IFS - Technical Support

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I achieve my application using fiber?
Will IFS interfaces pass my encoding scheme?
Can different items share the same card cage?
Do I need to use the center tap on the power supply?
How far can I run copper before I get to the fiber interface?

Can I achieve my application using fiber?
If it can be done with copper, it can be accomplished using optical fiber. When connecting IFS
interfaces to other equipment, the topology of the system must be legal as far as the equipment
manufacturer is concerned. Once that’s determined, IFS fiber optic interfaces, along with fiber
may be considered as a one-for-one, totally transparent substitute for copper.
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Will IFS interfaces pass my encoding scheme?
Typically, encoding is used to pass clock along with the actual data. All IFS data interfaces are
totally transparent to all encoding techniques. As long as the basic data protocol is one of the
types that we handle, (RS232, RS422, RS485, or T1) the encoding doesn’t matter.
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Can different items share the same card cage?
Any IFS item that is capable of being mounted in an R3 card cage can share the same R3 card
cage with any other R3-compatible item.
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Do I need to use the center tap on the power supply?
If the supplied transformer includes a center tap, it should be used.
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How far can I run copper before I get to the fiber interface?
The copper distances should be kept as short as possible. If electrical noise gets into a system, a
fiber application could perform worse than if copper were used throughout. Since the attenuation
through copper is about 3.5 dB per 100 feet, noise that enters a system that is entirely copper
has a good chance of being attenuated to a level that can’t be detected by the receiver. On the
other hand, the same system that is partially copper and partially fiber can be disrupted by noise.
Since the attenuation in fiber is only 3.5 dB per kilometer, any noise that enters the system
through the copper is basically in to stay. Once the noise makes it to the fiber transmitter, you
get everything back at the receiver -- noise and signal.
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