Types of Armored Fiber Cable
Armored fiber cable provides a premium solution for securing your network against rodent damage. Explore the different types of armored fiber cable to ensure you have the right product for your installation.
This plenum rated interlocking armored cable eliminates the need for conduit, saving time and money. It features tight-buffered optical fibers with aramid strength members.
Plenum
Our 2 to 24 fiber plenum rated interlocking armored cable combines standard distribution cables within a spirally wrapped aluminum interlocking armor and heavy-duty outer jacket that offers superior crush resistance. This allows for installations that require both an indoor and outdoor rated cable without the need to transition to an indoor splice point and back again, resulting in less loss and easier handling. It also eliminates the need for inner duct or conduit saving you time and money. This cable is plenum rated which means it can be run inside a building and in places like ventilation shafts that are designated as plenum spaces.
A plenum space is any enclosed area that facilitates environmental air handling in a building or other structure. It is often found in a ceiling space but can be located underneath floors as well. It is important that any cabling used in these spaces be plenum rated as non-rated cabling can spread the fire to other areas of the building and even release toxic smoke when it burns.
Plenum rated cabling is often made from Teflon or another material that is more expensive than ordinary cable but it can save lives in the event of an emergency. It is also more resistant to flames and produces much less smoke than ordinary cable which makes it an excellent choice for use in a variety of commercial and industrial environments where the safety of workers and guests should be paramount.
Riser
Whether you’re in an office building, a shopping mall or a warehouse, the data communications that make it all possible run through riser cable. Often, it’s not in plain view, but that doesn’t mean it’s unimportant. In fact, the quality of a riser installation is essential to the overall success of your telecommunications network.
For this reason, it’s important that cabling installers understand the standards that govern riser systems, and that they follow them closely. This will ensure indoor-outdoor-armored-fiber-optic-cable-cable that the resulting system performs to specification, and that it can handle the demands of tomorrow’s data-heavy networks.
As its name implies, riser fiber optic cables are ideal for multistory building applications. They can be used to connect the floor to ceiling of a room, and they also work well in between floors that require mechanical protection. They typically have helically wrapped interlocking aluminum armor, which is optimized for protecting the cable from fractures and environmental calamities.
Another key feature of riser cables is their solid conductors. These allow for optimal signal strength over long distances and better resistance when pulling through walls. In addition, they’re typically low smoke zero halogen (LSZH) rated and can meet the National Electrical Code (NEC) standards for fire safety. This makes them a great choice for commercial and residential buildings. In addition to being easy to install, this type of cable is also cost-effective.
Tactical
Armored fiber optic cables are designed to protect the optical signals within. These cables are generally stronger than standard fiber cable and are used in harsh environments where normal copper wires would be damaged more easily. This protection is achieved with a number of different layers of armor that are designed to shield the cable against various environmental conditions. These include water, rodent bites, and impact. In addition, the cables are also coated with weather-proofing materials and other insulating layers that help to mitigate moisture ingress.
Choosing the right armored fiber optic cable is essential to optical-power-meters ensure your network has a strong connection. It can protect your network against damage caused by rodents, impacts, and mechanical calamities. This is especially important if your network connections are mission-critical.
When you choose a ruggedized cable, you can be confident that it will provide the high-performance connections your network needs to support emergency services and other critical applications. These cables are made with military-grade steel armor that is resistant to crushing, abrasion, cutting, and pulling – all of which can easily damage the delicate optical strands inside of standard fiber cable.
Choosing the right armored cable can save you time and money on installation. It can also help you avoid the extra costs associated with inner duct or conduit in your project. For example, if you need to run a long distance of fiber across a campus, use our SteelFlex armored cable to eliminate the need for conduit.
Outdoor
If you are installing a fiber network in an environment where there is a high risk of physical threats like rodent bites or forklift accidents you need to consider moving to an outdoor armored cable. This type of cable includes the benefits of standard distribution cable, but is encased in aluminum interlocking armor and has a heavy-duty outer jacket to provide superior crush resistance. Interlocking armor also allows installation without the need for innerduct or conduit in some environments which can save you time and money.
Outdoor armored fiber cable can be used in any laying environment and is designed to protect the optical core from harsh elements such as abrasion, corrosion and rodent bite. It is typically available in either tightly or loosely armored options, depending on the laying environment.
This is a great choice for applications such as direct burial or overhead laying and provides the added benefit of no 50 foot fire code requirement traditionally found with indoor (OSP) cable. It can be ordered as a pre-terminated fiber optic cable assembly which helps to reduce installation costs and is available in both Riser and Plenum rated constructions in 2 to 144 strand options. For added protection, our pre-terminated fiber assemblies include dry water blocking aramid yarn strength members and a UV resistant jacket which can mitigate any moisture incursion that may occur.
