Everyone said this was impossible - Backyard Fiber Run

[jakkuh_t]

 

[Nerdom]

Was this posted a little early lol? It's still unlisted

 

Forum getting early access before FP big bruh moment /s

[Ultraforce]

10 minutes ago, Nerdom said:

Was this posted a little early lol? It's still unlisted

 

I don't know about you, but I'm not complaining.

 

Man though seeing the scrapes and what not that Linus got doing the bushwacking indicates that wasn't the nicest walk. Guess it advertises the shop jacket though. I feel like goggles might have been wise to wear while doing that whole thing though.

[BaidDSB]

why cant they keep it?

[Nystemy]

To be fair, this would have been a very good opportunity to state "Never look into an unconnected fiber!"

Since long distance transceivers can put out enough power to have the laser still be dangerous after a long cable. _{(Especially if the cable run is way shorter than expected.)}

Likewise is it highly recommended to never look into a fiber module that has no cable attached. _{(however, this is "safer" since the module doesn't tend to do more than send the occasional blip and see if anyone responds from the other side.)}

 

Though, an interesting installation. Hope you can get proper permits to keep it. Cities don't tend to enjoy random cables strung about the place without it being actually included on a map. _{(though, sometimes permission from the neighbors one goes through can be enough. This obviously depends on the jurisdiction.)}

 

However. Copper could likely offer fairly decent speeds for this distance. _{(not 1200 Gb/s though.)}

But outdoor installations tends to be better with fiber. Lightning has fried a lot of network equipment over the years. _{(even a non direct hit can induce enough EMF into the cables to fry equipment if the cable is long enough.)}

[rcmaehl]

LTT once again setting a bad example. Should have called 811 before they dig.

 

/s

[StevenNotStephen]

Hi, anyone have a video that they recommend for networking? Mainly because it was a fun watch, but I understood nothing in this vid; I want to learn :D

[Needfuldoer]

Why start the run at the studio? I would've thought you would want to start at Lab 2 so the reel and surplus stay there. That way you don't have to worry about not pulling enough depending on where the network closet ends up. (The studio end's a known quantity, since it's going in the server room.)

 

1 hour ago, Nystemy said:

However. Copper could likely offer fairly decent speeds for this distance. _{(not 1200 Gb/s though.)}

At nowhere near the speed, plus fiber's cheap.

[slayernine]

2 hours ago, BaidDSB said:

why cant they keep it?

I'm not sure.  Why not just trench it in and see if anyone complains?  Set up the air-fiber as a backup.  I doubt it would become a problem for them for years.

[tkitch]

2 hours ago, BaidDSB said:

why cant they keep it?

running cables outside requires permits and permission from landowners, etc.  

 

They also probably need to bury the cable at least a little bit for protection.

 

(I also imagine that each end would have a pole that goes up, and then it flies to the roof of the building, rather than being ground level.)

[BrentosM]

Who were they trying to get their fiber from for $100k a year? Or is there just no providers really where they are.

Company I work for has multiple dark fiber runs in Montreal, one which is over 10-15km and all of them together are way less then that per year.

Just no availability there?

[Dubaille]

Looking at your video remonded me of a similar run we did for a client. We had to connect a new building to an existing one woth fiber optic for internet and other thing. It was the length as you but underground and the contractor we hired for laying the pipes didnt do the job right. So, we had 4 90° corner and no pulling spot on a 2200 foot run...We had to dig ourself 4 feet deep to disconnect, the non glued joint, at the corners and other part ti help pulling the cable. A 3 hours job turns out to be a full day...

 

[dogwitch]

1 hour ago, BrentosM said:

Who were they trying to get their fiber from for $100k a year? Or is there just no providers really where they are.

Company I work for has multiple dark fiber runs in Montreal, one which is over 10-15km and all of them together are way less then that per year.

Just no availability there?

if not mistaken. there is a video some where. where they got qoutes and the current provider they have is a good price and such. for said OG building.

 

[BondiBlue]

5 hours ago, Nerdom said:

Was this posted a little early lol? It's still unlisted

 

Forum getting early access before FP big bruh moment /s

That happens with most videos. The forum post tends to go up shortly before the video is set to public. 

[Arika]

8 hours ago, tkitch said:

running cables outside requires permits and permission from landowners, etc. 

And local government/council permission.

[YellowJersey]

I would have invested in a massive machete. Not to mention, I can't imagine how much poison ivy/sumac/oak was back there.

