FiberLoop System Make the Connection!

Transcription

1 FiberLoop System Make the Connection!

2 Overview Historically there has been an Industry void in the ability to monitor, and remotely test, fiber optic cables carrying signals between the Service Provider and the Customer Network (Premise). This region is routinely referred to as the last mile. When a customer experiences a network failure, the actual location of the faults may be difficult to localize relevant to the Service Providers Network or the Customer Network. Typically service interruptions result in the dispatch of service personnel to determine whether the fault lies within the customer network or is associated with the fibers provided by the Service Provider. This can be a costly and time-consuming occurrence. The FiberLoop system allows for 24/7 monitoring of the fiber optic signal and can also accommodate remote loopback of the fibers to test integrity. This allows for testing the integrity of the transmission fibers, and also the customer network, without having to incur the costly dispatch of personnel. While the FiberLoop system is primarily a monitoring and testing tool, it is available in singlemode to singlemode versions, singlemode (SM) to multimode and multimode to multimode (MM) versions. This makes the FiberLoop system ideal for situations requiring repeater and mode conversion products. When used as a demarcation point the FiberLoop system offers mode conversion coupled with outstanding monitoring and testing capabilities. The Standalone FiberLoop system operates at up to OC3 speeds and offers an extensive security system to prevent unauthorized access. How It Works The FiberLoop system is made up of three components: Standalone FiberLoop unit, FLM-2000 Management Station and FiberLoop Modem. Standalone FiberLoop The FiberLoop unit is a hardware component that is placed, usually as a demarcation point, between a pair of fiber optic strands running from the service provider s Central Office and the customers equipment at the Customer Premise. If mode conversion is required, the FiberLoop is available in SM to MM versions. If repeater applications are required then the appropriate mode of FiberLoop is chosen, SM to SM or MM to MM. The FiberLoop unit receives signals travelling down the fiber optic strands and converts or repeats the signals for introduction into the Customer Network. The FiberLoop unit operates at up to OC3 speeds and comes with two separate power supplies to offer redundancy and the opportunity for two separate UPS power sources The FiberLoop operates flawlessly as a mode conversion or repeater product. If mode conversion or repeater functions are the only requirement the standalone FiberLoop will meet all of your needs. To take advantage of the monitoring and testing capabilities of the FiberLoop unit the FLM-2000 Management Station and the FiberLoop Modem need to be added to the system. The FiberLoop unit may be configured to monitor a number of situations: power supply 1 and 2, and loss of carrier Central Office and loss of carrier Customer Network. If any of these monitored conditions fail the FiberLoop unit may be instructed to connect to the FLM-2000 Management Station to report the error condition. Connection between the FLM-2000 Management Station and the FiberLoop unit occurs via the FiberLoop Modem across a Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN). As a result communication between the FiberLoop unit and the FLM-2000 management station can occur even in situations where the fiber connection between the CO and Customer

3 Premise have been severed. In the event a loss of carrier event is reported the FiberLoop unit may be instructed to loopback the signals to determine where the fault is located. This is done remotely, via the PSTN, eliminating the need to dispatch service personnel. Dry alarm contacts have been incorporated into the design of the FiberLoop unit to accommodate situations where access to a phone line for monitoring is unavailable but an alarm is desired. The FiberLoop allows any of the four alarm situations (2 power and 2 carrier status) to be tied to major or minor alarm contacts. Both the monitoring and dry alarm contacts can be operated independently of one another, so it is possible to have both situations in operation at a given time. The FiberLoop unit s case has been designed to offer secure protection for incoming and outgoing fiber optic cables. The outer case includes two security screws which require a keyed driver to remove (one is included with each FiberLoop). Located inside the case are two bend relief arcs to provide bend free cable routing and the option of securing the cables to the arcs via tie wraps. Mounting cutouts have been designed into the case s base so that the unit maybe fastened to any surface, horizontal or vertical.

4 FLM-2000 Management Station The FLM-2000 Management Station is capable of monitoring and controlling at least 6000 FiberLoop units and offers database options to easily identify and organize these FiberLoop units. The FLM-2000 software operates on Windows 95/98 and NT 4 workstations. The workstation should be at least a Pentium 200, complete with a 17 monitor and 64 MBytes of Ram (more depending upon the number of FiberLoops). Also required is 20MBytes of free hard drive space and a 10Base-T Network Interface Card. The workstation may be located anywhere on the Central Office TCP\IP network which has access to a FiberLoop Modem pool. The total number of FiberLoop units that may be serviced by one FLM-2000 Management station is dependent upon the number of sockets available for FiberLoop Modem access. Win95/ 98 is limited to ~120 sockets, therefore 120 modems may exist in the modem pool. If you allow 50 FiberLoop units per modem then 6000 FiberLoop units may be serviced by one FLM-2000 Station. This is a limitation that is influenced by the installed operating system. The software constantly monitors the FiberLoop Modem pool for incoming FiberLoop unit calls. When the FLM software is connected to a FiberLoop unit all of the displays indicate current activity of the connected FiberLoop. FiberLoop programming is controlled and monitored from a user friendly graphical interface. Programming of individual FiberLoop units entails editing a FiberLoop entry in the FLM-2000 Management package. In addition to the four alarm criteria, the FiberLoop requires programming to setup acceptable phone numbers identifying the incoming caller (CallerID) and the outgoing phone number representing the FLM Management Station. Programming is also required to configure the FiberLoop to respond to each alarm condition. For example, if only one power source is available it will be necessary to program the FiberLoop to ignore a power failure on the unsupported power supply. The FiberLoop must be instructed to ignore this error condition to prevent it from calling the alarm into the FLM-2000 Management Station. The only programming parameter that is inaccessible to the FLM-2000 Management Station is the reprogramming of the FiberLoop s system password. The password may only be changed by making a direct RS232 connection to the FiberLoop unit. This was specifically designed to prevent unauthorized remote password changes.

