What is a Fiber Cassette? MPO Cassettes Importance

According to Forbes.com, the best way to keep up with the evolution of technology is to have a plan. When it comes to managing a data center, this aspect is a never-ending job. By the time something has been upgraded, there is always new technology up in the market. 

For example, some networks are still installing 10G fiber optics, even while 40/100G is essentially the new norm. This fact is just something that must be accepted. 

What are Keystone Jacks
What are Keystone Jacks

If you want your company to have a chance of succeeding and to keep up with all the new technology that is coming up, we at C&C Technology Group can help you make wiser business decisions. We can help you decide which fiber optics are efficient and scalable. 

In this article, we will dive into the importance of MPO cassettes for your business along with MTP systems. If this option is new to you, then hop in because we start learning.

Related: Top 7 Data Center Locations in 2021 in the US

Fiber Connector Types

What are MTP and MPO cables?

In caveman terms, these are high-volume data cables. MPO is a multi-fiber push-on, and MTP stands for multi-fiber termination. MPO and MTP cables use the same connector type and perform similar functions. 

Both cables are pre-terminated and support speeds from 10G – 100G. MPO and MTP cables use connectors that are the same size as subscriber connectors. The number of fibers that these cables can handle is between 12-24 fibers per cable. 

These types of cables carry much information. Considering how little space these compact cables have, it’s easy to understand why they are so trendy among data centers today. 

There are a few similarities in design between MPO and MTP cables, and they also perform parallel optical communication, which allows simultaneous reception and transmission like a duplex cable.  

One of the main differences among these cables is that they handle a lot more data than a single fiber pair at a time. Having so many strands of pre-arranged fibers in a cable eases the effort on-site thanks to the volume and capacity of these systems. 

MTP Versus MPO

In general, the advantages and the design components are practically identical between the two systems. 

MPO and MTP are terms that are often used interchangeably. So, when you go out and try to shop for these cables, it should be no surprise that they do this. However, there is a minor distinction that it’s essential to take notice of. 

MPO is a generic fiber connector type, and most manufacturers can make MPO equipment and cables. However, MTP is made by US Conec and is trademarked. So, technically speaking, if you come across an MTP cable, it should come from a single manufacturer. 

The truth is that it shouldn’t matter what term you use. As long as you know what they both are, what they do, and why they exist, everything should be fine. 

closeup fiber optics

MPO Cassette: What is It?

The Fiber MPO Cassette can provide and integrate splice solutions and a patch in a compact packet. The unique design allows the cassette to “telescope” forward and out of the chassis, easing access to the connectors and the adapters. 

This is one of the industry’s first removable front U-Guard. It secures and protects the front connectors while managing sub-groups of jumpers to separate those from adjacent cassettes. 

The final result is improved fiber jumper management which reduces the risk of interference with other fiber jumpers in the networking chassis and, of course, it saves time. 

Looking for high-quality MPO cassettes for your data center? Contact C&C Technology Group to get a hold of our team of professionals to get expert guidance today!

Cassettes Versus Adapter Panels

Even though pre-terminated cables are excellent to do their required job, their benefits are limited. MTP and MPO systems can generate the implementation of regulated adapter cassettes and panels, and these pre-manufactured tools make it considerably more comfortable to manage fiber strands. 

The cassettes and adapter panels funnel everything into carefully organized segments instead of being too concerned to arrange every little fiber in a switch. For that, it’s also important to understand how automatic transfer switches work

Related: Here Are the Top 5 Reasons Enterprises are Adopting SD-WAN

Considering the unbelievable number of cables in a 100G data center makes it easy to appreciate just how much work these organizing devices are doing. 

Some other benefits are:

  • It saves thousands of hours of labor
  • Racks and cabinets are considerably more organized
  • The material costs of networking the center go down

There is no doubt that MTP and MPO systems give definite advantages in maintenance, deployment, and design. Whatever network that needs speeds over 10G can be served by exploring the opportunities and benefits offered by this technology. 

Not only that, MTP and MPO can still even improve an older fiber infrastructure that isn’t under such high bandwidth demand. With the increasing demand, it’s also good to have a reliable software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN) like the one we have at C&C Technolgy Group. 

When we talk about technology, efficiency is always a must-have, and these technological advances and systems always offer or add value to virtually any fiber network in the world. It’s also important to consider getting the best data center racks for your business. 

Related: Best Base-8 Fiber Optic Cable Connectors

The Effectiveness of Pre-Termination

Any person who has ever Anyone who coiled their RJ45 cables will understand this concept. Pre-terminated lines or cables save a ridiculous amount of labor and time for adjusting and deploying networks.  

Considering the 12-24 fiber systems we discussed in this article, pre-termination systems save a lot of time and work per connection. Each cable already terminates in a regulated connector; high-powered fiber optics networks then go from complicated plates of cable wiring to something manageable in carefully arranged stacks.

The decreased tangling-like spaghetti and cable volume don’t just save on labor. They can also help:

  • Improve airflow through the systems
  • Make cooling more efficient
  • Save money over time

It’s easy to see why MPO and MTP systems are so prevalent in today’s data centers. However, the efficiency of the cabling is only part of the equation, and they are a fundamental part of a bigger picture that serves cable efficiency in dense environments. 

Key MPO Benefits

MPO and MTP solutions are ideal for high-performance networks. With both types of cabling, data centers can enable higher speeds without dealing with the complexity and risk of welding on-site. 

Benefits of MPO and MTP requiring less cabling are:

  • It makes it easier to handle racks 
  • It speeds up the installation process
  • It ensures there are fewer cables to interfere with cooling 
  • It is much quicker and easier to expand capacity as data center requirements change as a modular system 
  • It will save money over a long period

If you want to take a deeper look into more technological tips, visit our Tech Tips section to understand topics like this better.

Conclusion

As you can see, using a high-density fiber patch panel comes with many significant advantages for your data center.

Thanks to their compactness, they save precious space. But not only that, they can also simplify the cable deployment by not needing to run jumpers across various rooms or floors. Instead, they merely do everything by running a short fiber patch from your network to change the panel structure up. 

This offers a cost-effective solution for your data center and a seamless distribution for bandwidth from 10G to 100G.
Are you looking for innovative solutions that your data center is facing? Call us at (888) 263-5672 or send us a message to learn more about what we can do for you today!

Last Updated on August 2, 2022 by Josh Mahan

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