Dark Fiber

Evaluation with OTDR

Date: Version No.: All Rights Reserved

27-03-2008 2.1 NORDUnet A/S

Dark Fiber Evaluation with OTDR Ver. 2.1

Date: Version: All Rights Reserved:

27-03-2008

1.0

NORDUnet A/S

Dark Fiber Evaluation with OTDR

1 2 3 4 5 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................... 3 OBJECTIVE ...................................................................................................................................................... 3 TARGET GROUP ............................................................................................................................................ 3 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................... 4 OTDR TECHNIQUES ................................................................................................................................... 4 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 6 6.1 6.2 6.3 7 BACKSCATTER ............................................................................................................................................. 4 THE OTDR TRACE VIEW ............................................................................................................................ 5 SIGNAL-TO-NOISE RATIO AND DEAD ZONE ............................................................................................. 5 AVERAGING THE TRACE .............................................................................................................................. 8 TWEAKING THE RESULTS............................................................................................................................ 9 FIBER EVENTS ............................................................................................................................................. 9 CONNECTOR EVENTS ................................................................................................................................ 10 SPLICE EVENTS ......................................................................................................................................... 11

INSPECTING EVENTS ............................................................................................................................... 9

MEASUREMENT REQUIREMENT ........................................................................................................ 11 7.1 NORDUNET REQUIREMENTS ................................................................................................................... 12 7.1.1 Age of optical fibre ........................................................................................................................... 12 7.1.2 ITU-T specification ........................................................................................................................... 12 7.1.3 Attenuation of a submerged span of the Finland link ......................................................... 12 7.1.4 Attenuation of other submerged spans .................................................................................... 12 7.1.5 Attenuation and length of all other sections .......................................................................... 13 7.1.6 Additional specifications ................................................................................................................. 13 7.1.7 Documentation .................................................................................................................................. 13 7.1.8 Repairs .................................................................................................................................................. 13 7.2 MEASUREMENT SETUP .............................................................................................................................. 15 7.3 THE OTDR REPORT.................................................................................................................................. 16

8 9 10

EXAMPLE FILES ............................................................................................................................................ 16 DOCUMENT RELATIONS ............................................................................................................................ 17 DOCUMENT CHANGES ........................................................................................................................... 17

Dark Fiber Evaluation with OTDR Ver. 2.1

Date: Version: All Rights Reserved:

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1 Introduction
When the fiber section/span was first bought, BOL (Beginning Of Life), the values of this fiber from end to end, most likely was near perfect or close to it. Over time the cable, with the fiber inside, may be stressed for numerous reasons. The stress imposed to the cable could be digging, the ground moving, rocks pressing on the cable or other changes to the cables environment. These changes are called aging, and change the fibers possibilities and capacity to transport light with close to no loss to a little more loss every time a change occurs. This is why a fiber is said to have an EOL (End Of Life) as well as a BOL. This is perfectly normal behavior during a fibers lifetime. Reaching EOL however, does not mean the end of that particular fiber, just a change of purpose to something less demanding, but this is entirely up to the owner of the fiber to decide. Unwanted factors that also play a role in the fibers lifetime is, direct damage to the cable, in most cases a fiber cut. The fiber needs to be fixed as soon as possible. To help find the location to dig up the cable in order to splice the fibers together again, an OTDR (Optical Time-Domain Reflectometer) is used. The OTDR instrument will produce a report of every fiber measured, and by looking at those, it can be established what happened to the fiber and what to do about it.

2 Objective
The objective of this document is to unify and standardize any received OTDR report from any of NORDUnets fiber providers. Second objective is to make sure all staff within NORDUnet has the same understanding of OTDR reports.

3 Target group
The target group is NORDUnet staff and fiber providers to the NORDUnet optical network.

Dark Fiber Evaluation with OTDR Ver. 2.1

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4 Introduction
This document concentrates on defining how and why the OTDR reports should look like they should in order to get the best possible results. Looking into the future it is vital that the measurements follow the exact same structure for easy comparison between old and the most recent OTDR measurements. The OTDR measurements physical elaboration is vital for the results, since the results are used to maintain and further develop the existing network. Interpretations of OTDR reports can be found in the OTDR course document.

5 OTDR techniques
This section explains in short the techniques behind any OTDR measurement; this is done to point out why it is very important to understand how to perform an OTDR measurement and what to consider when doing so.

5.1 Backscatter
The OTDR makes measurements on optical fibers by sending a very high intensity pulse of light into the fiber, minute reflections occur along the length of the fiber as well as at all discontinuities at such places as splices and connections and reflect the light back to the transmitter (this is known as backscattering, see Fig. 1).

