Click above (E1-E5) to reveal our solutions for your Edge Computing needs.
Edge Solutions
In today’s hyperconnected world, companies need a way to scale and analyze data faster, cheaper, and better. The only way to do that is to move out of the cloud and on to the edge of the network, where most of the future data will be generated.
Edge computing “extends” the cloud network by bringing it closer to the applications and delivering services such as compute storage and processing power. This relieves the load on the cloud data center processing units and reduces traffic between applications and the cloud. As a result, it reduces latency, increases network efficiency, and saves companies money in backhaul costs.
The edge is a continuum and spans anywhere between the end-device and the cloud/internet.
E1
Street-side OSP Cabinets/Fixtures
Street-side cabinets represent the smallest data center form factor at the edge. These cabinets are designed to hold anywhere from a quarter-rack to two full racks of modern data center equipment in highly remote locations. Infrastructure must meet strict space constraints as well as to operate in dusty, less- well maintained, less temperatureregulated conditions. These are designed to be as close to the end-user as possible, where latency is lowest and 2-5ms roundtrip is achievable.
Acting as the backbone for most of today’s fiber based systems, stranded fiber optic cables play a critical role in the high speed network. AFL’s Non-Armored Loose Tube fiber optic cables are designed to provide high fiber counts up to 288, which offers the flexibility and versatility required for today’s standard installations.
AFL single-mode SC Angled Indoor and Indoor/Outdoor MDU Drop Assemblies are designed to meet stringent performance requirements of the latest FTTH (Fiber to the Home) applications. Bend insensitive fiber reduces macrobending attenuation when routing the drops in tight environments and the SC angled connector guarantees the high performance return loss required of video signals.
AFL offers a wide variety of field installable connectors. FUSEConnect® fusion-spliced connectors are uniquely designed and feature just six components. FASTConnect® field-installable connectors are factory pre-polished connectors that completely eliminate the need for hand polishing in the field. FUSEConnect® MPO splice-on connectors have an innovative factory pre-polished ferrule that allows for a field-termination process that eliminates the need for polishing, adhesives and crimping in the field and minimizes the potential for operator error and expensive connector scrap.
The LightLink (LL) 580 Optical Splicing and Distribution Enclosure provides for organizing, splicing and interconnecting fibers in broadband, distribution and building entrance applications. The splice tray panel is equipped with LGX® 118 footprint snaps so various types of connectors may be installed.
As the Edge will require a high number of new small cells, the centralized RAN becomes a critical hub within the front haul network. xWDM aids in handling this increased traffic by allowing existing fiber utilization via WDM enabled field terminals and closures instead of running 4-6 fiber channels to each small cell location.
The Fujikura 90R is the mass fusion splicer workhorse of the splicing world. As data demand continues to rise, the solution to handle the increased traffic is to increase fiber counts. The Fujikura 90S+ core alignment fusion splicer solves common problems seen in the field—from splicing poor quality legacy fiber to automated equipment maintenance and upkeep. The Fujikura 41S+ is a fully ruggedised, active cladding alignment fusion splicer. Core sensing loss estimation technology provides the most accurate assessment of splice loss available in any active cladding alignment splicer in the world.
E2
Macro Site, Small Cell, CRAN, FWA and Private LTE Cell Nodes
Many edge computing models see cellular base stations as key points to connect end-user devices to the core network. Some edge strategies include the deployment of data storage and compute capacity at tower sites, which will require enclosures that reside at the base of the tower.
Edge compute co-located with small cells, Centralized Radio Access Network (CRAN), Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) and Private LTE Cell nodes provide commercial and operational advantages in key industry segments, such as automation and Industry 4.0, worksites, mission critical services, enterprises and public safety. These challenging environments drive the need for dense, high-performance compute outside of the data center and create a need for diversity in infrastructure. Such environments require designs that have the capability to meet strict space constraints as well as to operate in dusty, less- well maintained, less temperature-regulated conditions.
AFL Tactical Tight Buffered Cables are ideal for use in installations where extreme environmental conditions are present. Designed to be deployed and retrieved in the field, AFL’s Tactical Tight Buffered Cables are highly resistant to damage caused by repeated impacts crushing forces, abrasion and extreme temperatures.
