<img height="1" width="1" style="display:none;" alt="" src="https://px.ads.linkedin.com/collect/?pid=2975524&amp;fmt=gif">
Skip to content

Visibility Solutions

Garland Technology is committed to educating the benefits of having a strong foundation of network visibility and access. By providing this insight we protect the security of data across your network and beyond.

Resources

Garland Technology's resource library offers free use of white papers, eBooks, use cases, infographics, data sheets, video demos and more.

Blog

The TAP into Technology blog provides the latest news and insights on network access and visibility, including: network security, network monitoring and appliance connectivity and guest blogs from Industry experts and technology partners

Partners

Our extensive technology partnership ecosystem solves critical problems when it comes to network security, monitoring, application analysis, forensics and packet inspection.

Company

Garland Technology is dedicated to high standards in quality and reliability, while delivering the greatest economical solutions for enterprise, service providers, and government agencies worldwide.

Contact

Whether you are ready to make a network TAP your foundation of visibility or just have questions, please contact us. Ask us about the Garland Difference!

Avoiding the Critical OM3/OM4 Fiber Pitfall—Micron Mismatching

So much networking buzz revolves around 40G and 100G networking speeds these days, but we aren’t forgetting about the vast landscape of 1G and 10G networks.

If you’re building a new 1G or 10G fiber network—or expanding an existing one—there are plenty of things to take into consideration (media conversion being just one).

For your short-reach installations, you’ll have to contend with different optical multi-mode (OM) standards (OM1, OM3, OM4, OM5) and ensure you aren’t falling into the critical visibility pitfall—mismatched fiber core sizes.

The Fundamental Specs for OM1, OM3 and OM4 Fiber

Network architects might be comfortable with the relative simplicity and familiarity of copper gigabit networks with RJ-45 connectors. But the reality is that fiber is far more complicated and you can’t install it without understanding what fits your network. Here are the specs for OM1, OM3 and OM4 fiber that you need to know before undergoing any upgrades or new installations.

OM Type

Fiber Core (in mm)

Maximum Bandwidth (MHz*km)

Link Length for 1G Networks (m)

Link Length for 10G Networks (m)

OM1

62.5

500

300

33

OM3

50

2,000

1,000

300

OM4

50

4,000

1,100

550

Source: American Fibertek Application Note, Practical Multimode Fiber Considerations

At first glance, it’s obvious that as you move down the list, performance improves. Even though some experts urge network architects to avoid new OM1 installations, the fact is that as of 2013, OM1 fiber accounted for over 25% of North American multimode fiber sales. These multi-mode fiber types are coexisting and 1G and 10G networks, leading to a critical pitfall for network architects.

The differing fiber core sizes (62.5 micron for OM1 and 50 micron for OM3/OM4) can cause severe optical loss if not handled correctly. Don’t fall into the critical pitfall. 

Why You Can’t Mix-and-Match OM1 Fiber with OM3/OM4 Fiber

Knowing whether you’re connecting 62.5-micron or 50-micron fiber in your network is essential to ensuring total visibility. It might seem obvious, but connecting a 62.5-micron OM1 fiber to a 50-micron OM3/OM4 fiber means the core sizes don’t match and light transmitted from the OM1 fiber will be lost as it floods the 50-micron core. 

You shouldn’t connect a 62.5-micron network component with a 50-micron component; but there’s another layer to the issue when network TAPs are introduced.

Your network TAPs must also match the fiber core size in your network. We’ve seen customers purchase a whole set of network TAPs only to find that the solutions were built to support 50-micron OM3/OM4 fiber—not the larger OM1 fiber. Connecting 62.5-micron fiber from network elements simply dropped packets and defeated the purpose of deploying network TAPs. 

The bottom line: Before you purchase your network TAPs, check and see which fiber core size you’re dealing with. When you know you have OM1 or OM3/OM4/OM5 fiber to TAP, you can purchase the correct visibility solutions and ensure your appliances see every bit, byte and packet® of traffic.

Ensuring 100% network visibility is about much more than just OM fiber matching.

Looking to add fiber TAPs to your next deployment, but not sure where to start? Join us for a brief network Design-IT consultation or demo. No obligation - it’s what we love to do!

Network TAPS 101 Basics for IT Security engineers

Written by Chris Bihary

Chris Bihary, CEO and Co-founder of Garland Technology, has been in the network performance industry for over 20 years. Bihary has established collaborative partnerships with technology companies to complement product performance and security through the integration of network TAP visibility.

Authors

Topics

Sign Up for Blog Updates