Light Backscatter

Particle

Fig. 1 Light reflected in a particle backscatters light.

The launch pulse typically can be varied in length to accommodate different lengths of fibers and measurement resolution. Generally speaking, the longer the fiber is the greater amount of light must be injected into the fiber. As an example, a 100 nanosecond (100 ns) pulse may be sufficient to make measurements on a 1.000 meter length of fiber but attempting to measure a 20.000 meter length with the same pulse width may result in an insufficient signal reflecting back to the OTDR from the far lengths of the test fiber.

Dark Fiber Evaluation with OTDR Ver. 2.1

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Increasing the pulse width to 10 microseconds (10 us) will allow more light to travel down the fiber and consequently more light to be reflected back. In effect, increasing the pulse width increases the signal to noise ratio and thus allows for a longer measurement.

5.2 The OTDR trace view

When characterizing a fiber link using an OTDR, it is the reflected light that is used to calculate the attenuation of the link, the characteristics of loss and the length of the fiber span. The OTDR software displays obvious faults and terminations (typically patch cables) on a generated graph, known as a trace, and provides the loss value in dB as a function of distance. The faults, called events, are listed in a table of events. Fig. 2 illustrates a typical OTDR acquisition, displaying a trace and its corresponding table of events.

Fig. 2 Common OTDR trace view, showing events on a graph.

5.3 Signal-to-noise ratio and Dead Zone

Event detection, attenuation and length measurements depend on the signalto-noise ratio (SNR) the OTDR can reach at any given point of the trace analysis. The SNR is the ratio between the back reflected signal and the noise level, and depends on pulse width, sampling points, measurement distance, receiver bandwidth precision, and averaging number. The influence of these factors on event detection, attenuation measurement accuracy and spatial resolution is often difficult to predict by the user. Some OTDR manufacturers have user-definable parameters, while others integrate routines that help the user optimize all parameters in order to get the best results. See a simple explanation on SNR in Fig. 3.

Dark Fiber Evaluation with OTDR Ver. 2.1

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Fig. 3 OTDR measurement information depends on the SNR.

Pulse width determines the power of the backscatter-reflected signal. A long pulse width amplifies the received signal, making it easier to distinguish it from background noise and, therefore, improving the SNR (signal-to-noise ratio). On the other hand, using a pulse width that is longer than the distance separating two events will lead to inaccurate event detection and measurements. Furthermore, if the pulse width is increased, the attenuation dead zone is also increased, limiting the detection capability of other events after an initial event. There is a significant trade-off between increased pulse width and measurement resolution. Calculating how long a section of fiber a 100 ns pulse of light occupies, gives approximately 20 Meters (20.45 meters to be more exact). Basically, this means that by the time an OTDR shuts off a 100 ns light pulse, photons from the beginning of the light pulse are already 20 meters down the length of the fiber. In effect, there is a 20 meter bar of light traveling down the fiber. Changing the pulse to 10 us thus creates a 2000 meter long bar of light down the fiber! Some OTDR operators may not know that the length of this pulse or subsequent bar of light is important to the operational use of the OTDR. As the launch pulse leaves the OTDR, the reflection from the fiber optic connector on the OTDR front panel being generally greater than the backreflection from the fiber itself, results in saturation (overload) of the signal in the OTDR. This reflection effectively "blinds" the OTDR for the duration of the launch pulse. Since time equates to distance, the OTDR is effectively blind to the first 20 meters of fiber if a 100 ns launch pulse is used, and 2000 meters if a 10 us launch pulse is used. In addition to the above mentioned saturation, some older OTDR's may not handle the intensity of the back-reflected signal from the beginning sections of the fiber under test and result in an increase in the blind time. In older OTDR's, once the receiver saturates, it takes some finite amount of time for the receiver to start reacting normally increasing the overall blind time some more. This blind time is generally referred to as the "dead zone". During the dead zone time, the OTDR cannot measure signal amplitudes and subsequently cannot properly measure fiber loss. In effect, the loss cannot be measured in the beginning length of the fiber under test during this period of

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saturation, see Fig. 4. It is important to note that distance measurements are not affected by the saturation events as long as the user measures to the correct edge of the reflection. In addition to dead zones from the front panel OTDR reflection, reflections from subsequent connector to connector interfaces (patch panels) may result in their own dead zone events.

Receiver saturated

Recovery period
OTDR receiving pulse reflection

Pulse width

Diffusion period

Fig. 4 Dead zone spanning an event and recover period, notice the pulse width.

