Fiber Analysis and Reporting

​Why Fiber Analysis and Reports are needed 

• Most new fiber installation projects mandate some level of optical testing and detailed documentation as proof of performance and delivery

• Acceptance testing ensures that new optical fiber and cable installations conform to the requirements of the planned application

• Network upgrades require re-characterization of existing fiber infrastructure to ensure optical performance conforms to more stringent thresholds

• High-speed networks require advanced verification to ensure transmission is not impacted by Loss, ORL, CD, PMD and spectral attenuation impairments

• Accurate reports and detailed documentation are vital for maintenance, troubleshooting and restoration activities

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The Testing Dilemma

• Field splicing and testing accounts for only half the time required to complete the entire test validation process – the other half is spent preparing test reports and managing test data for record keeping

• Contractors often overlook the importance of providing detailed fiber test results thus neglecting the reporting aspects required by their customers

• Contractors frequently tender on projects quoting only on time spent in the field performing splicing and testing but not considering the back-office admin tasks

• Contractors underestimate the additional time that is needed for post trace analysis and compiling test results in a professional report format

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OTDR and Optical Fault Locators 

Optical Time Domain Reflectometers (OTDRs) and Optical Fault Locators are the tools of choice to verify new fiber installations and/or locate faults in deployed fiber networks. A shortage of skilled fiber technicians capable of performing reliable measurements and saving the results correctly is however a big problem for many companies - this in turn negatively impacts the post-processing and reporting including related tasks:

• Test results are not saved with correct and/or intuitive file naming

• OTDR traces not provided in an usable format (email, USB drive, online storage)

• Shortage of skilled personnel with the necessary trace analysis expertise

• Merging of bi-directional traces and averaging results

• Batch reporting of splice loss of multi-fiber cables

• Access to post-processing software to efficiently analyze fiber traces

• Ability to produce custom reports based on customer’s Pass/Fail thresholds

• Archiving of test data in the “Cloud” for future access in the event of restoration​