FIBER OPTIC NETWORK

TROUBLESHOOTING

Maintenance Handbook (2019)

Aden Ibrahim Ahmed

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Aden Ibrahim is currently head of Maintenance and Rollout of Fiber Optic
Network at Soliton Telmec. Also worked at Kenya Posts & Telecommunications
Corporation (Later named Telkom Kenya), Nationlink Telecom Somalia and
Broadband Communication Limited.
Studied Telecommunication Engineering at Multimedia University, Computer
Information Systems at Kenya Methodist University, Submarine Cable at Alcatel-
Lucent University in France, OSN/DWDM Equipment at Huawei University in
Shenzhen, China. Currently Pursuing Masters in Business Administration at
University of Cumbria, UK.

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Table of Contents
Abbreviations …….……………………………………………………….. 3
Terms and Definitions …………………………………………………….4
1.0. Introduction ………………………………………………………………..6
2.0. Troubleshooting Optic Fiber Cable Link ……………………………….....7
2.1. Fiber Cable Cuts . ………………………………………………….7
2.1.1. Causes of Fiber cuts ………………………………………....7
2.1.2. How to identify cable cuts …………………………………...7
2.1.3. Locating of point of fiber cuts …………………………….....8
2.1.4. Restoration of fiber cut faults ………………………………..8
2.2. Loss of power faults …………………………………………………9
2.2.1. Causes of power loss in fiber link …………………………...9
2.2.2. Identifying point of power loss ………………………………9
2.2.3. Locating of point of power loss in fiber cable link ………......9
2.2.4. Restoration of high power loss ………………………………9
3.0. Test Methods ……………………………………………………………..10
3.1. Connector end-face test …………………………………………...10
3.2. Link attenuation test ……………………………………………….11
3.3. Splice loss, location, and length and uniformity test. ……………..12

4.0. Summary …………………………………………………………………15

5.0. References ………………………………………………………………....15

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ABBREVIATIONS
FIP – Fiber inspection Probe
GPON – Gigabits Passive Optical Network
IEC/PAS – International Electrotechnical Commission/ Publicly Available
Specification
ITU-T – International Telecommunication Union – Telecommunication
LSPM – Light Source Power Meter
NOC – Network Operation Center
ODF – Optical Distribution Frame
OTDR – Optical Distribution Frame
RTU – Remote Terminal Unit
SC/APC – Standard Connector/ Angle Physical Contact
SC/UPC – Standard Connector / Ultra Polished (Physical) Contact
SLA – Service Level Agreement

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Terms and Definitions
Adapter is a device that allows two connector ferules to join. They are either
simplex, duplex or quadruple.
Closure or Joint closure is the housing, which contain and protect the individual
fiber joints because of its tiny nature and fragility. (Stockton, 2020)
Connector is device used for aligning, attaching and decoupling the fiber to a
transmitter, receiver or other fiber. Common connectors are SC. LC, FC and E
2000. (Davis, 1996)
Fiber is a thin filament of glass or plastic consisting of a core (inner region) and a
cladding (outer region) and a protective coating. This is a media of transporting
light signal from transmitter to receiver (Stockton, 2020)
Fiber Inspection Probe – FIP (tool) is a tool that allows quick and accurate
checking of connector tip for dirt or damages.
Launch Cable in conjunction with an OTDR is used to test the start and end
connector losses in a link.
Macrobending is bending that causes imperfect guiding of light, which exceed the
critical angle of reflection. Macrobending loss is reversible once the bend is
corrected. (Stockton, 2020)
Microbending the loss of light due to small distortions in the fiber, not usually
visible to the naked eye. (Stockton, 2020)
NOC (Network Operation Center) is a centralized location where NOC teams
support in network monitoring and management by liaising with field teams and
clients. They are drivers of service delivery for managed service providers.
ODF (Optical Distribution Frame) is a frame consisting of adapters and pigtails
spliced to the cable end. The adapter holds the pigtail connector from the rear and
connects at the front to the equipment using patch cord. Typical ODF ports
(Adapters) are 8,12,16,24, 48.72.96.144 etc.
OTDR (Optical Time Domain Reflectometer) is an instrument that measures
optical transmission characteristics by sending a short pulse of light down a fiber
and observing backscattered light. Used to measure fiber attenuation and evaluate
optical transmission at splices and connectors

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OTDR Trace – is a graphical representation of X-Y axis. Where X-axis represents
the distance of the fiber and the Y-axis the signal power level. The graph is
descending because of the attenuation of the signal arising from connectors,
defects, and the fiber constant attenuation.
Power Meter is a device for measuring the power in an optical signal. Power
meter connected to the received end to measure received power.
Splicing is a method for joining two optical fiber ends. Fusion splicing and
mechanical splicing are the two types
RTU (Remote Terminal Unit) in fiber network is remote OTDR, which sends
periodic signals in a monitored fiber core and then sends SMS alert or notification
of status (Cut or degradation) to maintenance personnel.

