Link specifications

The trunk to which the IBM® jumper cables are connected must have optical properties that conform to the specifications in the table.

Table 1. Maximum coupling link loss (at 1300-nanometer wavelength)
Maximum link length in km (Miles) Maximum link loss (dB) Trunk size (μm) Minimum trunk modal bandwidth (MHz•km)
≤10 (6.2) 7 9 to 10 N/A to single mode fiber
≤0.5501 (.31) 5 50 500
1 Requires mode conditioning patch cables on both ends of the link (1 Gbit/s links only).
Note: Coupling links which support 1 km (0.62) with 50 μm fiber; 8 dB loss at 850 nm wavelength have been discontinued effective May 1998.
Table 2. Maximum FICON/FCP/HPF link loss (at 1300-nanometer wavelength at 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, or 32 Gbit/s)
Data rate Maximum link length in km (Miles) Maximum link loss (dB) Trunk size (μm) Minimum trunk modal bandwidth (MHz•km)
1 Gbit/s 10.00 (6.21) 7.80 9 N/A to single mode fiber
1 Gbit/s 0.550 (0.34) 5.00 62.51 200
1 Gbit/s 0.550 (0.34) 5.00 501 500
2 Gbit/s 10.00 (6.21) 7.80 92 N/A
4 Gbit/s 10.00 (6.21) 3 7.80 92 N/A
4 Gbit/s 4.00 (2.48) 3 4.80 92 N/A
8 Gbit/s 10.00 (6.21)3 6.4 92 N/A
16 Gbit/s 10.00 (6.21)3 6.4 92 N/A
32 Gbit/s 5.00 (3.11)4 6.34 92 N/A
Notes:
  • 1 Mode Conditioner Cable (FC0106) required for Trunk Fiber reuse. All Fiber between mode conditioners must be 62.5 μm. Requires matching LX optics.
  • 2 Use of Mode Conditioner Patch cables for MM Trunk Fiber reuse is not supported for 2/4 Gbit/s.
  • 3 IBM supports interoperability of 10 km transceivers with 4 km transceivers provided the unrepeated distance between a 10 km transceiver and a 4 km transceiver does not exceed 4 km (2.5 miles).
  • 4 FICON® Express32S LX (FC=0461) supports a 32 Gbps link speed at distances up to 5 km between each channel and its nearest neighbor.
Table 3. Maximum FICON/FCP link loss (at 850-nanometer wavelength)
Data rate Maximum link length in km (Miles) Maximum link loss (dB) Trunk size (μm) Minimum trunk modal bandwidth (MHz•km)
1 Gbit/s 0.860 (0.53) 4.62 50 2000
1 Gbit/s 0.500 (0.31) 3.85 50 500
1 Gbit/s 0.300 (0.19) 3.00 62.5 200
1 Gbit/s 0.250 (0.16) 2.80 62.5 160
2 Gbit/s 0.500 (0.31) 3.31 50 2000
2 Gbit/s 0.300 (0.19) 2.62 50 500
2 Gbit/s 0.120 (0.07) 2.10 62.5 200
4 Gbit/s 0.400 (.248) 2.95 50 4700
4 Gbit/s 0.380 (0.23) 2.88 50 2000
4 Gbit/s 0.150 (0.09) 2.06 50 500
4 Gbit/s 0.070 (0.04) 1.78 62.5 200
8 Gbit/s 0.190 (.118) 2.19 50 4700
8 Gbit/s 0.150 (0.09) 2.04 50 2000
8 Gbit/s 0.050 (0.03) 1.68 50 500
8 Gbit/s 0.021 (0.01) 1.58 62.5 200
16 Gbit/s 0.125 (.077) 1.95 50 4700
16 Gbit/s 0.100 (.062) 1.86 50 2000
16 Gbit/s 0.035 (.021) 1.63 50 500
16 Gbit/s 0.015 (.009) 1.56 62.5 200
32 Gbit/s 0.100 (.062) 1.86 50 4700
32 Gbit/s 0.070 (0.04) 1.75 50 2000
32 Gbit/s 0.020 (0.01) 1.57 50 500