Why not bury this unusable measurement time in a piece of fiber that is not part of the fiber under test? That is exactly what the test fiber (or so called Dead Zone Eliminator, hence DZE) accomplishes. By placing the DZE in front of the fiber to be tested and shooting the OTDR through this device, the receiver can be in saturation while the light is still in the DZE and has not yet traveled into the fiber under test. This lets the receiver recover while the launch pulse is still traveling in the DZE. The attenuation measurements are then starting at a point before the beginning of the fiber under test but still not right at a point inches from the start of the fiber under test. Why? Pulse suppressors still need to be connected to the fiber under test and this interface will cause a reflection that may result in another dead zone. Loss measurements cannot be made within these reflections. So how does the Dead Zone Eliminator (DZE) allow the OTDR to measure through this dead zone event? By allowing the OTDR to place a measurement cursor in the linear (non-saturated) portion of the trace, prior to the start of the fiber under test, and within the length of the DZE. This measures through the dead zone events giving an indication of the loss of this section. When measuring loss of fiber through these events it is important to realize that the OTDR is measuring not only the fiber under test, but also a small length of the DZE and the DZE to fiber connector pair. This method gives a good indication of the quality of the initial section of the fiber under test, a loss

Dark Fiber Evaluation with OTDR Ver. 2.1

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indication that may not be available without the use of the DZE. For the same technical explanation the DZE is used at the end of the fiber under test.

5.4 Averaging the trace

Signal averaging also increases SNR. The noise reduction is proportional to the square root of the averaging number used. This provides improved event detection and measurement as well as spatial resolution, particularly where the signal is weak. The averaging number refers to the number of measurements acquired on the same sampling point to obtain an average value. Because of the uneven and arbitrary nature of background noise, increasing the averaging number reduces the noise level, improving the SNR, which, in turn, improves the event measurement accuracy and detection. When studying closely spaced events, the averaging number also improves spatial resolution because it helps to reduce noise during high-bandwidth analysis. Averaging is determined by the OTDRs sampling points and the acquisition time for the measurement. The influence of the receivers bandwidth resides in the fact that lowbandwidth transmission smoothes down curves and attenuates sharp transitions. Although this reduces noise and improves SNR at the far end of long-range measurements, it increases dead zones. A high receiver bandwidth, on the other hand, transmits sharp transitions from the backscattered and reflected signals, but also lets through noise. This shortens dead zones, but may require more averaging in order to reduce noise level. A high receiver bandwidth has a limited range mainly due to the random noise it contains. However, it improves front-end fiber link event measurement accuracy and spatial resolution, especially when measuring closely spaced events. Sampling points have a more complex influence on the end results. Without going into a detailed description of sampling rates and phases, it is safe to say that the main influences of sampling points may be described as follows: Increasing the number of sampling points decreases the distance between the points. A high-sampling-point count increases the measurement distance (when not limited by the dynamic range). Increasing the number of sampling points improves the spatial resolution of events (when not limited by the pulse width). For a given measurement range and averaging time, increasing the number of sampling points decreases averaging on each point.

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5.5 Tweaking the results

OTDR measurements are an approximation of reality; they are based on statistics and the analysis extrapolates the best possible characterization of a given fiber span. Every OTDR reacts differently to the above-mentioned parameters. Consequently, in order to adequately select parameters for optimum performance, the common outside plant OTDR user must have a thorough understanding of the parameters that generally influence OTDR measurements, as well as their impact on the specific OTDR unit used. For example, using a high-bandwidth analysis and concentrated sampling points while investigating a long pulse width may lead to noisy results, poor SNR and, hence, poor fault detection, as well as erroneous event measurement. Parameters such as the pulse width, the number of sampling points, the measurement distance, the receiver bandwidth and averaging all affect the SNR (ratio of back reflected signal-to-noise level). As a whole, these parameters have a considerable impact on the end results and the influence of these factors on event detection measurement and spatial resolution is very difficult to predict as they interact differently in every OTDR. Changing one parameter will modify others, which is something the user might not be aware of or might not want to do. When taking all parameters into consideration it is without a doubt a must to use top trained and qualified personnel to execute the OTDR measurement as well as a quality OTDR, well calibrated; an OTDR should be calibrated no less than once a year.

6 Inspecting events
The OTDR techniques have been explained, this section uncovers what is interesting to analyze from the trace result.

6.1 Fiber events

The fiber changes characteristics over time; however the most common change to the fiber is a direct cut. What an OTDR measurement uncovers is how well the fiber is spliced back together again, but this is just in an event of a fiber cut. There are various different events to look for in every fiber.