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Basics of Optical Fiber
Fiber optics is the medium and the technology associated with the sending of
information in the form of light signals, which travels in a glass or plastic strand.
Fiber optics is used in long-distance and high-performance data networking and
telecos.
The one big advantage that fiber optic cables over copper cables is high bandwidth
and transmission speeds.
A fiber optic consists of two glass/plastic materials with different refractive
indices. Another glass material called cladding, with lower refractive index than
the core, surrounds the core.
Refraction of light
Refraction of light is a phenomenon that causes light to change direction as it
passes from one transparent medium to another. The extent of the light ray
changing its direction depends on the refractive index of the medium.
Refractive Index
Refractive index (n) of material is obtained by dividing the speed of light in a
vacuum by the speed of light in a material (abbreviated v). Refractive index
measures how much a material refracts light.
n=c/v
Where c=299,792.458km/second

W. Snell, a Dutch physicist derived the relationship between the different angles of
light as it passes from one transparent medium to another.
Snell's law defined as
n1 sin(θ1) = n2sin(θ2)

where:
n1 is the refractive index of the medium where the light is originating
θ1 is the incident angle between the light beam and the normal

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n2 is the refractive index of the material where the light is entering
θ2 is the refractive angle between the light ray and the normal

Normal
θ1
n1

n2
θ2

If θ1 = 0º i.e. ray of light enters perpendicularly into the surface of the medium,
then θ2 = 0º that means the ray is not bent but enters the second medium along the
normal.

A light ray crossing into a medium of higher refractive index bends towards the
normal of the second medium.
Normal

θ1
n1

n2

θ2

When n1 > n2 the ray is refracted towards the normal.

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 Normal
θ1
n1

n2
θ2

When n2 > n1 light ray is refracted away from the normal

At a critical angle θc, the light ray crossing the interface from higher refractive
index will be refracted along the surface.
Normal

θc
n1

n2
θ2

When n1 > n2 at θ 1 = θ c the ray is refracted along the interface at 90º to the
normal.
At an angle greater than the critical angle θ c the ray will not pass through the
second medium but refracted back to the first medium. This is called total internal
refection

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 Normal
θ1
n1

n2

Calculating Critical angle using Snell’s law.

From Snell's law, when the angle of the refracted ray θ2 is of 90°.
n1 sin θ1 = n2sin θ2
Sin θ1 = (n2/ n1) sin θ2
θ1 = arcsin (n2/ n1 )* sin θ2
Since θ2 = 90° and Sin θ2 = 1
Then
θ c = θ1 = arcsin (n2/n1)
If for example n1=1.5 into air (n2 =1), the critical angle θc is arcsin (1/1.5), or
41.8°.

NUMERICAL APETURE (NA)

The Numerical Aperture (NA) of a fiber is the sine of the largest angle an
incident ray can have for total internal reflectance in the core.

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How fiber optics works

Fiber optics works by transmitting light particles through a fiber optic cable. The
glass fiber has core surrounded by the cladding. The core and cladding each have a
different refractive index, with the core having higher refractive index. When light
signals are sent through the fiber optic cable, at angle greater than the critical
angle, the light is reflected off the core and cladding boundary in a zig-zag manner,
thus forming total internal reflection. The light signals travels at 30% the speed of
light because of the denser glass layers. As the signal traverses the fiber distance it
loses the strength (power) and therefore the need to renew or boost the signal.
The optical signal converted to an electrical signal, processed and retransmitted as
optical signal.

1.0. Introduction to Network Maintenance

Fiber Optic network faults occur when the infrastructure is disturbed. One can
avoid this by correctly installing or restoring properly after a fault. Maintenance of
network is to restore it to the original status or as close as possible.
By running cable on the ground or in a shallow trench, which are exposed by
slightest movement (e.g. wind blowing or animals) cannot be termed as a good
maintenance. Serious network operators or contractors will strive to keep standards
and avoid firefighting.
Proper maintenance of network should have both smart troubleshooting techniques
and maintain a good network. These includes proper depth for underground, good
aerial connections, keeping the joint closures properly installed and all good
practices learn by reading and by experience.
Quality troubleshooting technique allows one to restore the services quickly and
use of proper test equipment to locate and analyze faults.
The techniques deployed will depend on the type of the fault. Identifying the fault
requires the knowledge of test equipment and interpretation of test results. The
ITU-T G.650.3 test methods recommended in this reading material are also widely
used in the field to locate faults and ease troubleshooting.
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2.0. TROUBLESHOOTING
The type and cause of fault determines the technique to use in troubleshooting.
There are two major types of faults i.e. fiber cuts and high loss of power on the
optical link.
2.1. Fiber cuts
Fiber cuts results from link breaking and hence no signal received at the end. There
are several causes of fiber cable cuts.

