Been asked to terminate fibre and CAT6

[seedubya]

So we got this nice Wifi job. 27 node Unifi installation for a hotel. It should have been done ages ago but the cabling guys haven't made it to site yet. It's all part of an almost complete re-wiring of the building. They don't work for us but for the hotel directly.

It turns out that they don't terminate and test network cabling and that includes both copper and fibre. To be honest we don't usually do the copper because electrical contractors are cheaper. We haven't done any fibre terminations or test ever.

So we've been asked by the other contractor to do this work for them rather than bring in a third party.

CAT6 really isn't an issue - say 30 points - patch panel at one end and crimp at the other. They also want this certified for speed and continuity which means hiring a Fluke or the like which we haven't done before either. How much time would you allow for this? Is there an accepted number of terminations per hour or whatever?

The fibre is bulk, not pre terminated. 8 core as far as I know. There will be 4 links to 4 wings of the building. How do we terminate this? How do we hook it back to the LAN? There will be switches available at both ends.

We are happy to break even on this job, just to learn the ropes.

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

Fiber gets fed into the network by using switches which have the optional ports for mini GBics/tranceivers. You have a few different types, like SC or ST.

If you haven't done fiber before, and don't have the equip to test ethernet to certify it...I'd lean towards "find someone who does". Work a deal with them so that you resell them, and you can help on the job for your learning.

We've used one guy for over 12 years....he's retired from the local phone company, he got into data wiring, all certified in lots of stuff including fiber, and he even teaches data wiring at a local college. But he does all our jobs, I often help, and we often resell his work.

 

[jzukerman]

Well, for one thing you wouldn't crimp an end-connector if going from the patch panel to a device. You should install a keystone jack & faceplate into a wall or conduit or raceway. Then use a factory made patch cable from that jack to the device you are connecting to the network.

If that cabling contractor can't get the job done, then I would get it in writing from the client that says your company will do the termination. Then I would sub out that work to a qualified cabling contractor. You could ask the sub to allow you to tag along so you can get some idea of how the work is done. The fiber termination tools and test equipment can be $$$$, same with the copper test equipment. Not worth investing unless you plan on doing many future cabling jobs to recoup those costs. Since the customer appears to be looking for quality work and installation, see if you can get a cabling contractor who has BICSI credentials.

 

[Markverhyden]

First, are the existing runs labeled? If not that can eat up a lot of time. Beyond that.

Nothing wrong with wanting to learn but be assured you will loose money on this if you want your price to be reasonable and quality great. As mentioned basically nothing copper will be crimped. Punch down on a patch panel on one end and punch down on a keystone on the other. Plus the wall mounting. You can use boxes or mud rings. My preference is for mud rings, lower cost and easy install. Then face plate with the keystone(s).

As far as fiber is concerned. They now make kits that are supposed to be easier for the novice in terms of terminations. As YeOldeStonecat mentioned these are usually going from device to device, SFP to SFP. Basically from the MDF to the IDF's.

Certifying. Be clear on what they are looking for. Some want a real "certifier". Meaning it is legally classified as such. You need to understand that some cable manufacturers issue a life time installation warranty but the testing must be done with a true certifier. Other's may be happy with a verifier, like a ValidatorPro NT1150. Those test in a similar fashion are just as good as far as I am concerned in most situations. Fiber requires different equipment. Since you do not have either you could rent them.

How much time? Hard to tell. Is there an accurate wire/construction map? Makes a big difference. For punch downs about 4-5 minutes per line with two people, the patch panel is a pain to work with. For testing I've found that with a larger site and many drops, two people can average around 4 minutes per CatX test depending on the distances and speed of the device. Not sure about fiber.

Now the big question. Since you did not run the cable what will happen if there is a problem. This does happen on occasion. So you need to have a well defined game plan drawn up and ready to go.

If it was me I would go for it. Done plenty of copper but barely touched fiber. So it would be a great opportunity and breaking even or loosing a little would not bother me. If the scope was much larger I would probably just subcontract it out.

 

[seedubya]

Guys, thank you one and all for the excellent advice.

Stonecat - I've seen media converters that terminate the fibre and convert to Ethernet in places before. If I have to use GBIC I'm a bit limited on the switches I can use.

jzukerman - no conduit available, not even cable trays. All of this is over-ceiling i.e. not visible. Other wise I wouldn't even consider crimps. All thirty cables are plugging directly into WAPs.

Mark - same thing re mudrings as above - all over-ceiling. I'll clarify what they want regarding certification and just hire the appropriate devices. Cable will be pulled by the electrician and will be all labelled at both ends. I'll work with the wholesaler regarding fibre terminations.

If it was me I would go for it. Done plenty of copper but barely touched fiber. So it would be a great opportunity and breaking even or loosing a little would not bother me.

This is exactly how I feel about it. Copper's not a problem, just unsure about certifying. The fibre worries me a bit though. I'll make some calls in the morning and see how I get on. Will let you all know and see if I can feed back anything useful to the forum. I reckon a lot of guys could do this work if they were better informed.

 

[Mercenary Roadie]

Fiber is not something you just show up and learn to do on-site. If you don't know anything about Fiber, then don't do it or sub it to someone who does t for a living

There is nothing wrong with cabling being punched down to a patch panel on one end and a modular plug on the other when it's connected to an AP.

If you have never ran data cable in the area above a drop ceiling then you need to know some things.

First you need to find out if that area is an air return space for the HVAC system. This is called a plenum and requires special cable and other things.

Second, you can't just lay the cable on top of the ceiling tiles. It has to be a minimum of 6 inches above them. You also can not use the support wires holding up the drop ceiling.

There are other things, but those you can learn as you go.