Dark Fiber Evaluation with OTDR Ver. 2.1

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If the span of the fiber is more than 20-25 km long, the span will also be having changes in the core diameter, not much, and this too will have a visual impact on the loss in the fiber span. The reason for the core change is because a new roll of fiber is used to extend the first roll, each roll is typically 20-25 km long when arriving from the factory.

Fig. 5 Four of the most common changes in a fiber

Under production of the fiber small changes in temperature or tension when pulling the fiber, will cause various occurrences to the fiber itself. These occurrences can be density changes to the core which will influence the reflection of light in all directions. It could be micro bends, which are small changes on the core down the fiber. Or it could be impurities, such as air bobbles or small dust particles When the fiber is laid it can be bent excessively and fixed in this position, this is known as a macro bend and can in some circumstances be accounted for. All these small changes to the fiber can be identified when looking at a correctly performed OTDR measurement. Fig. 5, crudely shows these occurrences.

6.2 Connector events

Amongst other events, the OTDR is capable of identifying connector terminations along a fiber span, that is, if the fiber is passing sites with patch panels. The patching needs to be perfect, leaving as low a loss to the total fiber span as possible. This sets some requirements to the technicians performing this work. The connector must be cleaned and visually inspected by the technician to remove obvious high losses at this point. Sometimes a connector must be rejected and replaced with a new connector. See Fig. 6 for examples of connector tips.

Dark Fiber Evaluation with OTDR Ver. 2.1

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Perfect

Dust

Light scratch

Rejected

Fig. 6 The perfect connector far left and far right a connector that needs replacement

The perfect connector can have as little as 0.2 dB loss. A dusty connector needs to be cleaned, which in most cases is enough, but it is important that all dust is removed since it can burn and stick to the connector causing it to fail over time. Visual inspection should be carried out at x400 times magnification, which will reveal even the tiniest scratch the connector might have. A light scratch on the connector on the ferrule part can be accepted since the power of light is fairly low, but a scratch in or near the core of the fiber must be rejected at once. A scratch at the core could mirror the laser in a small space, accumulating higher and higher energy which will make the connector explode when the energy gets too high.

6.3 Splice events

At some point a fiber needs to be spliced with another fiber, this could be when installing the fiber between point A and B, or it could be when the fiber needs repair. All splices are done with a fusion splicer, which align the two fibers cores to each other and then splices the fibers with an electric arc. Depending on the fusion splicer the result could be near zero loss or 0.1dB but normally a splice should be no more than 0.16dB. As with fiber events and connectors a splice event can also be identified with an OTDR measurement.

7 Measurement requirement
When taking the technical and surrounding events into consideration this implies strict requirements when measurements are performed. For NORDUnets optical network, it is a requirement to keep loss levels, and PMD and CMD levels as low as possible to give the best working conditions to the DWDM equipment using the fiber spans, the requirements to the fiber changes when the equipment is upgraded to greater speeds or more bandwidth. This is why NORDUnet requires the fibers to be of the best

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quality, and why fibers shall be spliced opposed to patched wherever possible. The requirements for spliced fiber, shall be interpreted from end equipment site to end equipment site, without exceptions. In the following sections the requirements for fiber delivered to NORDUnet are repeated.

7.1 NORDUnet requirements

NORDUnet requirements are outlined as values for events and total loss pr. km.; this is a repetition of the part of the Telenor and Global Crossing requirements. Offering. A fibre connection of a span shall consist of an uninterrupted glass fibre endto-end; if this requirement is impossible to fulfil then every fibre span must be considered on a case by case basis. All of the requirements must be met within the 1530-1570nm wavelength spectrum if not stated elsewhere.

7.1.1 Age of optical fibre

The optical fibre itself (not only the cable) shall have been manufactured after 1992.

7.1.2 ITU-T specification

The Dark Fibre shall be specified according to ITU-T G.652 or ITU-T G.655. For ITU-T G.655 the True Wave Classic shall not be accepted. For each part of the infrastructure (Scandinavian ring, Southern cross, Finland link) the same ITU recommendation shall be valid throughout that part.

7.1.3 Attenuation of a submerged span of the Finland link

The attenuation at 1550 nm should not exceed 23 dB and shall not exceed 35 dB.

7.1.4 Attenuation of other submerged spans

The attenuation at 1550 nm should not exceed 23 dB and shall not exceed 26 dB.

