APPLICATION NOTE

Metrobility "Twister" 2165-17-01

as recommended replacement of the LTU-F

Issue : April 2010

A Publication of
NEC Unified Solutions
HILVERSUM, THE NETHERLANDS

Order No : 3522 009 12692

Date : April 2010

Great care has been taken to ensure that the information contained
in this handbook is accurate and complete. Should any errors or
omissions be discovered or should any users wish to make
suggestions for improving this handbook, they are invited to send
the relevant details to:

NEC Unified Solutions

P.O. BOX 32
1200 JD HILVERSUM
THE NETHERLANDS

© NEC Unified Solutions 2010.

All rights are reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part is
prohibited without the written consent of the copyright owner.
All brand names and product names in this document are
trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.
 PREFACE...........................................................................................2
1. INTRODUCTION................................................................................3

2. INSTALLATION NOTES......................................................................4
2.1 INTERWORKING ASPECTS ................................................................4
2.2 PREREQUISITES ...............................................................................4
2.3 CONNECTING THE MODEM ................................................................4

3. SETTINGS AND CABLES ....................................................................6

3.1 MODEM SWITCHES ...........................................................................6
3.2 CABLES.............................................................................................7
3.2.1 The MDF - Modem Connection ..........................................................7
3.2.2 The Optical Link................................................................................8

4. ALARMS AND MAINTENANCE ............................................................9

4.1 OPERATIONAL MODES ......................................................................9
4.2 ALARM HANDLING .......................................................................... 10

A FIBER OPTICS ................................................................................ 11

1
PREFACE

Installing a fiber optical link between two iS3000 units was traditionally done using
the in-system Line Terminating Unit - Fiber (LTU-F). With the external Metrobility
"twister" 2165-17-01, our recommended replacement modem, a couple of things need
special attention.
This application note is intended to guide the installation and maintenance issues that
are different from the LTU-F.
This manual is valid for iS3000 systems supporting an E1 Primary Rate interface.

For general installation and operational requirements and guidelines read the
"Installation & User Guide" that is on the CD that accompanies the Metrobility
"twister" 2165-17-01.

2
1. INTRODUCTION

The aim of this application note is to give some guidelines for setting up and
maintaining an optical link on an iS3000 system. It can be useful for both new
installations and existing installations that need expansion or hardware replacement.

Chapter 2 lists the items required to complete a single-side installation and addresses
typical iS3000 aspects of the installation.

Chapter 3 explains the settings and cable and fiber-link connections to the Metrobility
"twister" 2165-17-01.

Chapter 4 addresses the alarming signals to control and maintain the link.

Appendix A contains some general information on optical fibers and their transmission
characteristics.

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2. INSTALLATION NOTES

This chapter is intended to guide you through the installation of a single optical link
connection from the MDF (Main Distribution Frame) of the iS3000 to the link to the
optical network.

2.1 INTERWORKING ASPECTS

The optical interface protocol used by the Metrobility "twister" 2165-17-01 differs from
the LTU it replaces, so when installing the modem make sure that it has a suitable
counterpart connected at the other side of the network.

2.2 PREREQUISITES

It is assumed that at the location there is easy access to the MDF, local mains and a
place to mount the modem.
The following items should be at your disposal:

• a Metrobility "twister" 2165-17-01 and power supply

• a mains apparatus cable appropriate for the local installation
• some twisted-pair cable like CAT-5
• an RJ45 crimp tool and some RJ45 plugs
• an appropriate MDF cable piercing tool
• optional : a converter to match the optical network's interface to SC connectors
• optional : a tie-wrap, large enough to fit around the modem

2.3 CONNECTING THE MODEM

Place the modem conform the guidelines of the manufacturer, see 'Installation & User
Guide' on CD. The manufacturer recommends to connect the DC supply outlet to the
modem before the AC power is applied to the power supply.

The fiber links use SC connectors which have a locking mechanism and so has the
RJ45 connector. The DC power connector does not have any locking mechanism it is
retained by the spring force of the contacts. To prevent accidental loss of power the
following option can be used, see figure below.

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This will ensure that the power cable stays connected and can also be used to fix the
modem at its intended position.

Note: Be aware that the modem will not be part of your iS3000 power back-up
environment. Supplying the modem 230 V AC from an inverter that does run
on the -48 V DC back-up power can solve that problem.

5
3. SETTINGS AND CABLES
3.1 MODEM SWITCHES

The modem is delivered with default settings which should not have to be altered for
this installation. These default settings are :

• BR - off
• LB - off
• CD - off
• L2 - off
• L1 - off
• L0 - on

Refer to the manufacturer's 'Installation & User Guide' for specifics about the function
of these switches.

At the bottom of the modem the MDI 'straight -

cross' switch should be set to 'straight', this switch
switches the RX and TX sides of the E1 interface.

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3.2 CABLES

3.2.1 The MDF - Modem Connection

Below a schematic representation of the cable connections between the MDF and the
RJ45 connector is given.

