An OTDR, or optical time domain reflectometer, troubleshoots fiber optic cables. OTDRs characterize fiber cabling and detect bends, breaks or distortions, measuring the length of cables and forming a picture, or trace, of the cable’s condition. OTDRs create these traces by sending pulses of high-powered laser light down the fiber and measuring the light that reflects back, or backscatter, over time. A trace should be taken of the fiber optic cable at first installation for immediate verification and for future reference.
Fiber optic certification consists of two tiers of tests: Tier 1 certification, in which an optical loss test is performed on the cabling, and Tier 2 testing, which refers to the troubleshooting performed by OTDRs. Troubleshooting is performed at every stage of the fiber cable lifecycle, including after fusion splices to verify splice loss. OTDRs are invaluable tools for fiber network maintenance and confirming the quality of your fiber, connection and splices.
Learn more about Fiber Optic Testing here.
Rent OTDRs from ATEC, including single-mode and multimode OTDRs designed for enterprise, datacenter, campus, FFTx, outside plant, PON applications and more. We offer OTDR rentals for products from leading manufacturers like
Fluke Networks,
EXFO,
Viavi and
Anritsu.