2.1.1 Causes of fiber cuts

- Construction
- Vandalism/Saboteurs
- Natural calamities e.g. floods, mudslides, earth quakes
- Rodents
- Poor installations or unsecured networks.

2.1.2. How to identify fiber cuts

- Knowledge of the link to work on is very vital. These knowledge entails
routing records e.g. Site IDs, Site location, Optical Distribution Frame
(ODF) location (Rack housing ODF) and ODF ports, fiber number(s),
physical route, closure locations. Different organizations have different
ways of storing and retrieving this information. Many organizations use
Network Operation Centers (NOC) or planning office for this purpose.
- Once equipped with the necessary information, the technician then takes
the following tools and test equipments – Optical Time Domain
Reflectometer (OTDR), appropriate patchcords, connector cleaners, Fiber
Inspection Probe (FIP).
- Access into site should be sort if a contractor is working on behalf of a
network operator.
- OTDR will show the point of fiber cut in terms of the distance from point
of test. Whenever working on an ODF, connectors must be cleaned
before and after testing with OTDR. An FIP is used to confirm the
connectors are clean and free from damage.

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 - Other organizations may use a Remote Terminal Units (RTU); a remote
OTDR connected to a monitoring core, which sends a notification to field
technician of the details of the fiber cut. When using RTU, one does not
need to use OTDR to see the cut distance.
- What now guides the technician is the fiber route diagrams or knowledge
(experience) of the network. Without this knowledge, the direction of the
point of fault is hard to find.

2.1.3. Locating exact point of fiber cut

- The OTDR test will indicate the distance from test point. Using all the
information acquired the technician will head towards the location of the
cut.
- Some cuts like construction, flood related or vandalism are easily
locatable. Traces of ducts/cable remains are visible at the point of cut for
underground network and hanging cables or fallen poles for aerial cuts.
Rodent related cuts and cuts inside closures are not easily visible.
- Further OTDR tests done from nearest manholes/closures to get closer to
the point of cut. Wheel measures come in handy to walk to the point of
cut.
2.1.4. Restoration
- Locating the exact point of fault is half-solved problem. Depending on
the extent of damage and criticality of the link, either of the two
restoration types adopted. A temporary restoration when the extent of
damage is huge and permanent fixing will take a longer time. A
permanent restoration is` done when the cut is straightforward and will
not take time to resolve.
- If point of fault is not visible due to dumping or rodent related, quickly
run a cable section on the ground and splice at both ends to restore
services. However, a permanent solution be sought in the shortest time
possible, as temporary section is prone to cuts.
- If poles are damaged/leaning/fallen, run a cable section on the ground to
restore services within Service level agreement time (SLA). Then embark
on planting poles and raise the cable section (Permanent Restoration).
- Poorly installed network are susceptible to frequent cuts, therefore
appropriate action must be taken to ensure no recurrence of such faults.
This should be avoided by fixing the problem once and for all.

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 If this is beyond the technician, then the intervention of supervisor/Team
leader, the NOC or the manager is requested.

2.2. High Loss on the optical link.

High loss on a link causes the signal to degrade and eventually very low power
level received. The low power at the receiver, if not within acceptable power level
will render signal lose.
2.2.1. Causes of high loss on an optical link
- Connector losses
- Splice losses
- Micro/Macro bends
- Cable non-uniformity.

2.2.2. Identifying point of high loss

- An OTDR is appropriate test tool to give detailed characteristics of the
link under test. Unidirectional OTDR test may not give accurate loss thus
a bidirectional test done to give accurate analysis.
- Bidirectional OTDR trace shows the splice losses/bends, connector
losses, non-uniformity (mismatched cables) and their locations.
- Two launch cables (Lead and tail) should be used with the OTDR to give
the connector losses at both ends of the link under test.
- Connector losses can be gotten rid off by cleaning dirty connectors or
replace damaged connectors. A fiber inspection probe gives the status of
how clean or dirty/damaged a connector is.
-
2.2.3. Locating the fault
- Using the OTDR trace analysis, the point of high losses are located, just
as in the case of fiber cuts.
- Further OTDR tests from nearest closure takes the technician closer to
the point of high loss.
-
2.2.4. Restoration of services
- Re-splicing of fiber core at point of high loss or cleaning/replacing
connectors are the most common methods for restoring high loss faults.
- Replacing damaged cable portion if there is a kink/bend or too many
closures in a short span causing too many losses.
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 - Cleaning of connectors if the cause of high loss is a dirty connector or
replace patchcord if the connector is damaged beyond repair.
- Return connector caps to prevent dirt accumulating during testing and for
ports not in use.
- If everything is checked and confirmed Ok on the cable network, test the
transmit power from the equipment. MAY be there is no TX power.

