Building a Fiber Optic Cable Favorite

There are many variations on how fibers are packaged and protected within the actual Fiber Optic Cable. Often there is a color-coding system to help organize the fibers in a logical manner. One of the more common hierarchy of relationships is:

• The Fiber Optic Cable itself, which is the feature class sketched on the map

  • Buffer Tubes, which are sheaths (usually plastic, but could also be colored threads, steel, or simply a painted coat) to protect and organize fibers in the cable

    • Fibers, which are the individual glass strands used to transmit light from one location to another

Most commonly, a buffer tube contains 12, color-coded fibers. For example, a 144–count Fiber Optic Cable has 12 buffer tubes, each with 12 fibers (12 x 12 = 144 count).

Keep the following considerations in mind while building a favorite:

• The best favorites are those that can be used repeatedly, so it is recommended to build your most common configurations first.

• Building favorites occurs inside an ArcMap editing session. Save often!

The following topics build a 144–count Fiber Optic Cable that would typically be used in the fiber distribution side of the fiber optic system.