Fibre test replaces six instruments, says Viavi
Testing time is reduced by up to 80 per cent with the FiberComplete Pro test, says Viavi. It has a suite of capabilities which replaces six test instruments, added the company.
It is claimed to be the first single test port solution that fully automates all the fibre qualification tests required for the construction and certification of any type of fibre optic network.
FiberComplete Pro reduces time and effort required for almost every aspect of the test and certification process including test set up and data exchange, results analysis and on-board report generation, claimed Viavi. With one push of a button, it sequences all the required tests for single or multiple fibres. Consolidated reports from the tests are saved as a PDF and are sent to the cloud via the company’s StrataSync suite. The streamlined workflow, test sequencing and on-board reporting are expected to deliver up to an 80 per cent time saving for fibre acceptance testing.
Through a single test port, FiberComplete Pro combines six test instruments: light source, power meter, optic loss test set, optical return loss (ORL) meter, fault finder and OTDR (optical time domain reflectometer). Tests range from basic uni- or bi-directional insertion loss (IL) and optical return loss (ORL) through to advanced real-time, bi-directional OTDR analysis (TrueBIDIR). This allows corrective action to be taken while a technician is still on site to certify fibre links are built to the required specification and networks.
The increase in fibre rollouts has led to many service providers being challenged with finding trained staff with the experience to support the qualification of fibre networks. This has led to operational inefficiencies, rollout delays and increased costs. It has also led to less accurate certification methodologies as service providers have had to compromise to certify networks in time.
For example, although bi-directional OTDR tests are widely recognised for delivering accurate, real-world results, service providers have typically opted for simpler but less accurate uni-directional OTDR tests. Bi-directional OTDR tests required specialised and experienced field technicians, as well as multiple tools, said Viavi but FiberComplete Pro was designed to be the simplest and fastest fibre certification system, allowing technicians and contractors of any experience level to be immediately productive and successful, said the company.
Viavi provides network test, monitoring and assurance for communications service providers, enterprises, network equipment manufacturers, government and avionics. It helps customers harness the power of instruments, automation, intelligence and virtualisation and provides light management for 3D sensing, anti-counterfeiting, consumer electronics, industrial, automotive, and defence applications.
