When speaking with customers about Clearfield® FieldSmart® Fiber Active Cabinets, I often call them “versatile,” which is defined as “able to adapt or be adapted to many different functions or activities.” While this term can be applied to all of the Clearfield active cabinets, the FAC 900 is the one that comes to my mind. Why? Because of optimized heat dissipation capabilities and a flexible interior layout. These are common to all sizes of the FAC platform, but the FAC 900 also achieves a low profile design that adapts to environments where aesthetic guidelines are in place.
Towns or neighborhoods impose height restrictions on utility enclosures in the interest of community aesthetics and visual safety. For example, the City of Berkeley, California’s Wireless Telecommunications Program Guidelines states, “No unit higher than 3 feet shall be placed in any location that would interfere with vehicular sight lines….” The Clearfield FAC 900’s low profile design minimizes its visual impact, and it’s easily hidden from view with common landscaping in residential applications. With a finished cabinet height of 36 inches, the FAC 900 satisfies that requirement.
The heat removal (dissipation) capability in the FAC 900 is an ample 1050 watts, allowing for the deployment of a variety of network equipment. The heat exchanger was chosen to ensure the active equipment stays within its operating parameters in even the harshest environments – in outdoor temperatures from minus 40°C to plus 65°C. The typical 1RU hardened network switch releases around 175 watts of dissipated heat and a 1RU OLT is around the same, so the options for service offerings are easily met by the heat exchange capacity within the 9RUs of vertical equipment mounting space.
Once the services and active equipment to be placed in the enclosure are selected, the flexibility of the interior layout – specifically the side chamber in the FAC 900 – gives even more options. If PON is a desired service offering, the FAC 900 can support up to 576 SC ports, plus 24 SC feeders, and eighteen 1:32 splitters without the internal battery box. If an internal battery box is needed, the FAC 900 can support up to 384 SC ports and still maintain the low profile. And if that’s not enough, an expansion module can be ordered, adding additional rack units and an alternative or secondary interior battery enclosure. Talk about versatility!
One way to foster an aesthetically pleasing urban environment, manage 9RU of active equipment and still have the flexibility to efficiently and neatly route hundreds of fibers is to use the low profile Clearfield FieldSmart FAC 900. Contact one of Clearfield’s experts, like me, to help select the right FAC and fiber optic products to fit your network strategy.
By Marty Adkins
Marty Adkins, Clearfield Application Engineer, is a BICSI RCDD and Telcordia GR1275-certified professional. With over 20 years in the telecommunications industry, Marty has extensive Data/Com experience in designing and constructing optical fiber infrastructure supporting multiple communications platforms, in addition to a background in network capacity planning and management. He presents on fiber optics topics at BICSI regional events and for various Clearfield customers.