How to Use 40G/100G Network Structured Cabling Base-24 MTP/MPO? - NADDOD Blog

How to Use 40G/100G Network Structured Cabling Base-24 MTP/MPO?

NADDOD Adam Connectivity Solutions Consultant Jan 14, 2023

With the increase of business volume and users’ demand for more bandwidth, large enterprise networks have started to upgrade from 10G to 40G to 100G, in which Base-24 MTP/MPO structured cabling plays an important role. How much do you know about Base-24 MTP/MPO structured cabling, and how should Base-24 MTP/MPO structured cabling be applied in 40/100G networks? You will get more details from this article.

What is 24-pole MTP/MPO structured cabling?

Base-24 MTP/MPO structured cabling is a high-density cabling solution based on 24-conductor MTP/MPO connections. A Base-24 architecture can be achieved with one 24-conductor MTP connector, providing a higher density than a Base-24 architecture with three 8-conductor MTP connectors or two 12-conductor MTP connectors.

Base-24 structured cabling solution for 40/100G networks

Base-24 MTP structured cabling is somewhat more advantageous than traditional single-core duplex fiber optic cabling. While a dual-core duplex LC connector takes up the same amount of space as a single MTP connector, a single MTP connector can support 24 cores, allowing for higher connection density. This is why networks are using Base-24 MTP structured cabling as they grow from 10Gbps to 40G or 100G, making it easier to support more advanced applications (e.g., AR, VR). Base-24 MTP structured cabling based on 24-cell MTP connections can provide different types of solutions for 40G/100G networks. Four typical Base-24 MTP structured cabling solutions are listed below.

Base-24 cabling solution 1: MTP patch cable is the main cross-connection

As shown in the figure below, a 24-core MTP fiber patch cable can be converted from 24-core to dual-core by using a 24-core MTP-LC fiber distribution box. Among them, polarity B MTP fiber patch cable and 8 core / 12 core MTP fiber patch cable has a similar way to manage the port polarity. Compared to 8-core and 12-core MTP fiber patch cords, 24-core MTP fiber patch cords can achieve higher port density, which is three times higher than 8-core MTP fiber patch cords and twice as high as 12-core MTP fiber patch cords. In addition, for the realization of 144 cores, the area occupied by using 24 core MTP-based connectors is about 30% less than that of using 12 core MTP-based connectors, which is why 24 core MTP fiber patch cords are popular for high-density applications.

Base-24 cabling solution 2: LC patch cord-based cross-connect

Unlike the MTP cross-connection, this solution is suitable for cases where there are limited 24-core MTP fiber patch cords (i.e., no additional 24-core MTP fiber patch cords). To increase network flexibility, an MTP-LC fiber patch box and duplex LC fiber patch cords are used to establish communication links between two 24-core MTP fiber patch cords, so that the deployment can achieve dual fiber and parallel multi-fiber connections.

Base-24 Cabling Solution 3: Using MTP Branch Patch Cords

Unlike Solution 1, the MTP branch patch cord and MTP fiber adapter panel in this solution replaces the MTP-LC fiber patch box and LC fiber patch cord combination in Solution 1, a change that significantly increases the connection density on the panel. In this solution, the 8-port 24-core MTP fiber adapter panel can support up to 192 fibers. For QSFP applications, the 24-pin MTP panel is three times denser than the 8-pin MTP panel for the same port (e.g., 8 ports).

Base-24 Cabling Solution 4: MTP Parallel Connection

Compared to Base-8/Base-12 MTP structured cabling, Base-24 MTP structured cabling can support a wider range of parallel applications. For example, Base-24 MTP structured cabling provides connectivity for 100G SR-10 applications requiring only ten pairs of multimode fiber in a 10x10G configuration, and even when some vendors have expanded 100G SR-10 applications to provide 12x10G (120G), 24 core MTP fiber patch cords provide the simplest and most straightforward connectivity for their applications.

Among them, in 120G parallel application, the 120G port can be configured as 12 independent 10G links, and then connected to the server via 24 core MTP-12LC duplex branch fiber patch cable. At the same time, it can also be configured as three 40G links, which are connected to the network switch via 24 core MTP-3x8 core MTP fiber patch cords.

Summary

In summary, Base-24 MTP structured cabling based on 24 core MTP connections is the most cost effective solution for deploying parallel and duplex fiber applications. Compared to three 8-pole MTP connectors and two 12-pole MTP connectors, the 24-pole MTP connectors provide higher density and effectively reduce cleaning and inspection time during MTP system installation.