A strong and successful patch cable management which can increase the reliability and flexibility and decrease the cost of network operation and maintenance should provide bend radius protection, reasonable patch cable path, easy accessibility of patch cable and physical protection. When the four mentioned aspects are satisfied, there is already half the success to strong patch cable management.

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Fiberstore (FS.COM) | Fiber Patch Cable Management
Deploying more fiber optic cable is just the first step to meet the high-bandwidth requirements,
strong management over the fiber optic cable is a basic requirement for a successful fiber optic
network infrastructure. Fiber patch cable might be the weakest link in optical network
infrastructures. To deliver and guarantee and optimal network performance, patch cable
management is critical. In addition, well management of fiber patch cable can lower operation cost
& time and increases the reliability and flexibility of network operation and maintenance. This post
will offer the critical elements that should be noted during patch cable management, as well as tips
for fiber patch cable management.
Elements That Affects Patch Cable Management
To get a flexible and well organized patch cable management, the factors that affect the
performance of the fiber optic patch cable should be introduced first. Here are four key elements
that should be considered during patch cable management.
 Bend Radius
Unlike copper, fiber optic made of glass is much fragile and need more protection and attention
during the operation and management. Thus, the fiber’s bend radius will impact its reliability and
performance. If a fiber cable is bent excessively, the optical signal within the cable may refract and
escape through the fiber cladding which will cause a loss of signal strength and is known as bend
loss. What’s more, bending, especially during the installation and pulling of fiber optic patch cable
might also cause micro cracks and damage the fiber permanently. Generally, there are two basic
types of bends in fiber, which are microbends and macrobends as shown in the following picture.
The macrobends are larger than microbends.
Fiber Patch Cable
Management

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Fiberstore (FS.COM) | Fiber Patch Cable Management
What should be noted is that bend radius might not be seen during the initial installation of fiber
patch cable. This is because the number of patch cables routed to the optical distribution ODF is
usually small. However, when more patch cords are added on the top of installed patch cables in the
future the problems will come across (shown in the following picture). A fiber patch cable that
working fine for years might suddenly have an increased level of attenuation, as well as a potentially
shorter service life.
 Path of Patch Cable
Patch cable path is an aspect closely related to bend radius that can affect the performance and
maintenance of the patch cable. The path of the patch cable should be clearly defined and easy to
follow. Improper cable routing can cause increased congestion in the termination panel, increasing
the possibility of bend radius violations and long-term failure. However, the well managed patch
cable path ensures that bend radius requirements are maintained at all points and makes accessing
individual patch cable easier, quicker and safer. What should be mentioned is that the well
organized fiber patch cords can help to decrease operating costs and the time required to turn-up
or restore service.
 Accessibility of Patch Cable
The third aspect is accessibility of the installed patch cable. If the installed patch cable is easy to be
accessed, the maintenance and operation would be quick without inducing a macrobend on an
adjacent fiber, and it can also offer proper bend radius protection. Accessibility is critical during
network reconfiguration operations and directly impacts operation costs and network reliability.
 Physical Protection
Patch cables routed between pieces of equipment can largely affect network reliability. Without
proper protection, they would be easy to be damaged by technicians and equipment accidentally.
Thus, physical protection of the installed patch cords is very important.
 Tips for Fiber Patch Cable Management
According to the mentioned aspects that can affect the performance and maintenance of the fiber

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Fiberstore (FS.COM) | Fiber Patch Cable Management
optic patch cable, here offers several tips that can help to increase the performance of patch cords,
as well as the reliability and flexibility of patch cable management.
Tip 1: Pay attention to the bend radius of the patch cable. Generally, for 1.6mm and 3.0mm cords
the minimum un-loaded bend radius is 3.5 cm, and the minimum bend radius of MPO patch cable is
ten times the cord diameter.
Tip 2: Never pull or stress the patch cords (shown in the following figure). During the patching
process, excessive force can stress fiber patch cables and connectors attached to them, thus
reducing their performance. There might be something wrong if you need to use force in pulling a
cord.
Tip 3: Routing cords through cable pathways. If the existing cord is the right length, it may be
possible to re-use it. If this is the case, remove the cord completely and re-run it in through the
cable pathways. This is the only sure way to ensure there are no tangles, kinks or strains in the cord.
For efficient routing, find the best path between the ports to be connected. Avoid routing cords
through troughs and guides that are already congested.

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Fiberstore (FS.COM) | Fiber Patch Cable Management
Tip 4: Bundling and tying cords gives the panel a neat appearance but tight bundling increases the
risk of pinching (shown in the following figure). Do not tighten cable ties beyond the point where
individual cords can rotate freely.
Tip 5: Labeling is necessary. Labeling is the most important part of a System Administrator’s
responsibilities. At any administration point in a cabling infrastructure, including patching panels,
accurate labels are essential. These will identify pair modularity and tell technicians where the other
end of the cable is terminated.
Tip 6: Inspect fiber cords for physical damage including stress marks from sharp bends on the
sheath, or damage to connectors as shown in the following figure.
Conclusion
A strong and successful patch cable management which can increase the reliability and flexibility
and decrease the cost of network operation and maintenance should provide bend radius
protection, reasonable patch cable path, easy accessibility of patch cable and physical protection.
When the four mentioned aspects are satisfied, there is already half the success to strong patch
cable management.

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Fiberstore (FS.COM) | Fiber Patch Cable Management
Contact Us
Manufacturing R & D (China)
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Technology Park, No.6, Keyuan Road,
Nanshan District, Shenzhen 518057,
China
Tel: +86 (755) 8300 3611
Fax: +86 (755) 8326 9395
Email: sales@fs.com
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Hong Kong
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WA 98188,United States
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Email: sales@fs.com
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Third Floor 207 Regent Street, London,
W1B 3HH, United Kingdom
Tel: +44 2081441980
Notice: This document is for informational purposes only and does not set forth any warranty, expressed or
implied, concerning any equipment, equipment features, or service offered or to be offered by Fiberstore.
Fiberstore reserves the right to make changes to this document at any time, without notice, and assumes no
responsibility for its use. This information document describes features that may not be currently available.
Contact a Fiberstore sales team for information on feature and product availability.
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