Male and Female Connectors in MPO Cables: What's the Difference?

Overview of MPO Connector Cable

         

What is an MPO Connector Fiber Cable?

          

MPO(Multi-fiber Push On) connector is a multi-channel, multi-core plug-in connector. Compared with other connectors, the most important features of the MPO connector are compact design and a large number of jumper cores. Currently, MPO connectors are available in 8-core, 12-core, 16-core, 24-core, 48-core, 72-core, and 144-core designs, with the 12-core, 16-core, and 24-core designs being the most common.

                    

MPO fiber jumpers are fiber optic cables equipped with MPO connectors. Compared with traditional fiber optic cables, MPO cables have higher density and faster connection speeds. They achieve high-density connections by integrating multiple optical fiber cores into a compact MPO connector, and can transmit data from multiple fiber channels at the same time. This design makes MPO jumpers have advantages in saving space and simplifying wiring.

               

Typical Applications of MPO Fiber Connectors

                 

First, in the backbone cabling of data centers, MPO connector cables are used for high-speed interconnection between switches, servers, and patch panels. As data centers migrate from 10G to 40G, 100G, and even 800G, traditional connections can no longer meet the dual needs of space and bandwidth. MPO jumpers can transmit multi-channel optical signals through a single connector, significantly saving wiring space and simplifying wiring architecture.

             

The second is the connection between servers and storage devices. There are a large number of servers and storage devices in the data center, and high-speed, large-capacity data transmission is required between them. With its high-density fiber integration capability, MPO patch cords can achieve a large number of fiber connections between servers and SAN devices, disk arrays, etc.

             

The third is the metropolitan area network backbone network. The metropolitan area network backbone network undertakes the task of data aggregation and transmission for a large number of users within the city. MPO jumpers are used to connect switches, routers and other devices in the network. They can provide high-density fiber connections in a limited computer room space, meet the growing bandwidth requirements of the metropolitan area network, and facilitate network upgrades and expansions.

                 

MPO to MPO cable can also be used for internal connections in supercomputers. Supercomputers are composed of a large number of computing nodes, which require extremely low latency and ultra-high bandwidth connections to collaborate on complex computing tasks. MPO cables can meet the high-density, high-speed fiber connection requirements within supercomputers, ensure fast data transmission between computing nodes, and give full play to the computing performance of supercomputers.

         

MPO vs MTP Cable, What's the Difference?

           

What is an MTP cable? An MTP cable, short for Multi-fiber Termination Push-on cable. It uses an MTP connector, a registered trademark of US Conec, which is an enhanced version of the standard MPO connector. MTP connectors are similar to MPO connectors, but they differ in several ways.

        

Floating ferrule:

The connector of the MTP fiber jumper has a floating ferrule, it can be used to improve mechanical performance. In other words, the floating ferrule of MTP fiber connector cable can float internally to maintain a stable connection under applied load. However, MPO fiber patch cord connector does not have a floating ferrule.

       

Pin Clamps:

The MTP fiber optic patch cords are usually equipped with metal Pin clamps that can better fasten the pins to minimize accidental breakage during use, while MPO connector cables are equipped with plastic Pin clamps that may cause the pins to break during use.

       

Guide Pins:

MTP fiber cables use tightly fixed stainless steel round guide pins to reduce debris on the guide holes and ferrule end faces. MPO fiber cables use cylindrical guide pins, which may generate debris during use.

Removable Housing:

MTP connectors have a removable housing, facilitating field rework, polishing, and conducting performance tests. MPOs typically lack this feature. 

          

Insertion Loss:

MTP connectors generally have lower insertion loss compared to MPO connectors, meaning MTP fiber cables provide better signal transmission.

     

What is a Male and Female Connector?

           

Male and female are important terms used to distinguish the form of fiber optic connectors. They have a matching relationship in structural design, the purpose is to achieve accurate docking between optical fibers and efficient transmission of optical signals. The following will introduce the difference between male and female cords.

What is Male Connector Cable?

        

MPO cable male connectors are equipped with two guide PINs on the front end. These guide pins serve to align the plug with the female connector, thus ensuring that the multi-core fiber is precisely aligned when mated. Since the PINs are protruding, special care should be taken to avoid physical damage or contamination when using male connectors.

             

Male connectors are typically used at one end of a patch cord or in certain specific modules, MPO cassette, etc. 

What is Female Connector Cable?

        

Unlike the male connector, the MPO female connector cable does not have a PIN, but is equipped with a guide hole inside the socket to receive the PIN when the male connector is inserted. The female connector has a flatter structure design, and is therefore more common when connecting devices such as optical modules.

          

MPO Male Connector vs Female Connector, What's the Difference?

         

The main difference between MPO male and female connectors is whether they have PINs and their different roles in fiber optic connections. 

             

The front end of the MPO male has two guide PINs to help align the fiber end face during connection, while the female has no PINs and only has guide holes. 

            

In addition, their application scenarios are also different. The male connector is usually used for one side of the jumper or the internal connection of the MPO cassette, while the female connector is usually used to connect the optical module or device port, because most optical modules have PINs and need to be connected to the female connector.

          

Male or Female Connector: How to Identify Your Right MPO Cable Type?

          

Type 1: MPO to MPO cable connection

       

When two MPO fiber jumpers are connected, one end must be male and the other end must be female to achieve a correct physical connection and fiber alignment. If both ends are male or female, they will not be able to be inserted or the connection will not be firm, resulting in communication failure. Therefore, in MPO to MPO connection, a male-female pairing is a necessary condition.

Type 2: Connection between MPO and optical module

                

Most optical modules have internal guide PINs in the MPO connectors, which means they are equivalent to male connectors. Therefore, when the MPO jumper is connected to the optical module, the MPO connector on one side of the jumper must be female to properly connect with the optical module. Incorrect selection of male jumpers will cause difficulty in insertion and even damage the module interface.

                

Conclusion

             

The male and female connectors in the MPO cables have their own characteristics in structure and application. In actual wiring, whether it is the connection between MPO jumpers or the connection with optical modules, it is necessary to correctly select the male and female connector types to ensure reliable docking and stable signal transmission.