Structured Cabling II — Optical Fiber
This course develops the skills required to install, terminate, splice, and test optical fiber cabling systems used in data center backbone and AI fabric interconnects, following ANSI/TIA-568.3-D and BICSI ITSIMM practice. Students strip, cleave, and terminate single-mode and multimode fiber using mechanical and fusion splicing methods, polish and inspect connector end-faces, and measure insertion loss and return loss using an optical loss test set (OLTS) against TIA-568.3-D link-loss budgets. Students perform bidirectional OTDR testing and interpret OTDR traces to locate events such as connectors, splices, and macrobends. Topics include singlemode versus multimode fiber selection, duplex versus MPO/MTP connectivity for parallel-optics fabric links, fiber management and bend-radius practice under load and at rest, and safety practice for handling bare fiber and Class 1 laser sources. Laboratory sessions use the Atom Lab Bench's BICSI fiber kits and Fluke OTDR/OLTS instruments. This course prepares students for the BICSI Installer 2, Optical Fiber (INSTF) and the Fiber Optic Association Certified Fiber Optic Technician (CFOT) certification examinations.
What you'll be able to do
- Strip, cleave, and terminate a single-mode fiber connector using mechanical or fusion-spliced pigtail methods.
- Perform a fusion splice between two single-mode fiber ends and verify splice loss.
- Inspect a fiber connector end-face using a fiber inspection scope and determine pass/fail per IEC 61300-3-35 criteria.
- Measure end-to-end insertion loss and return loss of a fiber link using an optical loss test set (OLTS) and compare against a calculated loss budget.
- Perform bidirectional OTDR testing on a fiber link and interpret the trace to locate and classify events.
- Route and dress fiber cabling in a tray, duct, or MPO cassette without violating installed or under-load bend-radius limits.
- Select single-mode or multimode fiber and the appropriate connectivity (duplex LC or MPO/MTP) for a stated data-center link application.
- Follow laser and bare-fiber safety practice when working with an active or unknown-status fiber link. Safety-critical
- Document fiber test results in a certification report suitable for as-built turnover.
- Complete BICSI INSTF and FOA CFOT practice examinations covering published objective domains.
- Troubleshoot a failed fiber link by isolating the fault to a specific connector, splice, or cable segment.
Train the team that runs the factory.
The Institute travels with every SAVRN campus.