Main Distribution frame
A main distribution frame (MDF or main frame) is a signal distribution frame for connecting equipment
(inside plant) to cables and subscriber carrier equipment (outside plant).MDF can be identified as the
termination point of the local telephone exchange ,where exchange equipment and terminations of local
loops are connected by jumper wires at the MDF. All cable copper pairs which are used to supply
services through user telephone lines are terminated at the MDF and distributed through the MDF to
equipment within the local exchange e.g. repeaters and DSLAM. Cables to intermediate distribution
frames terminate at the MDF. Trunk cables may terminate on the same MDF or on a separate trunk main
distribution frame (TMDF).
Like other distribution frames the MDF provides flexibility in assigning facilities, at lower cost and higher
capacity than a patch panel.
The most common kind of large MDF is a long steel rack accessible from both sides. On one
side, termination blocks are arranged horizontally at the front of rack shelves. Jumpers lie on the shelves
and go through a steel hoop to run vertically to other termination blocks that are arranged vertically. There
is a hoop or ring at the intersection of each level and each vertical. Installing a jumper requires two
workers, one on each side. The shelves are shallow enough to allow the rings to be within arm's reach,
but the workers prefer to hang the jumper on a hook on a pole so their partner can pull it through the ring.
A fanning strip at the back of the termination block prevents the wires from covering each others'
terminals. With disciplined administration the MDF can hold over a hundred thousand jumpers,
changing dozens of them every day, for decades without tangling.
For the first half of the 20th Century, all MDF jumpers were soldered. This was reliable but slow
and expensive.
In the 1960s wire wrap was introduced,
in the 1970s punch blocks.
Each jumper is a twisted pair. Middle 20th century jumper wires in the USA were 24 AWG single strand
copper, with a soft polyethylene inner jacket and a cotton wrapper, impregnated to make it slightly brittle
and easy to remove neatly. Late 20th century ones had a single, thicker coating of polyethylene, cross-
linked to provide the correct degree of brittleness.
Some urban central office MDFs are two stories high so they don't have to be more than a city block long.
A few are three stories. By British custom the cables to the outside world are terminated on the horizontal
side, and the indoors equipment on the vertical side. American usage is the opposite.
Smaller MDFs, and some modern large ones, are single sided so one worker can install, remove or
change a jumper. COSMOS and other computerized Operations Support Systems help by assigning
terminals close to one another, so most jumpers need not be long and shelves on either type of MDF do
not become congested. This database keeps track of all terminals and jumpers. In the early and middle
20th century these records were kept as pencil entries in ledger books. The later database(C10
CLARITY) method saves much labor by permitting old jumpers to be reused for new lines.
The adoption of distributed switching in the late 20th century diminished the need for large, active, central
MDFs.
The MDF usually holds central office protective devices including heat coils and functions as a test
point between a line and the office.
Sometimes the MDF is combined with other kinds of distribution frame in a CDF
The MDF in a private branch exchange performs functions similar to those performed by the MDF in a
central office.
In order to automate the manual jumpering the Automated Main Distribution Frame (AMDF) becomes an
important role.
Inside Plant
All the cabling and equipment installed in a telecommunications facility, including the main
distribution frame (MDF) and all the equipment extending inward therefrom, such as PABXor central
office equipment, MDF heat coil protectors, and grounding systems.
In radio and radar systems, all communications-electronics (C-E) equipment that is installed in
buildings.
Around the turn of the century, DSLAMs became an important part of telephone company inside plant.
Inside plant will also have distribution frames and other equipment including passive optical
network (name depends on the Service Provider).
INSIDE PLANT EQUIPMENTS
Outside Plant
Outside plant refers to all of the physical cabling and supporting infrastructure (such as conduit,
cabinets, tower or poles), and any associated hardware (such as repeaters) located between
a demarcation point in a switching facility and a demarcation point in another switching
center or customer premises.
OSP is defined as the communications equipment located between a main distribution
frame (MDF) and a user end instrument
OUTSIDE PLANT EQUIPMENTS
1. CABINET
