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dWhite Paper
Clarifying Optical Parameters, Power Budgets, and
Fiber Plant Requirements for 10GBASE-E and 10GBASE-L
Fiber Plant Requirements for 10GBASE-E and 10GBASE-L
GLOSSARY
APC
Angled Polished Connectors
Er
Extinction Ratio
OMA
Optical Modulation Amplitude
ORL
Optical Return Loss
OTDR
Optical Time Domain Reflectometer
CD
Chromatic Dispersion
PC
Polished Connectors
UPC
Ultra Polished Connectors
ABSTRACT
The 10 Gigabit Ethernet optical interfaces defined by IEEE 802.3 have a relatively complex set of requirements and parameters that ensure
interoperability and allow for cost-effective implementations. Some of the optical parameters and procedures defined by the IEEE 802.3ae-2002
document depart from the traditional Gigabit Ethernet and SONET/SDH. Implementers need to understand which are the necessary criteria for
compliance to correctly use legacy handheld equipment to qualify and configure a 10 Gigabit Ethernet optical link.
This paper clarifies the IEEE 802.3ae-2002 optical requirements and presents engineering rules to guide the successful deployment of IEEE 802.3ae-
2002 compatible 10GBASE-L and 10GBASE-E optical interfaces across Cisco
®
switches and routers.
There are two aspects to deploying these links: the fiber plant and the optical transceivers. Accordingly, the first section of this paper deals with the
underlying fiber plant. It presents the set of criteria for qualifying the fiber infrastructure. When satisfied, these criteria allow for plug-and-play of
the 10 Gigabit Ethernet interfaces.
The second section looks at the optical transceivers, starting with the theoretical background for the 10 Gigabit Ethernet optical parameters defined
in IEEE 802.3ae-2002. We then look at the two interfaces of concern, namely 10GBASE-E and 10GBASE-L, and present their specific optical
parameters highlighting the mandatory and informative requirements. This section also presents and explains pass/fail criteria to accept and
troubleshoot 10 Gigabit Ethernet optical transceivers.
The Appendix presents the theory in more detail by showing some numerical examples and figures.
GUIDELINES TO VALIDATING A 10 GIGABIT ETHERNET FIBER PLANT
The intent of this section is to minimize the amount of optical design required to set up an IEEE 802.3ae-2002 10 Gigabit Ethernet link. In general,
as long as the fiber plant has certain well-known characteristics, from an operational perspective we can treat 10GBASE-E and 10GBASE-L as
“plug and play” devices with minimal link engineering design required.
The following table reports all you need to know to successfully install and maintain a 10 Gigabit Ethernet single-mode fiber plant.