*Edit: Oh, blackberries. Horribly invasive on the west coast.

[colir]

Hey @jakkuh_t

From my experience working for an ISP, the browser version of speedtest.net is throttled a bit (ads on the screen etc.) and you are likely to get lower results, especially on slower machines.

 

An easy way to overcome that is to install their lightweight standalone Windows or Mac app:
https://www.speedtest.net/apps/windows

https://www.speedtest.net/apps/mac

 

You also won't need to cover your IP address with a finger  

 

You can also use their Linux CLI app if you want to test your bandwidth speed directly on your firewall - https://www.speedtest.net/apps/cli

 

Wouldn't be surprised if you manage to get a ~10 Gbps result using these apps.

 

 

BTW, FS.com also sells these inexpensive fibre optic connector cleaners - you probably should use those particularly for outdoor runs - https://www.fs.com/products/39721.html

 

PS. Whilst it's a good practice to use them, I don't think you necessarily need attenuators on these 2km links, these kinds of transceivers (even 10km transceivers) are widely used in data centres without attenuators for years with no issues.

[wanderingfool2]

9 hours ago, BrentosM said:

Who were they trying to get their fiber from for $100k a year? Or is there just no providers really where they are.

Company I work for has multiple dark fiber runs in Montreal, one which is over 10-15km and all of them together are way less then that per year.

Just no availability there?

Not sure of the circumstances, but I've literally seen a quote of $1 million to lay fibre over the length of 100 meters.  If cabling is required, maybe the $100k a year was them amortizing over the course of years for a fibre drop maybe?  Or perhaps it's just a hyperbole...then again it could also be they were looking at 100 gbps internet which can be pretty expensive as is.

 

 

 

What does bother me though, infinite cables being effectively a sponsor and not getting an accurate pricing, or correcting it in the video, on the cable is pretty bad...and to be clear from what I can see it's quite a bit more expensive than what was stated (I know they have the official sponsor, but by many of the definitions of the laws around the world them providing you the cable makes them a sponsor).  @jakkuh_t any clarification on how much that cable actually would cost if purchasing?  In the video it was stated under $1000.  The cables linked in the description at 700 meters is over $5000CAD.

 

There are a few cables hovering around the $1/meter mark, but given they don't provide the $1/meter cables in black (and it's only 2 stranded ones), I doubt that it's the correct one.

 

Thought I'd mention that, as if you are talking about a sponsored product and how cheap a product is and making it out to be like it's a great deal then the statements better be accurate, and unless I'm missing something big the statements aren't accurate.

[zENjA]

I build datacenters (megawatt scale) and I love Singlemode Fiber.

The main question for me... isn't 12/24/48/96/144/288/864 Fibers in a run default in US/CA?

I guess, that you get this cable to put in in underground piping later... also... I guess you just preorder the terminated cable, because of conviniance. (I normally just spice my own cabels)

DAC Spitter cabels... normally you go to the CLI and set it to slpit mode - at least, that I need to do on my mellanox hardware.

Did you see, that there are singlewave BiDi 100G QSFP28 available?

Flexoptix here in germany have them in stock -> Q.B161HG.10.AD + Q.B161HG.10.DA

 

(Joking)

you tell me 3x 400G?

Let me introduce you to DWDM 

[Aragorn-]

I did also wonder why you wouldn't install a 24 core cable, but I guess it's because it's preterminated.

 

However I do wonder about the costs of preterminated Vs just hiring the splicing kit and running unterminated fibre...

[OhYou_]

21 hours ago, BaidDSB said:

why cant they keep it?

it was heavily implied in the video that they are keeping it. 
they even said at one point they are microtrenching it in certain spots. 

 

obviously they are filming it because it's going to make them a ton of money but I think once it doesnt sell anymore they are going to stfu about it and leave it in place. 

they likely cant film the labor of microtrenching or the building hookups, so their total off camera unprofitable cost is what like 30 hours of labor.

I just hope for their sake the land owner isnt some law firm, because those really like breaking it off fully into your a- I mean pursuing legal actions for you filming/profiting off their property. But also the first thing they even said in the video is they got permission from the owners

[dogwitch]

4 hours ago, OhYou_ said:

it was heavily implied in the video that they are keeping it. 
they even said at one point they are microtrenching it in certain spots. 