Dark Fiber Evaluation with OTDR Ver. 2.1

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7.1.5 Attenuation and length of all other sections

The attenuation of a DF span at 1550 nm shall not exceed 23 dB and the length should not exceed 80 km.

7.1.6 Additional specifications

The Dark Fibre parameters of the installed cable shall during the whole contract period comply with the values in 1-7 below. The values include effects of possible future splicing, repair, aging, etc. 1. Attenuation at 1550 nm shall be less than 0.25 dB/km and should be less than 0.22 dB/km. 2. Bend losses shall not be accepted. 3. Seasonal variations in the fibre parameter shall not be accepted. 4. Connector losses shall be less than 0.5 dB. 5. Reflection shall at any point be below -40 dB. 6. Chromatic Dispersion at 1550nm (CMD1550nm) shall be less than18.5 ps/nm/km. 7. Polarisation Mode Dispersion (PMDQ) shall be less than 0.50 ps/ km and should be less than 0.20 ps/ km.

7.1.7 Documentation
The supplier shall provide documentation for each span in an electronic readable format stating: 1. Manufacturing date, manufacturers name and cable type 2. Attenuation at 1310nm and 1550nm 3. Bidirectional optical time domain reflectometer (OTDR) measurements at 1310nm and 1550nm If PMDQ exceeds 0.20 ps/ km then the Supplier shall provide measurement reports or manufacturing data for each span in an electronic readable format stating the Polarisation Mode Dispersion (PMDQ) value.

7.1.8 Repairs
Each repair loss in each direction shall be less than 0.5 dB at 1550nm. Bend losses shall not be accepted.

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The Supplier shall perform quality testing of repair after damage. After repair the supplier shall produce a test report, in original digital form, containing the following data: 1. Bi-directional OTDR measurement at both 1310nm and 1550nm with high resolution around the repaired location. 2. Attenuation at 1550nm.

Dark Fiber Evaluation with OTDR Ver. 2.1

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7.2 Measurement setup

The optimal OTDR measurement is done by; 1. Measuring with a DZE on each end of the fiber under test (FUT). a. The DZE should be 200 meters long as a minimum and not more than 2.5 km long matching the pulse width approximately. b. A standard 2.5 km DZE is acceptable. 2. Cleaning the DZE connectors as well as the FUT connectors. a. Making sure the patch cables are connected perfectly before conducting any measurements on the fiber. b. Using an x400 microscope to visually verify the connector ends. c. Only use wet wipes to clean connectors if the dry cletop cleaner is not sufficient, but always clean with dry cleaner afterwards. 3. Use correct settings when performing an OTDR measurement. a. Pulse with set to a minimum, but large enough to reach end of fiber span. b. Acquisition time set to fit the length of fiber being measured. c. Length set to cover the whole span, but not too much. 4. Measure at both 1310 and 1550 nm. a. Measurements must be carried out in both directions. See Fig. 7 and 8 for correct physical setup before performing the OTDR measurement.

Fig. 7 Physical setup for measuring a single fiber at a time

Dark Fiber Evaluation with OTDR Ver. 2.1

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Fig. 8 Physical setup for measuring a pair of fibers, not longer than 80 km long in total

A single fiber measurement takes longer time, but allows greater detail and resolution to the measurement and it allows the fiber to be up to 160 km long. The dual fiber measurement is only suitable for short fiber distances up to 40 km pr. fiber, but it decreases measurement time dramatically.

7.3 The OTDR report

An OTDR measurement report must consist of two sets of measurements; 1. One set done to determine the event needed to be fixed (a broken fiber) 2. And one set done after the actual fiber work (splicing of the fiber). Both sets of reports must be delivered to NORDUnet in their original format. All file names shall be meaningful for easy identification. E.g. Before_TUG-FRE_1310 and After_TUG-FRE_1310 All OTDR reports must be mailed to NUNOC@nordu.net and should be with a headline stating start site and end site. This is information for documentation reasons. E.g. OTDR report SE-TUG to SE-FRE If possible with reference to NUNOC TT number or own internal identification.

8 Example files
A supplement to this document has been created in order to keep document size to a minimum. Examples now refer to the document Dark Fiber Evaluation OTDR tests. Within this document the effects of incorrect measurement setup has been illuminated.

Dark Fiber Evaluation with OTDR Ver. 2.1

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From this document laboratory OTDR traces can be requested at any time.

9 Document relations
This document is related to the following documents: Dark Fiber Evaluation Report Dark Fiber Evaluation Report - Appendix 1 Dark Fiber Evaluation OTDR Tests

10

Document changes

2008.02.25 Firs official release of this document.

END OF DOCUMENT