Troubleshooting Optical Fiber Networks: Understanding and Using...

Features

• Cover Type: Hard Cover with 437 pages
• Published by: Academic Press May 7, 2004
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 0120586614
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0120586615
• Book Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 1 inches
• Weighs: 1.7 pounds

Book Description
Learn to use the most valuable piece of test equipment for installing, troubleshooting, and repairing optical fiber networks!

Product Description
This book offers comprehensive, state-of-the-art information about time-domain fiber-optic testing. Readers will gain an understanding of how to troubleshoot optical-fiber networks using an optical time-domain reflectometer (OTDR), while learning the fundamental principles underlying the operation of these powerful testing instruments. From basic fiber optics and fiber testing, to detailed event-analysis techniques, this book covers the entire spectrum of time-domain optical cable test theory and applications.

* Only book available focusing solely on OTDR theory and practice
* Covers the entire spectrum of time-domain optical cable test theory and applications
* Designed to be accessible to both engineers and system technicians
* Includes OTDR training CD

Reader Reviews
In 1989 two of us (Bell and Anderson) sat in our offices, across the hall from each other, discussing the history of optical time-domain reflectometers (OTDRs), the technology required to build these amazing machines, and the surprising depth of complexity associated with their use. As we discussed these issues, our conversation began to focus on the idea of a comprehensive engineering guide for OTDR users. It seemed obvious that, with increasing popularity and use of OTDRs, an authoritative text on the subject was needed. At the time (1997) we were engineers at Tektronix, in the company's Cable and Network Analysis division. In 1997, Tektronix was a major producer of OTDRs, and our book was the first single-source handbook describing optical time-domain reflectometers (OTDRs). Tektronix sponsored our work in writing the book, and published and distributed it worldwide. At the time, worldwide investment in fiber-optic networks was expanding in double digits, and Tektronix was one of the top manufacturers of OTDRs, responsible for both their early innovation and development of several key technologies. Neither of us could have anticipated the dramatic changes that would take place in the next six years. While fiber optics proceeded at a steady and respectable pace during most of the 1990s, the industry exploded in irrational exuberance near the turn of the century as part of the telecom bubble, only to be followed by a deep depression that would see many companies, including Tektronix, abandon key business sectors devoted to optical telecom by the end of 2003. Through these tumultuous times, the OTDR continued its remarkable evolution, resulting in today's machines, which are considerably smaller, faster, more capable, and less expensive than their earlier predecessors. The evolution of OTDRs has been driven largely by the widespread use and deployment of optical fiber, and the need to put high-powered test capability into the hands of the optical technicians that engage daily in installing, maintaining, and repairing these networks. The days of optical engineers doing field tests with bulky $35,000 OTDRs are gone forever. It is because of the dramatic changes in the markets and science of OTDRs that a second edition is needed. Furthermore, the widespread use of OTDRs necessitates publishing and distributing the book in a manner that makes it more widely available to field technicians as well as engineers. These changes also demand a new title that reflects a broader theme to the book and goes beyond simply testing with OTDRs to address broader issues surrounding fiber-optic networks in general, and how to keep them working properly. Because OTDRs have evolved from difficult-to-use, specialized equipment to ubiquitous mainstay status, we found the book required additional contributions from a third author. Larry Johnson, owner and founder of The Light Brigade, was the obvious choice. Larry's company is a leading training organization with nearly two decades of experience teaching technicians how to use OTDRs in the field to install, maintain, and repair fiber-optic networks. He has an intimate knowledge of the challenges and needs of the technician that are unmatched in the industry, as well as a high degree of familiarity with different OTDR manufacturers their products and related fiber optic standards. As with the first edition, our objective in writing this book is go beyond a simple handbook that discusses operational procedures such as cursor placement and waveform interpretation. While we do cover these topics, we also explain more esoteric subjects and give insight into the technical nuances of OTDRs that enable non-traditional OTDR measurements such as mode-field diameter, cut-off wavelength, and polarization mode dispersion. We also dedicate considerable attention to measurement errors and how to estimate them. This, especially, is a subject with which all OTDR users should be quantitatively familiar. As a part of this, we have devoted a chapter to event-marking software, which was the key innovation that resulted in OTDRs being readily used by field technicians. Our target audience is practicing engineers, system technicians, and field technicians. We have constructed each chapter so that, for the most part, simpler concepts and ideas are discussed first, followed by concepts of increasing difficulty as the chapter progresses. The level of difficulty varies. When this happens, we try to warn the reader that the level of difficulty may rise but subside in succeeding sections. We have also added a short quiz at the end of each chapter so that the book can be used in the classroom as a text, or for self-study. The book makes full use of mathematical equations and detail which are used liberally throughout the text. These are intended to provide quantitative support for many of the book's central points. Though we use them unabashedly, most of the equations are summaries, with few derivations, and involve only algebra or elementary calculus. Where appropriate, we use diagrams and text that illustrate ideas embedded within the equations so that full command of the mathematics is not necessary to obtain an intuitive feel for the subject being discussed. For the most part, the book can be read and the key points understood without having to understand the mathematical equations. For those who want to delve a little deeper, however, the mathematics opens the door to understanding OTDRs at a level of detail that should appeal to design engineers. We hope this book serves as a useful desk reference, and provides value even if not read cover-to-cover. Toward this end, we have included a detailed table of contents, glossary of terms, glossary of mathematical variables, and a detailed index.