3.0. TEST METHODS

For a better troubleshooting, the correct test gear deployed. Using the right tool for
the right job. Understanding the correct test methods is key in working smart to
locate the fault.
3.1. CONNECTOR ENDFACE TEST
This test confirms the status of connector end face. The integrity of a link
normally compromised by several factors. One such factor is connector loss
in a fiber optic link.
The ITU-T developed recommendation ITU-T.G.650.3 that recommends
inspection of connector end-face is free from dirt or damage.

EXFO Fiber Inspection Probe

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 EXFO Maxtester showing image of connector end-face.

Fiber Inspection Probe (FIP) is used to do this test, the inspection probe is
connected to a screen that displays the image of the connector end-face. If
the connector end-face is dirty or damaged, then the image result shows a
fail. The dirt is removed by cleaning the connector with cleaning agents.
Recheck to confirm, whether the connector is clean before patching.
Damaged connectors are replaced to get rid-off connector loss.

LC Connector cleaner

IEC/PAS 61300-3-35 provides acceptance criteria for levels of damage and

defects tolerable in an optical network.

3.2. LINK ATTENUATION TEST

This is the overall loss in a link, also called span loss. It’s measured for
wavelengths at which the link will operated. Typically 1310nm and 1550nm.
However, other applications using L-band (1565 – 1625nm) are also
available.
One of the ITU-T G.650.3. Recommended test techniques is LSPM. Light
source is injected into one end of the link and Power meter used to measure
the output power at the other end. The difference between input power and
power read from power meter at the other end is the link loss.
- Step 1 ; Measure the Power from Light Source (LS)
- Step 2 ; Connect the Light Source to one end of the link.
- Step 3 ; Connect Power Meter and measure power received at the other
end of the link (PM)
- Step 4; Subtract PM from LS. LS – PM = Link Loss.

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 - This Loss includes the connector, Cable loss, Splices losses etc. (ITU-T,
2017)

Power meter testing received power from a light source

The second method is the use of an OTDR. Bidirectional OTDR test with
launch and tail end cables gives measurements that are more accurate.
By knowing the attenuation of link, one can easily tell if the link can support
services or requires optimization.

3.3. SPLICE LOSS, LOCATION, LENGTH AND FIBER UNIFORMITY

TEST
OTDR is best-recommended test equipment for testing splice loss, splice
location, cable length and fiber uniformity with one test.
A unidirectional test is sufficient to get fiber cut location. However, a
bidirectional test recommended to have a more accurate results of splice
loss. This is done by averaging splice losses from both directions.

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 EXFO AXS 110 OTDR

OTDR and how it works

Optical Time Domain Reflectometer (OTDR) works like radar system
where a signal is sent and echo (reflected signal) from splices, bends
and connectors are analyzed.

OTDR block diagram (Hayes, 2008)

The cable link under test is connected to ODF port
(connectors/adapters) see pic below. The OTDR sends laser signal
into the fiber. The reflected signal travels back to the OTDR and
through the coupler it goes to detector and processor for display and
analysis.

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 An XY line is displayed on the OTDR screen. The Y- axis represents
loss in dB and X-axis represents the distance in meters.

SC/UPC Adapter SC/UPC Connector

GPON Network Simulator at Soliton Engineering Lab.

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4.0. SUMMARY
- Use FIP to confirm connector tip (end-face) for dirt or damage.
- Clean Connector always before patching
- Cover the connector end-face with a cup (cover) when not in use.
- Change damaged connector after confirming with FIP
- Use launch cable with OTDR to get start and end connector loss
readings.
- Run a section of cable and splice quickly to shorten restoration time of
critical links and later restore permanently. (Applicable to where
construction work hinders restoration or locating rodent eaten section and
not easily locatable within SLA time).
- Bidirectional OTDR test to analyze fully the entire link.
- Use of LSPM method to know insertion loss or link loss. Particularly
relevant for short links and patchcords, where OTDR may not give
accurate readings.

5.0. References
Davis, Z., 1996. PCMag DIgital Group. [Online]
Available at: https://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia/term/fiber-optics-glossary

Hayes, J., 2008. FOA Reference. [Online]

Available at: https://www.thefoa.org/tech/ref/testing/OTDR/OTDR.html

ITU-T, 2017. ITU-T G.650.3 (08/17). ITU-T Recommendations.

Lambert M. Surhone, Miriam T. Timpledon, Susan F. Marseken, 2010. Snell's Law. In: s.l.:VDM
Publishing.

Stockton, D., 2020. PPC blog. [Online]

Available at: https://www.ppc-online.com/blog/closing-the-loop-factors-in-choosing-the-right-fiber-
closure

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