Which Type of Rack Mount Fiber Enclosures Should You Choose?

Updated on Mar 5, 2021 by

 7.4k

Rack-mount fiber enclosures can provide great help to engineers in structuring and securing rack-mount cabling systems in data centers. Do you know which types of rack-mount fiber enclosures are available now? According to different application scenarios, you should choose different types of fiber optic enclosures to install a cabling system for your data center. This article will give you a detailed introduction to the different types of rack-mount fiber enclosures.

Comprehensive Guide for Different Types of Rack Mount Fiber Enclosures

Rack mount fiber enclosures are the most popular of the many types of fiber optic enclosures today. They are used in a large number of data centers because they provide easy management and more robust termination of the fiber optic cables. Pairing a rack mount fiber enclosure with fiber adapter panels and fiber cassettes allows for a flexible fiber optic connection system. If you don't know how to choose the most suitable mount fiber optic enclosure for your fiber optic system, the following section will answer your questions.

Rack Unit of Rack Mount Fiber Enclosure

Generally speaking, rack mount fiber enclosures are 19 inches in size and are available in 2U and 4U rack unit sizes in addition to the 1U size for individual enclosures. 1U and 2U rack mount enclosures have full front and back access and have a drawer that can slide back and forth. The 1U rack-mount fiber enclosure supports a maximum of 144 fibers (LC), and the 2U rack-mount fiber enclosure promotes access to a maximum of 288 fibers (LC). The 4U rack mount enclosure is designed as a fixed bulkhead with a maximum access number of 432 fibers (LC). The following pictures show the difference between the three enclosures, depending on the space requirements and the number of fiber access requirements.

Cover Removable, Slide-out, and Swing-out Rack Mount Fiber Enclosure

The rack mount fiber enclosure can also be divided into three versions depending on how it is opened: cover removable, slide-out, and swing-out. Using the slide-out and swing-out models with a convenient slide-out support tray or an integrated swing-out tray can provide greater convenience for your usual internal access. When using the cover-removable rack mount fiber enclosure, you need to open the whole fiber rack mount. Therefore, although the slide-out and swing-type types are more expensive, we recommend using them for more convenience.

Fixed or Removable Front Panels Rack Mount Fiber Enclosure

In the rack mount fiber enclosure, the fiber optic adapter is a very critical component that can be used to connect different fiber optic connectors. Rack mount fiber enclosure can also be divided into two types depending on whether the front panels are removable. fixed or removable rack mount fiber enclosure. The fixed rack mount fiber enclosure front panel can be loaded with a fixed fiber optic adapter, while the other one can hold several fiber adapter panels or fiber cassettes. The removable front panel is preferred in the market because of its larger capacity, a plug-and-play fiber adapter panel solution that allows network deployment and mobility, adding and changing MACs more easily and flexibly.

Splicing or Pre-terminated Fiber Termination for Rack Mount Fiber Enclosure

There are two common types of rack mount fiber enclosures, fiber splicing or pre-terminated fiber termination for rack mount fiber enclosure, which the different fiber termination ways can classify. When you use pigtail splicing to do fiber termination, a fiber splice tray is required inside the rack mount fiber enclosure to manage and store the fiber. When using pre-terminated assemblies, the inside of the rack mount fiber enclosure is designed to include spools to organize the fiber cables. Comparing these two, the rack mount fiber enclosure with pre-terminated fiber assemblies can save you more time and installation costs.

Rack Mount Fiber Enclosure with FAP or MTP® Fiber Cassettes

The rack-mount fiber enclosure with fiber adapter panel can be used in two types of cabling environments including pre-terminated and field-terminated. When used in different environments, additional spools or splice trays may be required for installation. Another version of the enclosure is loaded with MTP® fiber cassettes, which provide secure transitions between MTP and LC or SC connectors. The MTP® pre-terminated breakout rack mount patch panel typically supports 1U rack and up to 144 fibers, Using this rack mount fiber enclosure can be a great way to help your network with 40/100G Ethernet network migration.

How to Choose A Right Rack Mount Fiber Enclosure

Here are some tips for selecting the right rack mount fiber enclosure for you to follow.

Physical Demand

Before choosing a case, you need to understand your needs, including all the complete and accurate data including height, depth, width, and weight. When you know all of this data, you will know what kind of rack-mount fiber enclosure you need for your data center. Choosing a larger capacity rack mount fiber enclosure may be more appropriate as you face the pressure of subsequent upgrades and growth.

Accessibility Requirements

A good rack-mount fiber enclosure should be able to access a large amount of fiber through the back and top of the enclosure to make the most of it. It is difficult to do the job of adding cables when you are not moving and interfering with active fiber, using slide-out and swing-type rack fiber enclosures can make these things easier, and with that comes higher costs. When you use removable type enclosures, you may have a harder time accessing cables or maintaining them, but it also requires less cost.

In addition to the basic access cables and maintenance, you may need to add additional equipment to the enclosure, such as hubs, routers, or patch panels, which also require accessories for placement, so you need to know exactly what you need and what you are going to use it for when you purchase it.

Budget

You can choose a competitively priced rack mount fiber enclosure depending on your budget. Still, in addition to considering your budget first, you should also consider whether you need a quality unit that will meet all of your needs now and in the future. After choosing a high-quality custom enclosure, you may not need to replace or update it for a long time, and it will provide you with durable, stable support.

Conclusion

More data centers are now considering using rack-mount fiber enclosures to bring better management and maintenance to cables. In addition, applications such as fiber optic splice connectors, patch cord connections, and MTP to LC interface transfers can also use the rack mount fiber enclosure. According to these points in the article, you can purchase a suitable rack-mount fiber enclosure. If you want to know more about rack-mount fiber enclosures, you can contact us via FS.com.