 

obviously they are filming it because it's going to make them a ton of money but I think once it doesnt sell anymore they are going to stfu about it and leave it in place. 

they likely cant film the labor of microtrenching or the building hookups, so their total off camera unprofitable cost is what like 30 hours of labor.

I just hope for their sake the land owner isnt some law firm, because those really like breaking it off fully into your a- I mean pursuing legal actions for you filming/profiting off their property. But also the first thing they even said in the video is they got permission from the owners

general you have  buffer zone for land. here in the usa it normal 1 foot that a natural zone. for both parties.

[TexasGaint]

On 9/22/2022 at 4:40 PM, Needfuldoer said:

Why start the run at the studio? I would've thought you would want to start at Lab 2 so the reel and surplus stay there. That way you don't have to worry about not pulling enough depending on where the network closet ends up. (The studio end's a known quantity, since it's going in the server room.)

 

At nowhere near the speed, plus fiber's cheap.

Fiber is no way cheap. Speaking as someone who is in the fiber industry, for a managed solution and the speeds they were asking for, they price they were given were honestly pretty fair. I hope they pulled permits though because those are what take forever in the states.

[Needfuldoer]

2 minutes ago, TexasGaint said:

Fiber is no way cheap. Speaking as someone who is in the fiber industry, for a managed solution and the speeds they were asking for, they price they were given were honestly pretty fair. I hope they pulled permits though because those are what take forever in the states.

I meant just the material, not a managed service.

[Ekvivokk]

I'm a fiber optic technician so I thought I'd add some info in case people are curious about fiber and how it works. Linus mentioned something about Corning having different glass types with different durabilities. I've yet to experience that they have different toughness, and I'm having a hard time finding numbers regarding that, but if anyone have some info I'd really like to hear about it. They do have different specs regarding macro bends, or how tight it can bend with little to no attenuation. The common glass types are variations of G.652.xx and G.657.xx. G.652 usually is used for longer hauls than G.657 (but reading up on Corning glass, this might be changing) and G.657 used where you need to bend the fiber more often, like data centers etc.

 

You also have some other fiber types, but I'm not going to get into that now.

 

Now for the more fun stuff. Fiber cables get big, like hundreds of fibers. In the spoiler there's a G432 cable, I don't know why they went for G, but the 432 part means there's 432 fibers in the cable. You've got ribbon cables and single strand, a large part of the world uses ribbon, where 12 and 12 fibers are glued together in a ribbon. But, I'm from Norway, we use single strand, because who the heck knows. Anyways, that means that if I need to splice two G432 cables together, I'm doing 432 separate splices, while the rest of the world would do 36 (432/12 = 36) splices. There are probably advantages and disadvantages to both ways, I'm not getting into those, because I've never worked with ribbon cable. 

Spoiler

There's multiple layers to this. The black part is a HDPE jacket, the yellow part is an Aramid strength member, then the white webbing is a water swelling layer. The tubes are color coded, where it starts on the innermost circle of tubes, white, red, yellow, green, blue, grey. Then it's the second layer, white, red, yellow, green, blue, grey, brown, black, purple, turquoise, orange pink. Then the last layer is white, red, yellow, green, blue, grey, brown, black, purple, turquoise, orange pink, clear, clear, clear, clear, clear, clear. You know which clear tube is which by following the color order before it. If this part is unclear, I can elaborate if you ask me to. And the stiff rod () Linus talked about is a fiberglass strength and stiffening member, it contributes to the rigidity of the cable.

And in the video they went for LC connectors, I'm guessing because it's better for the type of SFP ports they went for, but i don't know. I don't do any specing for stuff like that. Anyways, in the spoiler below is a LC patch cable much like the ones spliced onto the cable Linus has.

Spoiler

It's got an outher jacket made of I don't know, because I can't find the spec. Then there's an Aramid strength member again, inner jacket again IDK what it's made of. This specific patch cord has a clear coating, but it can also be colored like the fibers in my previous image. And then the fiber itself, cladding and core.

They mentioned that if there was a break, they wouldn't be able to find it (easily). That's not entirely correct. There's this very nice, though expensive, instrument called an OTDR, Optical Time Domain Reflectometer. It does what it says on the can, it fires of lasers and measures the reflections when they come back. More info here, it's pretty advanced. 

The main takeaway is, they're pretty accurate, like down to a meter. It's a really nice device. I've included a picture of a measurement in the spoiler below.

Spoiler

This is a 25-ish km stretch of fiber tested on 1310.