ADVA Optical Networking has introduced to its flagship FSP 3000 platform an integrated Optical Time Domain Reflectometer (OTDR) capability for end-to-end analysis and monitoring of fiber transport networks. According to the company, the OTDR functionality enables enterprises and network operators to provision new services by easily testing dark fiber for issues; or, for the first time, to perform in-service OTDR monitoring and rapidly identify and isolate fiber issues without interruption of existing services.
“Our customers are now able to more efficiently and accurately troubleshoot new and existing optical networks,” explains Christoph Glingener, chief technology officer for ADVA Optical Networking. “Ultimately, OTDR functionality shortens our customers’ time-to-service as they deploy networks. It also reduces downtime and enhances application security by eliminating surprises when turning up new services and enabling the operators to locate and eliminate fiber issues more quickly.”
Network operators use the FSP 3000 OTDR to monitor and troubleshoot fiber links of up to 100 kilometers. The OTDR analysis is designed to reveal such issues as fiber breaks or bends, deficient fiber splices, damaged connectors, and other issues that degrade or destroy the performance of services. It also reveals security issues, such as illegal fiber taps that jeopardize the integrity of mission-critical data. The FSP 3000 OTDR tool can pinpoint the location of an issue to within a single meter of optical fiber, enabling service technicians to be deployed accurately for fast, corrective action. Up to eight optical links can be scanned as scheduled or on-demand, and results can be presented via easy-to-decipher graphics and stored.
