OTDR Measurements - Never Trust the Carrier Protocol Alone
While building our new network backbone, we tested five newly constructed darkfibre routes (and the DWDM systems on top of them) before putting anything into production. The carrier supplied measurement protocols for every route, and in all cases they looked clean. Only two of the five routes worked flawlessly right away. The other three had issues: Two routes with incomplete cabling in the data centers. The fibers simply ended after about 170 meters inside the Meet-Me-Room, because the last patching hadn’t been done. One route with excessive attenuation on a single fiber. After cleaning the connectors, the fiber was back within spec. None of this was visible in the carrier’s protocols. ...