular
methods is a wall mounted fibre optic bulkhead (shown at left.)
A fibre bulkhead can be
screwed to plywood panels within an existing wiring closet.
The fibre line is then brought directly into the bulkhead.
Once brought into the wiring
closet, the fibre line should be securely fastened to the
wall using screw-down type clip fasteners. The fibre line
is then attached to the fasteners using zapstraps or velcro
ties. |
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The distance
that the fibre line is installed from the bulkhead is very
important. Prior to fastening the line down, ensure that there
is plenty of room to allow the cable to bend nicely around
in an arc so that it can be installed into the bottom of the
bulkhead.
As a rule of thumb, the bend radius should
not exceed less than twenty times the outside diameter of
the cable.
It is quite difficult to bend the cable
beyond this, so as long as the fibre cable is bent into a
nice arc that does not seem to be straining the contents,
like the picture shown at the left, it should be fine. |
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Once the cable is mounted and in place,
the bottom knockouts on the bulkhead
can be removed. Using a screwdriver, hit the knockout firmly
and remove it.
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The fibre
cable can then have a bulkhead screw-type holder affixed to
it. It is then ready for insertion into the bottom of the
bulkhead. In order to do this, you will need to unclip and
slip out the clip-in trays. These are for fibre management
and generally are velcroed in as a group, but flip down individually.
They can usually be unclipped by pushing the side buttons
out of the metal holder.
The fibre should be firmly attached
to the bulkhead, and the screw fastener firmly fastened. There
is generally a clamping device which is designed to hold the
fibre strength member. these can sometimes be quite difficult
to get the strength member into as there is very limited space
for tools, fingers, fibre, and strength member. (See above.)
However, fastening the strength member in is an important
way of supporting the fibre in the bulkhead.
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The trays can then be replaced
into the bulkhead.
Ideally, there is now plenty of slack fibre
to work with and splice.
When completed, the splices are placed,
complete with their plastic protectors, into the rubber splice
holders on the splice trays. Excess fibre strand is carefully
rolled, and placed into the round fibre management areas of
the tray.
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The
final step in hooking up the fibre link is to attach equipment
via connectors. The bulkhead has a stepped area into which
connectors are inserted.
This type of bulkhead system has definite
advantages over a rack mount system, as it makes it much easier
to add connections, or trays of connections. A problem with
some rack mount systems is that they don't always allow for
additional slack, meaning that simple changes to a fibre system
can become very difficult. The beauty of using a bulkhead
to terminate fibre on the wall is that jumpers to equipment
can be ANY length!
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TIP:
When purchasing fibre optic patch cables, make sure that
the ones purchased have the acceptance testing test results
right on the package, and that the test results are well
within the allowable tolerances for your loss budget!!
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