With more and more data centers are upgrading to 40G/100G and beyond, the trend and importance of high density become more significantly. Many famous vendors, like Cisco, Finisar and Brocade, have designed a wide range of components that can be used in data centers to create more capacity, such as high-density patch cables, high-density patch panels, and high-density fiber enclosures. In this article, we will give an overview of a high-density patch cord type—push-pull tab fiber patch cable.
What Is Push-Pull Tab Fiber Patch Cable?
Most traditional fiber patch cables attached with connectors like LC, which are usually locked in the port with a compact latch on the connector body, will cause a finger-access problem for network engineers, especially when they want to plug out a patch cord with connectors. Push-pull tab fiber patch cable with a push-pull tab attached to the connectors perfectly solves this annoying issue. Generally, the connectors attached to the push-pull patch cable are MPO or LC connectors, so there is MPO-HD (high density) tab patch cable and LC-HD tab patch cable. The following part will introduce them respectively.
MPO-HD Tab Fiber Patch Cable
MPO-HD tab patch cable or push-pull MPO patch cable allows high-density connections between network equipment in telecommunication rooms. It features a push-pull tab which can greatly simplify the use of MPO connectivity when manual access to the release slider and rear portion of the connector is restricted, making the insertion and extraction of MPO patch cable easier. Besides, the MPO connector is approximately the same size of a SC connector, but since it can accommodate 12 fibers, it provides up to 12 times the density, thereby offering savings in circuit card and rack space. The following image shows a MPO push-pull tab connector.
LC-HD Tab Fiber Patch Cable
LC-HD tab patch cable or push-pull LC patch cable also has a unique push-pull tab to allow easy finger access and a secure holding fixture for any patching or handling process. When the tab is pulled, the latch will be unlocked easily and the LC connector can be pulled out from the patch panel without difficulty. Push-pull LC fiber patch cable is available in OM3, OM4 or single-mode fiber types to meet the demands of Gigabit Ethernet, 10 Gigabit Ethernet and high speed Fibre Channel.
The Advantages of Push-Pull Tab Fiber Patch Cable
Besides finger access, push-pull tab patch cable has many advantages. The following part will briefly introduce four aspects.
- Ease of Removal: The push-pull tab patch cable’s lever design utilizes a flexible “push-pull tab”, allowing the connector to be disengaged easily from densely loaded panels without the need for special tools.
- Reliability: When you plug a specific patch cord with push-pull connector, you won’t worry about affecting the other connectors around it, since it can provide safe and easy pushing and pulling operation.
- Space Saving: The low profile patch cord, together with its push-pull tab allows adapters to be stacked with absolutely no vertical space, which increases cabling density by more than 50%.
- Economical: High density and ease of installation of push-pull tab patch cord provide a low initial investment. And the above mentioned benefits can offer a high return on investment.