5 Alarm signals and monitoring are also controlled via a user friendly graphical interface. All alarm notifications require acknowledgement before they can be cleared from the Alarm Status Window. The Alarm Status Window can not be closed until the alarms have been cleared. In addition, if the alarms are not cleared and the window minimized, it will popup as the primary window every fifteen minutes until the alarms are cleared. All alarms, and clears, are date stamped and recorded in logs. The FLM-2000 Management Software offers extensive report options. Alarm History reports are available for group entries or individual circuits. Group reports deal with the alarms associated with FiberLoop units within a particular group database. Individual circuit reports deal with individual FiberLoop circuits. Both the Group and Individual circuit reports are available as Alarm history or Statistical reports. Alarm history reports list all alarms for a given chronology or time period. The Statistical reports lists the average and longest acknowledgement times as well as the average and longest clearing times. FiberLoop Modem All communications between FiberLoop units and the FLM-2000 Management Station occur over the PSTN via the FiberLoop Modem. Three levels of security have been implemented to prevent unauthorized access. Proprietary modem signaling is used as the first level of security against unauthorized access. Modems available on the commercial market will not communicate with the FiberLoop unit. The other two levels include Caller Line Identification (CLID) and Password Protection. Password changes at the FiberLoop unit are only possible via a direct RS232 connection. This prevents unauthorized remote system changes. The FiberLoop Modem also comes with two redundant power supplies and is designed to connect via an RS232 cable to a terminal server. This allows for multiple FiberLoop Modems to be controlled by a single FLM-2000 Management Station.

6 Applications The FiberLoop system is ideally suited for any network termination point requiring remote monitoring, testing and loopback capabilities. Combine these features with mode conversion, or repeater options, and the FiberLoop system has limitless applications in today s networks. Network monitoring offers the customer increased support and security by providing the knowledge that the Service Provider is able to detect and respond to problems immediately. Reduced network downtime equals increased customer satisfaction! Specific Application Examples: A demarcation point at any Point of Presence (POP), whether it be located within the CO Network or located at the Customer Premise. Co-locates which act as demarcations between Incumbent Local Exchange Carrier (ILEC) and Competitive Local Exchange Carrier (CLEC) Customer provided Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) switches and routers are most often provided with a multimode interface based on economics. The Carrier provided fiber servicing the ATM Switch or Router is always singlemode, a FiberLoop SM-MM converter is a cost effective solution, which also allows for monitoring and remote loopback capabilities. A specific example of this is - Cisco Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) switches and routers are available in Singlemode and Multimode options. The multimode version is the most economical and popular with the singlemode version costing thousands of dollars more. Banking applications between main branches and data farms over OC3. SM-SM FiberLoop at the data farm would allow for monitoring and remote loopback.

7 Summary Priority Electronics Ltd has been manufacturing fiber optic cable assemblies since the early 1990 s. In addition, Priority has been manufacturing and marketing loopback hardware for the copper cabling industry for over twenty years. Our experience in these two areas makes us uniquely able to offer an outstanding line of hardware and software components tailored to the communications industry. The FiberLoop System is an outstanding product line designed to offer the utmost flexibility and performance in conversion and repeater applications requiring secure monitoring and loopback options.

8 FiberLoop Specifications FiberLoop Modem Specifications Fiber Optic Connections (Carrier) Singlemode SC 1310nm Ave Optical Power Output: Min: -15dBm Max: -8dBm Max Ave Power Input: -8dBm Receiver Sensitivity: -31dBm Fiber Optic Connections (Customer) Multimode SC 1310nm Ave Optical Power Output: Min: -19dBm Max: -14dBm Max Ave Power Input: -14dBm Receiver Sensitivity: -31dBm Operating Distance SM: 15km (optionally available up to 40km) MM: 2km Communications Interface RS-232 Jack: RJ45 at 9600 baud N-8-1 Proprietary Modem Signaling Proprietary Baud Rate 8 bit No-Parity RS232 Data Input Phone Jack: RJ11 Phone Line Input: 2 wire POTS Power Supply Dual AC Power Plugs (w/strain Relief) Current Consumption: 6W Mechanical Dimensions: 12 L x W x 2 H (30.5cm x 15cm x 5cm) Weight:5.2 lbs (2.37kg) Communications Interface RS232 Jack: RJ45 Proprietary Modem Signaling 8 bit No-Parity RS232 Data Input Phone Jack: RJ11 Phone Line Input: 2 Wire POTS Power Supply Voltage Input: 6Vdc to 9Vdc Current Consumption: Under 100 madc Mechanical Dimensions: 5.5 L x 5.6 W x 1.6 H (14cm x 14.2cm x 4.1cm) Weight:1.0lbs (0.45kg) FiberLoop Models Available SM to MM Converter (Standalone) PN: P FiberLoop Modem (Standalone) PN: P SM to SM Link Extender PN: P FLM-2000 Management Software PN: FLM MM to MM Link Extender PN: P