Acting as the backbone for most of today’s fiber based systems, stranded fiber optic cables play a critical role in the high speed network. AFL’s Non-Armored Loose Tube fiber optic cables are designed to provide high fiber counts up to 288, which offers the flexibility and versatility required for today’s standard installations.
AFL single-mode SC Angled Indoor and Indoor/Outdoor MDU Drop Assemblies are designed to meet stringent performance requirements of the latest FTTH (Fiber to the Home) applications. Bend insensitive fiber reduces macrobending attenuation when routing the drops in tight environments and the SC angled connector guarantees the high performance return loss required of video signals.
ASCEND fiber housings are available in 1RU, 2RU and 4RU sizes with densities of up to 144, 288, and 576 fibers, respectively. Designed to support incremental growth or a full-scale deployment, ASCEND housings provide the ultimate in ease-of-use and fiber management features.
As the Edge will require a high number of new small cells, the centralized RAN becomes a critical hub within the front haul network. xWDM aids in handling this increased traffic by allowing existing fiber utilization via WDM enabled field terminals and closures instead of running 4-6 fiber channels to each small cell location.
Apex is a smaller closure with higher density which means it’s easier to maximize available space when space is a premium. Our wedge-based sealing system with cable strain relief allows a cable to be installed into the closure and sealed in seconds. The universal splice holder module eliminates the need to stock different splice trays or splice holders for different jobs.
The ultra-compact OptiNID Duo is designed with flexibility in mind with the capability to house up to 4 SC simplex or LC duplex adapters, along with the ability to house up to 18 single fiber or 6 mass fusion splices. The OptiNID Duo is also optimized for the use of AFL’s FASTConnect® or FUSEConnect® field-installable connectors.
The AFL TITAN RTD Multiport is a factory terminated OSP fiber terminal designed for quick and easy subscriber connections anywhere in the OSP network when used in conjunction with AFL TRIDENT® Hardened Fiber Optic Connectors. The sealed and rugged design of both the AFL TITAN RTD Multiport and AFL TRIDENT connector allow for long term reliability when installed anywhere in the network—underground, in pedestals, on poles, or on aerial strand or ADSS cables.
The Fujikura 90R is the mass fusion splicer workhorse of the splicing world. As data demand continues to rise, the solution to handle the increased traffic is to increase fiber counts. The Fujikura 90S+ core alignment fusion splicer solves common problems seen in the field—from splicing poor quality legacy fiber to automated equipment maintenance and upkeep. The Fujikura 41S+ is a fully ruggedised, active cladding alignment fusion splicer. Core sensing loss estimation technology provides the most accurate assessment of splice loss available in any active cladding alignment splicer in the world.
E3
Facility, Factory, Campus and Venue
The edge network will need to extend to office campuses, factories, warehouses, hospitals and logistic centers to support data collection from IoT devices and sensors.
Here we are referring to micro-data centers at the customer site. These can take many shapes or forms. We are seeing edge being deployed as one or two servers, as a rack co-located in the existing on-premises data center, or as a mini-data center enclosure which could be up to a single rack. These special- purpose edge data centers are small enough to fit in atypical data center locations, such as on the rooftops of commercial buildings, in parking lots, in business parks, on university campuses, or near high-traffic locations in major population clusters like sports stadiums.
AFL’s MicroCore® cable family offers one of the most diverse and highest fiber density product offerings in the industry. MicroCore® cabling forms the backbone of high-tech networks installed in applications ranging from the Local Area Network to the most complex DataCenter environments. Flexibility of design and Industry-leading performance are the hallmarks of AFL’s cable offering.
AFL's Interlocking Armored cable is best used for routing inside of buildings where additional ruggedness is required or where increased rodent resistance is required. Jacketed aluminum interlocking armor provides the best balance of ruggedness, flexibility, and low weight.
Acting as the backbone for most of today’s fiber based systems, stranded fiber optic cables play a critical role in the high speed network. AFL’s Non-Armored Loose Tube fiber optic cables are designed to provide high fiber counts up to 288, which offers the flexibility and versatility required for today’s standard installations.
AFL's ISP Cable assemblies provide a high performance plug-and-play solution for premise installations where space is a premium. Used to interconnect panels or cassettes, the small diameter MicroCore® cable construction reduces the required pathway space and provides a flexible outer jacket in both single-mode and multimode configurations. Multiple breakout options are also available including LC, SC, SN® and MDC® single fiber connectors.
