I have written at length about the different styles of cable connectors, from old-school ESCON to MPO. We’re strong believers in the MPO connector – in fact, it will be the go-to connector for data centers in the near future. Why? Because if you’re looking to migrate to 40 or 100G Ethernet, the MPO connector is necessary.

When looking at what changes must be made to cabling infrastructure in order to migrate to higher data center speeds, this is possibly the most drastic change data centers will undergo.

What is an MPO connector?

The MPO connector was developed by Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (NTT). “MPO” stands for “multi-fiber push-on.” A popular brand of the MPO-style connector, US Conec’s MTP®, is often incorrectly used to refer to all MPO connectors (similar to using “Band-Aid®” for “adhesive bandage”).

An MPO-style connector can house up to 72 fibers in one connector. However, when dealing with such a high number of fibers, it can be difficult to terminate the assemblies while staying within optical loss budgets. This is why twelve remains the standard number of fibers in an MPO-style connector, while leading-edge manufacturers currently offer up to 24-fiber MPO-style connectors.

Our product team recently released a 12U H-Series Enclosure as part of our Skinny-Trunk fiber optic cabling solution.

Our CABLExpress 12U H-Series Enclosure is designed specifically to replicate 64 port high density SAN director class switches.

This allows users to fully replicate their director class switch in a main distribution area (MDA) as recommended in the TIA-942 Data Center Standard. The 12U H-Series enclosure allows significantly more spacing in between ports which makes working with the patch cables in this enclosure a breeze. 48 and 32 port modules also available to offer full replication for any density.

Features:

• Low loss components offer optimum performance and manageability
• Stable spring couplers minimize vibration
• Molded angled MTP couplers allow for optimum rear cable management
• Rugged design allows fiber to remain secure
• Slide out labeling tray with one to one port mapping

Download the 12U Fiber Optic Enclosure spec sheet.

Maintaining our position as a leading manufacturer of high-performance cabling products, CABLExpress® lowered the maximum insertion loss of its Skinny-Trunk® fiber optic cables to an industry best 0.25dB per mated pair. Fitted with MTP® connectors, the Skinny-Trunk fiber optic assembly will enable data centers to stay within loss budgets while running networks at 10G, 40G and eventually 100G Ethernet.

Mark Fabbi, VP, Distinguished Analyst of Gartner, Inc. says:

“2012 will be the year where 10G attached servers become the norm which in turn will drive demand for 40G and eventually 100G within the enterprise data center. Enterprises are encouraged to rethink the physical data center architecture and prepare for increased fiber deployment to support 40/100G backbone requirements.”

This is the second time in as many years CABLExpress lowered the insertion loss of its Skinny-Trunk fiber optic assembly. It previously held an already industry best of 0.35 dB loss. However, improvements to the cable manufacturing process and extensive production testing produced a maximum rate of 0.25dB.

The Skinny-Trunk fiber optic assembly comes standard with a lifetime warranty.

MPO stands for “multi-fiber push on.” It was developed by Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT) in the early 90’s. MTP® is an MPO-style connector that is manufactured by USCONEC.

The MTP® design and performance has made significant improvements over the standard MPO connector. A common misconception is that these are two different styles of connector, when in fact they are the same footprint.

The MPO connector can accept up to 72 fibers in a single ferrule, but the industry standard is 12 fibers. CABLExpress was the first-to-market with a 24 fiber MTP solution that tested to a maximum of .35dB loss (matching the highest standard of the 12 fiber MTP). We plan to continue investing in and advancing this platform.

IEEE 802.3ba, the standard for implementing 40/100G Ethernet,  dictates that the MPO footprint be the standard for multi-mode transmission. This is a radical new transmission type called “parallel transmission.” This assures the MPO and/or MTP connector will be the future of optical transmission in the data center for the next few generations to come.

Have you checked out our Cable Connector Guide?

This handy cable reference guide is worth bookmarking.  It breaks down fiber, port, FireWare, USB and legacy connectors including an image and description.

Some good takeaways:

• LC Uniboot connectors are present on fiber cables that run two fibers within the same jacket, decreasing the amount of fiber cables in half.
• MTP multifiber connectors provide quick and reliable connection for up to 144 optical fibers in a compact housing.
• LC duplex connectors are the most widely used fiber connectors in the industry. These connectors feature push-release systems and will ensure a secure connection.

Check out the Cable Connector Guide here.