Front panel view of the Metrobility "twister" 2165-17-01 where the optical and the E1
RJ45 entries are positioned.

Refer to the manufacturer's 'Installation & User Guide' for specifics about the LED
indicators.

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3.2.2 The Optical Link

The Metrobility "twister" 2165-17-01 is equipped with a SM (Single Mode) fiber

transmitter and uses SC connectors for the mechanical interface to the optical
network.
Any converter used to match the modem to the network's connector standard should
also be of the SM kind, unless the entire network is MM (Multi Mode) fiber.
The receiver will accept both SM and MM fiber.

SC connector

For more information about optical fibers and their characteristics you are referred to
the appendix of this document.

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4. ALARMS AND MAINTENANCE
4.1 OPERATIONAL MODES

Below a summary of the different modes of operation from the manufacturers manual
and how the modem translates the state to the host system.

• Normal
The diagram below shows a typical configuration with good link status.

• Input Copper Link Loss

Loss of the copper input forces the T1/E1 unit to generate AIS, which is
transmitted out the fiber port. For example, if the local unit's inbound copper line
breaks, it will transmit AIS to the remote T1/E1 via the fiber cable. The remote
unit will then carry the AIS forward via its copper cable to the remote device.

• Input Copper AIS

If the local T1/E1 converter's copper interface receives AIS, the unit will transmit
the alarm to the remote unit, which then transmits it to the remote device.

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• Input Fiber Link Loss
If a T1/E1 converter's inbound fiber line breaks, the unit will generate AIS which is
transmitted over its copper cable. It will also send an alarm to its T1/E1 partner.

In all instances other than normal operation the modem will generate an AIS (Alarm
Indication Signal) to the host, more precisely to the DTU of the iS3000. Next we will
see how that is handled by the system.

4.2 ALARM HANDLING

The DTU will transfer the AIS to the CPU and the occurrence of that signal can be
confirmed by executing the OM (Operational Maintenance) command DIDILA.

The CPU will record the event as follows:

Alarm Code: Qualifier 100:048

CODE : HARD HARDWARE FAULT

QLF : Digital Trunk Unit-Gen
TYPE : Board
ADD. : 2 = Fault detector failure
INFO : 2 = AIS detector

Whether or not this will translate into a Major or Minor Alarm depends on the
projection of the system.

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A. FIBER OPTICS
Types of optical fibers

There are two types of optical fibers: multimode and single-mode (or monomode).
These types define how light travels inside the fiber core.
The multimode fibers come in several varieties:

• step-index,
• multi-step-index, or
• graded.

The graded fibers have lower dispersion than the step-index fibers.

Connecting different types of fiber

Interconnecting fiber links needs some attention, because SM fiber has a significantly
smaller core than MM fiber, linking SM to MM will not result in a significant reduction
of signal. On the other hand, when going from MM to SM fiber (9µm versus 62.5µm)
only 2% of the area of a MM core fiber will be visible to the SM fiber resulting in an
insertion loss of 17dB, possibly higher, depending on the acceptance angle of the SM
fiber and the precision of the mating.

So by transmitting using an SM output and receiving with an MM input you should

have the safest configuration for any optical network.

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Optical Fiber Connectors

There are a lot of different optical fiber connectors; there are even a few different
standardizations, e.g. DIN47256 and a number of FOCIS standards.

Definition of: FOCIS (Fiber-Optic Cable Intermatability Standard)

Specifications for cable connectors from the TIA that define the requirements for
interconnection between fiber-optic plugs and sockets.

Below a selection of different optical fiber connectors is given :

DIN 47256/4108 connector

DIN 47256/4108 contact connector

Used on the 9562 158 74100 LTU-F

(not commonly used anymore)

SC push-pull connector

SC push-pull style connector

Used on the Metrobility "twister" 2165-17-01

(commonly used)

ST connector

ST screw bayonet style connector

Another commonly used connector

Clearly none of these connectors matches with any of the others and connecting your
system to a customer’s network might require special patch cables. Beware of the
SM/MM versions.

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Optical Cable Attenuation

The reduction in signal strength is measured as attenuation. Attenuation

measurements are made in decibels (dB). The decibel is a logarithmic unit that
indicates the ratio of output power to input power. Each optical fiber has a
characteristic attenuation that is normally measured in decibels per kilometer
(dB/km).
Optical fibers are distinctive in that they allow high-speed transmission with low
attenuation.

• Single-mode fiber has an average attenuation of ~ 0.4 dB/km

• Multimode graded-index fiber (62.5 µm) ~ 3-4 dB/km
• Multimode step-index fiber ~ 4-6 dB/km
• Plastic Optical Fiber ~ 1000 dB/km

As distances increase, attenuation is quickly outweighed by the signal dispersion

effects as far as transmission quality in multimode fiber is concerned.

Optical Link Loss Budget

The range of optical loss over which a fiber optic link will operate and meet all
specifications.

The loss is relative to the transmitter output power and affects the required receiver
input power.

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