AFL offers a wide variety of field installable connectors. FUSEConnect® fusion-spliced connectors are uniquely designed and feature just six components. FASTConnect® field-installable connectors are factory pre-polished connectors that completely eliminate the need for hand polishing in the field. FUSEConnect® MPO splice-on connectors have an innovative factory pre-polished ferrule that allows for a field-termination process that eliminates the need for polishing, adhesives and crimping in the field and minimizes the potential for operator error and expensive connector scrap.
AFL offers many indoor and outdoor patching and splicing solutions. From mass-fusion splice wall cabinets down to the splice trays, we have several products used for Edge Computing solutions. We offer wall mount enclosures, splice trays, patch and splice modules and adapters.
ASCEND fiber housings are available in 1RU, 2RU and 4RU sizes with densities of up to 144, 288, and 576 fibers, respectively. Designed to support incremental growth or a full-scale deployment, ASCEND housings provide the ultimate in ease-of-use and fiber management features.
The Fujikura 90R is the mass fusion splicer workhorse of the splicing world. As data demand continues to rise, the solution to handle the increased traffic is to increase fiber counts. The Fujikura 90S+ core alignment fusion splicer solves common problems seen in the field—from splicing poor quality legacy fiber to automated equipment maintenance and upkeep. The Fujikura 41S+ is a fully ruggedised, active cladding alignment fusion splicer. Core sensing loss estimation technology provides the most accurate assessment of splice loss available in any active cladding alignment splicer in the world.
E4
Central Office
Privately owned by telecom service providers, ‘central offices’ are found in every locality, and are regarded as being at the outer edge of the mobile network. While they formerly served fixed line connections, they are being repurposed into more digital facilities, making them good candidates for edge cloud data centers. Located between the RAN and the core, central offices are close to the end-user and data centers here can achieve latency of ~30 ms.
AFL offers a complete portfolio of fiber optic cable, supporting hardware and compression accessories that are designed to meet the most demanding transmission and distribution environments. As the leading world manufacturer of fiber optic cable, AFL is uniquely positioned to provide a full line of all-dielectric self-supporting (ADSS) aerial cables and Optical Ground Wire (OPGW) as well as supporting hardware and accessories.
Acting as the backbone for most of today’s fiber based systems, stranded fiber optic cables play a critical role in the high speed network. AFL’s Non-Armored Loose Tube fiber optic cables are designed to provide high fiber counts up to 288, which offers the flexibility and versatility required for today’s standard installations.
WTC with SWR is an ultra-high density outside plant cable designed specifically for fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) or access markets. It is compliant with the latest issue of the outside plant cable standard, Telcordia GR-20. With an ultra-high density and a new ribbon technology called SpiderWeb Ribbon, WTC provides the smallest cable diameter and lowest weight, high-fiber count ribbon cable in the industry.
AFL's ISP Cable assemblies provide a high performance plug-and-play solution for premise installations where space is a premium. Used to interconnect panels or cassettes, the small diameter MicroCore® cable construction reduces the required pathway space and provides a flexible outer jacket in both single-mode and multimode configurations. Multiple breakout options are also available including LC, SC, SN® and MDC® single fiber connectors.
AFL offers a wide variety of field installable connectors. FUSEConnect® fusion-spliced connectors are uniquely designed and feature just six components. FASTConnect® field-installable connectors are factory pre-polished connectors that completely eliminate the need for hand polishing in the field. FUSEConnect® MPO splice-on connectors have an innovative factory pre-polished ferrule that allows for a field-termination process that eliminates the need for polishing, adhesives and crimping in the field and minimizes the potential for operator error and expensive connector scrap.
AFL offers many indoor and outdoor patching and splicing solutions. From mass-fusion splice wall cabinets down to the splice trays, we have several products used for Edge Computing solutions. We offer wall mount enclosures, splice trays, patch and splice modules and adapters.
ASCEND fiber housings are available in 1RU, 2RU and 4RU sizes with densities of up to 144, 288, and 576 fibers, respectively. Designed to support incremental growth or a full-scale deployment, ASCEND housings provide the ultimate in ease-of-use and fiber management features.
Apex is a smaller closure with higher density which means it’s easier to maximize available space when space is a premium. Our wedge-based sealing system with cable strain relief allows a cable to be installed into the closure and sealed in seconds. The universal splice holder module eliminates the need to stock different splice trays or splice holders for different jobs.
