OTDR
An Optical Time Domain Reflectometer (OTDR) is a fiber optic measurement device that
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captures real-time data on loss and back reflection across fiber links,
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performs bidirectional analysis by connecting to both transmitter (TX) and receiver (RX) ports, and
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enables assessment and ongoing monitoring of fiber quality and performance.
The NCS 1010 OLT and ILA nodes feature in-built bidirectional OTDR functionality, allowing them to measure loss and back reflection in real time for fiber pairs linked to the TX and RX ports. For the OLT device, the OTDR port can switch between LINE-TX and LINE-RX ports. For the ILA device, the OTDR port can switch among LINE-1-TX, LINE-1-RX, LINE-2-TX, and LINE-2-RX ports.
SOR file
You can view OTDR measurement results in a Standard OTDR Record (SOR) file. The SOR file includes fiber trace details such as distance, reflectance, loss, and fiber attenuation measurements.
You can export the SOR file from NCS 1010 using the command: scp username@device-ip:filename_with_source_location destination-location.
Example:scp test@192.168.0.1:/harddisk:/otdr/ios_OTDR_Ots0_0_0_0_RX_20230301-101927.sor /users/test/
Benefits
The OTDR offers several key benefits, including:
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Assess the quality of the fiber during system installation, before any live traffic run.
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Monitor the fiber link during operation, including live traffic. You can also monitor the fiber link during troubleshooting after cable cuts or repairs.
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Measure attenuation over the entire fiber link and across individual fiber sections.
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Determine the distance and magnitude of insertion loss and reflection loss.
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Detect fiber events, including concentrated loss events, reflection events, end-of-fiber events, and discontinuities or defects such as pinches or cuts. The OTDR pluggable can also detect loss events from splicing, patch panel connections, and couplers.

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