Recommended Fiber Runs by Application
Determining which grade and construction of fiber to integrate can be difficult. This white paper overviews common residential applications and the best practices for fiber cabling.
Application: home theater video distribution
Typical equipment: source to display/projector
Recommended cable: two strand (duplex) multimode OM3 or OM4
Recommended connectors: LC or SC (equipment dependent)
Application: building to building network distribution
Typical equipment: network switch to network switch
Recommended cable for runs under 1,000 ft.: two strand (duplex) multimode OM3
Recommended cable for runs over 1,000 ft.: two strand (duplex) single mode OS2
Recommended connectors: LC
Application: equipment rack to equipment rack
Typical equipment: network switch to network switch
Recommended cable for runs under 1,000 ft.: two strand (duplex) multimode OM3
Recommended cable for runs over 1,000 ft.: two strand (duplex) single mode OS2
Recommended connectors: LC
Application: general residential prewire
Typical equipment: future-proofing for AV and networking
Recommended cable: four strand (two duplex) multimode OM3
Recommended connectors: LC or SC (equipment dependent)
Application: security & access control
Typical equipment: cameras and media converters
Recommended cable for runs under 1,000 ft.: two strand (duplex) multimode OM3
Recommended cable for runs over 1,000 ft.: two strand (duplex) single mode OS2
Recommended connectors: LC or SC (equipment dependent)
Application: service demarc to main distribution point
Typical equipment: incoming demarc to modem or distribution panel
Recommended cable: two strand (duplex) single mode OS2
Recommended connectors: coupler
Application: network switches to access points
Typical equipment: network switch to wireless access point
Recommended cable: two strand (duplex) multimode OM3
Recommended connectors: LC
Cabling Considerations
When integrating fiber optic cable it’s imperative to consider the intended and future use. At a minimum, each intended audio/video run requires two strand (duplex) fiber. The vast majority of applications use duplex multimode OM3 or OM4 fiber. Multimode handles signal distribution up to 1,000 ft. At a minimum, each intended networking run requires a separate two strand (duplex) fiber. The same type of fiber (duplex multimode OM3 or OM4) is used for both AV and networking. To sufficiently future-proof, two runs of duplex multimode (four strands total) should be pulled to each location.