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October 30, 2013

What You Need to Know About OTDR Trace Analysis and Interpretation

Kevin Peres

Applications Engineer, Advanced Technologies and Solutions

Kevin Peres has over 20 years of experience in the telecom industry. He started working for EXFO nine years ago as an Applications Engineer and information expert on the following subjects: fiber optics, Ethernet and SONET testing. Kevin spent several years perfecting his business and marketing skills in Territory Sales at EXFO, before returning to his technical position as Senior Applications Engineer. 

Optical testing and monitoring

Gone are the days of fiber being the domain of backbone capacity. Today, fiber is literally run along the sides of homes, prompting the need for providers to qualify and troubleshoot their fiber-optic networks using tools such as OTDRs. Understanding how to setup, analyze and interpret OTDR traces is critical to reducing OPEX and mean time to restore/recovery (MTTR), because inaccurate assessment could lead to the following problems:

  • Inaccurate or inconsistent loss and distance measurements
  • Hidden events
  • Ghost or fake events
  • Merged events

During this session, we will discuss traditional OTDR setup, trace analysis/interpretation and the new advances in testing technology that bring a higher level of expertise to every technician.