Fiber Connectors - How clean is clean enough?

Contaminated or dirty fiber is the number-one cause of fiber optic network degradation, including permanent equipment damage. How clean is clean enough? While standards bodies have established acceptance criteria for the quality and cleanliness of fiber connector end faces, technicians still face challenges with implementing these practices. VIAVI experts will share some real world field stories on how technicans learned first hand on how to optimise the performance of these interconnects.

• Fiber Inspection

The Art of an Insertion Loss Measurements and Power Testing

Join us for a deep dive into insertion loss and power measurements as we talk about how a simple thing like dust can hurt your network performance.  Learn about what drives high loss and common mistakes to avoid with these measurements.

• Fiber Testing
• The Perils of Using a Broadband Power Meter in a Multi-Service PON World

Fault Free Builds - The Case of Bi-directional Fiber Testing?

Fiber optic mismatch when splicing cable spans during construction is a very common problem for fiber splice qualification and correct loss acceptance during OTDR testing. VIAVI experts will be explaining why this occurs and why true bi-directional analysis and loopback testing is required for accurate acceptance records.

• Bidirectional OTDR Testing
• Fiber Testing - Get the Right Perspective

Foot to the Floor - Can Test Automation Help?

In this podcast episode, learn how to turn your test instruments into something more and speed up your deployment and revenue cycle. See how you can benefit from test process automation.

• Test Process Automation
• Transform fiber construction certification with the VIAVI StrataSync Test Process Automation (TPA) Suite

Follow the Waves - What's Happening in the Broadband Spectrum

As FTTx and full fiber deployments are well underway, Passive Optical Networks (PON) are a key enabler for high-speed broadband services. This episode will explore what's going on under the hood in the optical spectrum for xPON networks. VIAVI experts will discuss the evolution in the services, spectrum usage and test qualification for those installs.

• Passive Optical Network (PON)
• Understanding Passive Optical Network (PON) Testing

Get Tooled Up: Readiness for the Broadband Install Journey

Premise techs are being asked to transition to fiber daily.  In this episode, we talk about ways to make sure that your fiber to the home install is the best it can be and how to prepare for the next wave of GPON deployments.

• Understanding Passive Optical Network (PON) Testing
• The Perils of Using a Broadband Power Meter in a Multi-Service PON World

Overcoming Home Network Challenges with Automation

We discuss addressing home network performance issues with automation that helps to make installation/service testing as simple and consistent as possible and provides a record of passing tests performed. In addition to instrument automation, tools including a mobile app, a job management system and data collection and analysis are discussed.

• Improving Tech Efficiency Webinar
• Test Process Automation

Giving Home Networks (and Drops) a Pressure Test

We converse about intermittent issues within the home network and dealing with noise and ingress. We cover test methodology, why pressure testing is needed, what equipment a tech needs to have for the test; and testing from outside vs inside the home due to COVID-19 limitations.

• Home Leakage Test Kit

Catching Up with Speed Tests

Discussing the various types of speed tests, and the differences, where each is most applicable, pros/cons, etc. Discussing why we have so many kinds of speed tests. Relating details of each test type.

• OneExpert Product Family
• Fusion TrueSpeed VNF

Testing Everything in PON Service Activation

We unpack the stages of PON service activation, discussing each stage, starting with fiber (inspection, level check, etc), then Ethernet, and then WiFI.

• Network and Service Companion (NSC-100)

Signal Leakage, How Did We Get Here? 

In this episode, John Bush with VIAVI interviews industry veteran Terry Bush regarding the challenges he faced in starting up cable systems in the 80’s, and how it drove development of innovative solutions. This interactive discussion covers the history of how we got from using step attenuators and AM radios to the launch of analog leakage tools.

• The History of Leakage Blog
• Signal Leakage
• Seeker X

Signal Leakage, How Did We Get Here (The Rest of the Story)

This episode concludes the discussion on how cable pioneers developed innovative but simple tools to find shielding weaknesses in their networks including inside of subscriber homes. The interactive discussion gives an inciteful view of how the problems system builders faced like upstream ingress drove the evolution these solutions into the advanced connected systems that we take for granted today.

• Signal Leakage
• Home Leakage
• Seeker X

Tune In – Antenna Fundamentals for the Rest of Us

In this first of a two-episode segment, VIAVI leakage veteran Mark Darragh is joined by Ben Stelle, lead Engineer for VIAVI Leakage systems, to demystify how antennas work and take the discussion down to a level understandable by technicians and managers alike.  This fundamental knowledge is helpful to make sense of how leakage tools are used and how to be most effective with them.

• Antenna Blog Post
• Seeker X & Antenna Brochure

Tune In Part 2 – The Future of Antennas

In this conclusion of the two-episode antenna segment, Ben and Mark will focus on recent antenna developments and how they have evolved to support wideband frequency capabilities of next-generation leakage meters.  Numerous real-life examples are provided to aide in understanding and applicability to the everyday life of a typical technician. 

• Antenna Blog Post
• Signal Leakage

New Reflections – How TDR’s Have Been Reinvented

TDR’s have long been part of the core toolset that Maintenance Techs rely on to do their jobs, but they haven’t really changed much in decades until recently.  In this episode, Karl Oberlin from VIAVI will explain how the different types of TDR’s work, and reflects back on the decades that he spent as a Maintenance Tech earlier in his career to explain how the differences apply to technicians in the real world today.

• DSP TDR
• TDR App Note

More than Moore’s – What Happens when Broadband Demand Exceeds Moore’s Law forecasts

In this episode, learn about the three main options that MSO’s have relied on to increase upstream capacity, and how each has evolved to remain viable as networks.  This will lay the groundwork for follow-on episodes where each method will be discussed in detail.

What’s Next? – The Future of Broadband Capacity Challenges

We’ve covered the three main levers MSO’s have at their disposal to increase upstream capacity, but how will these play out over time?  In this last episode of season 1, we’ll take out our crystal ball and discuss where we see the future of broadband going and what should be considered to stay ahead of ever-growing broadband demand.

Worth the Squeeze – Wringing More Bits/Hz Out of Your Upstream with OFDMA

By now OFDM is old hat to most of us, but OFDMA is finally being tapped to help get more capacity form every precious Hz of upstream spectrum.  In this episode, VIAVI experts will share what we’ve learned from supporting MSO OFDMA deployments around the globe.

It’s a Stretch – Extending the Upstream via Mid/High Splits

Adding more carriers is an obvious way to increase upstream capacity, but what to do when your spectrum is full?  In this episode, we’ll discuss the mid and high-split options and what it takes to successfully deploy them.

Doing the Splits – How DAA Enables Ongoing Node Splits

Splitting nodes has been the go-to method of increasing broadband capacity available per-subscriber, but overflowing hubs create challenges to their use.  Listen in to VIAVI experts discuss DAA types, how they overcome many MSO challenges, and real-life experiences of field rollouts.