As we all know, Base-8, Base-12 and Base-24 are three mainstream MTP backbones widely used for higher speed 40/100G data centers. Many of today’s legacy infrastructures are using a Base-12 MTP backbone design, however, experience shows us that this connector is not very suitable for higher rate switches or servers. And at present, base-8 is the preferred connector for 40G (SR4) transceivers, while Base-24 is often chosen for 100G transceivers (SR10). How could we convert the previously built Base-12 backbone to the currently popular Base-8 and Base-24 backbones, or how to migrate from 40G Base-8 backbone to 100G Base-24 backbone? There comes a solution—MTP conversion harness cable. MTP conversion cable is a type of MTP harness cable, allowing users to convert their existing MTP backbone cables to an MTP type which matches their active equipment. There are mainly three types of MTP conversion cables: Base-8 conversion harness, Base-12 conversion harness and Base-24 conversion harness. The following text will mainly introduce these three conversion cable types’ applications.
Base-8 conversion harness , also referred to as 1x3 MTP conversion cable, is terminated with three Base-8 connectors at one end and one Base-24 connector at the other end. Three Base-8 connectors are combined inside the furcation housing, so that the single 24-fiber MTP connector can be plugged into the transceiver as shown in the image below. This conversion cable type allows users to convert their existing Base-8 MTP backbone trunks into a single 24 fiber MTP connector for use in SR10 (100G) deployment.
There are two types of Base-12 conversion harness—2x3 MTP conversion cable and 2x1 MTP conversion cable shown in the following image. 2x3 MTP conversion cable, consisted of two Base-12 connectors combined inside the housing to produce three Base-8 connection at the other end of the assembly, is often used to convert pre-installed 12-fiber backbone trunks into Base-8 connections, so that 40G data rates can be achieved. 2x1 conversion cable is attached with two 12-fiber MTP connectors at one end and a single 24-fiber connector at the other end. This type of Base-12 conversion harnessallows users to convert the 12-fiber MTP backbone trunks into Base-24 connections for achieving 100G data rates.
Base-24 conversion harness is exactly the same harness as Base-8 conversion cable, but it is used to convert a Base-24 connector into 3xBase-8 connectors in the backbone based on Base-24 design. A single Base-24 connection is split into three Base-8 connections providing users with three 40G ports as shown in the picture below.
MTP conversion harness cable provides a flexible solution for the conversion from existing Base-12 backbones to popular Base-8 and Base-24 connections, and it is also a cost-effective solution for the conversion between 40G and 100G. The features and usages of three MTP conversion cable types have been introduced above. According to your practical application, you can choose the most suitable one.
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