Fiber Optic OTDRs An Optical Time Domain Reflectometer is an important instrument used by organizations to certify the performance of new fiber optics links and detect problems with existing fiber links.

The OTDR sends a pulse of laser light into one side of the optical fiber. As the pulse travels along the fiber, a small portion of the pulse’s energy is reflected to the detector from points along the fiber, such as connectors, multiplexers, splices, splitters and other components on the optical link.

The health of your network depends on the quality of your network infrastructure. This quality begins with complete certificationby contractors or systems integrators that the fiber cabling infrastructure was properly installed. Maintaining a reliable fiber plant is also essential in protecting your business-critical applications. As a network administrator, it is important to understand how to get the best performance from your cabling investment and how to solve problems quickly when they occur.

It’s useful for testing the integrity of fiber optic cables. It can verify splice loss, measure length and find faults. The OTDR is also commonly used to create a “picture” of fiber optic cable when it is newly installed.