A fiber optic backbone is a link between two locations on the same network that uses fiber optic cable to transmit data. Fiber optic backbones are commonly used to connect different parts of large facilities like offices, schools, and hospitals. They provide more bandwidth than copper cables and can transmit data over greater distances without signal loss or interference. As data needs continue increasing, fiber optic backbones allow networks to scale their bandwidth capacity and provide future-proof connectivity within buildings.

1. What is a FiberBackbone?
A fibre opticbackbone isa linkbetweentwodifferentlocationsthatare on the same network.
However,whatisa fiberbackbone andwhere isitused
The followingare exampleswhere a fibre opticcable couldlinktogethertwoseparate locations
1. Linkingthe maincommsroom to cabinetsondifferentfloorsof the same building
2. Linkingthe maindata cabinettoa smallerzone sub-cabinet(i.e awarehouseorreception)
3. Whenthere are twobuildingsof the same tenanttoconnect
4. Linkingcabinetsonthe same floorthatare inplace to keepthe localiseddatacablinglinks
under90m indistance
Whyuse fiberbackbone?
The main benefitof optical fiberbackbone isthatitisthe most effective meansof transmittingdata.
Fibercan coverthe greatestdistanceswiththe mostbandwidthformostmeansof communication.
Fiberbandwidthanddistance abilitymeanlesscable,fewerrepeaters,lesspower,andless
maintenance.Forexample,24linksbetweenlocationscaneasilybe enclosedinasingle fibre optic
cable
In addition,the fiberisnotaffectedbyelectromagneticradiationinterference.Therefore,itmakesit
possible totransmitinformationanddatawithlessnoise andlessdisturbance.The fiberislighter
than the copperwiresandrequireslessmetalliccontainmentalongitsroute.These advantagesopen
the door to manyotherbenefitsthatmake optical fiberthe mostlogical choice indatatransmission.
As a resultof these benefits,fiberhasbecome ameansof transportationforvirtuallyall data,voice,
and videocommunications.
Consistencyand durability
Fiber-opticwiringisgenerallymore expensive thancopperforsingle links.Thisisdue tothe added
requirementsof active transmissionandreceiverhardware.However,itbecomesincreasinglymore
cost-effectiveasadditional linksare requiredalongthe same route
Therefore,more andmore businessesare choosingfiber opticbackbone networksbecauseof their
consistencyanddurability.If acompanywantsto linkseparate serviceslike phone,CCTV,AV,Access
Control,andinternetconnection,fiberisabetteroption.Coppercablingwouldrequire alinkper
service.However,fibre isall done inasingle cable withseparate cores.Therefore,asinstallingcan
be expensive,The costismore effective whenmakingthe installationeasier.Whendesigninga
facilityornetworkbackbone,itisimportanttoconsiderbothcurrentandfuture communication
needsbypreparingforthe growingdataand bandwidthrequirements.Thiscanbe done byinstalling
a largerfibre cable andonlyterminatingthose thatare required.However,asrequirementsgrow,
the un-terminatedcores"DarkFibre"canbe utilisedandterminated
Use of fiberbackbone
Fibre opticbackbone linksshouldbe the standarddesigninanynew builddesign.Thisgivesthe
mostfuture proof allowance andheadroomfornew transmissionspeedsandconnection
requirements

2. Copperbackbone linksare still commonlyused,butusuallyonlyinadditional worksorinsmall
officesratherthanlargerdesigns
If you run a large facility,fiberopticcablingwill be mostsuitable foryourbusiness.Itisperfectfor
connectingmanydata cabinetlocationswithinone space asfibercablingcanconnectdistancesthat
go above standardcablings,suchas Category5e / Cat6 / Cata6a. Theycan alsotransmitovergreater
distances.Forexample,Om3can transmit10 gigabitsupto 300m and OM4 450m. HoweverCat6a,
Cat7 andCat8a are all standardisedtoamaximumlinklengthof 90m
Examplesof facilitiesthatbenefitfromfiber-opticnetworksincludeschools,warehouses,hospitals,
offices,anduniversities.These are generallylocationsthathave multi-datacabinetlocations
Conclusion
As the requirementforbandwidthquicklyincreasesthe abilityof the Internet,fiber-optictechnology
maintainstobe able to dramaticallyincrease bandwidth.The new technologywill enable Internet
providerstooffermuchmore connectivity,fromreducingnetworkcongestiontoon-demandvideo
streaming.Fiberopticcablesare anintegral partof the buildingsystem.Althoughtheyare usually
installedforenterprisenetworkcommunications,theyare alsodevelopedinbuildingmanagement
systemsandelectrical powercoordination.