The Fujikura 90R is the mass fusion splicer workhorse of the splicing world. As data demand continues to rise, the solution to handle the increased traffic is to increase fiber counts. The Fujikura 90S+ core alignment fusion splicer solves common problems seen in the field—from splicing poor quality legacy fiber to automated equipment maintenance and upkeep.
AFL’s MicroCore® cable family offers one of the most diverse and highest fiber density product offerings in the industry. MicroCore® cabling forms the backbone of high-tech networks installed in applications ranging from the Local Area Network to the most complex DataCenter environments. Flexibility of design and Industry-leading performance are the hallmarks of AFL’s cable offering.
E5
Metro Edge (PoP) and Colocation Data Centers
Network traffic is continuing to grow, and a significant share of traffic will be terminated in regional and metro edge compute nodes. Cloud service providers, such as large hyperscalers, use existing Points of Presence (POP) or other telecom installations to deploy edge data center facilities when they are placed at a strategic location.
Edge Computing is making regional and colocation data centers more attractive. Their location in first- and second-tier markets make them convenient to deliver infrastructure to Enterprises in smaller increments. Colocation data centers host hundreds of different types of customers so will usually be either in or near a major city, serving a significant population.
These data centers demand flexible, scalable, high-performance fiber infrastructure, designed to support increasingly demanding applications and customer requirements. AFL has the expertise to make sure your network is giving you the competitive edge - from outside plant cable to the customer cage.
AFL’s MicroCore® cable family offers one of the most diverse and highest fiber density product offerings in the industry. MicroCore® cabling forms the backbone of high-tech networks installed in applications ranging from the Local Area Network to the most complex DataCenter environments. Flexibility of design and Industry-leading performance are the hallmarks of AFL’s cable offering.
WTC with SWR is an ultra-high density outside plant cable designed specifically for fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) or access markets. It is compliant with the latest issue of the outside plant cable standard, Telcordia GR-20. With an ultra-high density and a new ribbon technology called SpiderWeb Ribbon, WTC provides the smallest cable diameter and lowest weight, high-fiber count ribbon cable in the industry.
AFL's ISP Cable assemblies provide a high performance plug-and-play solution for premise installations where space is a premium. Used to interconnect panels or cassettes, the small diameter MicroCore® cable construction reduces the required pathway space and provides a flexible outer jacket in both single-mode and multimode configurations. Multiple breakout options are also available including LC, SC, SN® and MDC® single fiber connectors.
AFL offers a wide variety of field installable connectors. FUSEConnect® fusion-spliced connectors are uniquely designed and feature just six components. FASTConnect® field-installable connectors are factory pre-polished connectors that completely eliminate the need for hand polishing in the field. FUSEConnect® MPO splice-on connectors have an innovative factory pre-polished ferrule that allows for a field-termination process that eliminates the need for polishing, adhesives and crimping in the field and minimizes the potential for operator error and expensive connector scrap.
AFL offers many indoor and outdoor patching and splicing solutions. From mass-fusion splice wall cabinets down to the splice trays, we have several products used for Edge Computing solutions. We offer wall mount enclosures, splice trays, patch and splice modules and adapters.
ASCEND fiber housings are available in 1RU, 2RU and 4RU sizes with densities of up to 144, 288, and 576 fibers, respectively. Designed to support incremental growth or a full-scale deployment, ASCEND housings provide the ultimate in ease-of-use and fiber management features.
As the Edge will require a high number of new small cells, the centralized RAN becomes a critical hub within the front haul network. xWDM aids in handling this increased traffic by allowing existing fiber utilization via WDM enabled field terminals and closures instead of running 4-6 fiber channels to each small cell location.
Apex is a smaller closure with higher density which means it’s easier to maximize available space when space is a premium. Our wedge-based sealing system with cable strain relief allows a cable to be installed into the closure and sealed in seconds. The universal splice holder module eliminates the need to stock different splice trays or splice holders for different jobs.
The Fujikura 90R is the mass fusion splicer workhorse of the splicing world. As data demand continues to rise, the solution to handle the increased traffic is to increase fiber counts. The Fujikura 90S+ core alignment fusion splicer solves common problems seen in the field—from splicing poor quality legacy fiber to automated equipment maintenance and upkeep.