3com 2500 Quick Setup Guide

Page of 110
Single Mode Fiber Standards
D-5
The modal bandwidth specified in 
 on 
page D-2 is 500 MHz • km, which allows the cable 
plant to support end-to-end bandwidth of 250 
MHz at the maximum 2 km distance. As a check, 
use the following formula to verify that the 
bandwidth of your fiber is within an acceptable 
range:
n MHz • km/x km = y MHz
In this formula, n is the amount of bandwidth 
available according to the fiber specification. Divide 
this number by the total length of the fiber (x) in 
kilometers. The result is the modal bandwidth (y), 
measured in MHz.
If the result is lower than 250 MHz, the link may 
increase bit errors. To reduce the likelihood of bit 
errors, shorten the length of the fiber or use 
different fiber until the result of the calculation 
reaches 250 MHz. 
Example
Cable with a modal bandwidth of 500 MHz • km 
will have 250 MHz of bandwidth at 2 km:
(500 MHz • km)/2 km = 250 MHz
The same cable would have 500 MHz of bandwidth 
at 1 km. A fiber cable with a bandwidth 
specifications of 200 MHz • km would have only 
100 MHz of bandwidth at 2 km, which would not 
support FDDI. In this case, another type of fiber 
would be required.
Single Mode Fiber Standards
The SMF-PMD standard defines the requirements for 
an FDDI cable plant to support an interstation 
distance of up to 14.4 kilometers (8.6 miles) of 
single mode fiber. The cable plant includes all fiber 
optic components between any two 
communicating FDDI stations and their associated 
“station-to-network” connectors at each end. 
To determine whether your cable plant complies 
with the SMF-PMD standard, do the following:
Compare the specifications of the fiber you are 
using to standard specifications, as described in 
.
If you mix equipment supporting Category 1 and 
Category 2, verify the maximum attenuation 
between the equipment, as described in 
If your cables are not keyed for single mode 
FDDI transceivers, modify the transceiver and 
connector housing so that they fit together, as 
described on page D-7 in 
.”
The following sections describe each of these steps 
and give examples.