Real estate owners and developers are designing projects with an eye on the future, leveraging fiber optic infrastructure for Edge networks in smart buildings and smart campuses. These structures are shaped by innovative technologies that address key challenges in scale, security, reliability, sustainability, and power management.

Exciting new technologies are now available that transform network infrastructure for smart buildings, leveraging Optical LAN, powered by the new Class 4 or Fault Managed Power Systems.

Optical LAN: Simplified Enterprise Networks

As addressed in an earlier blog post guest authored by Joel Fischer from Tellabs, Optical LAN speeds IT productivity through simplification, resulting in reduced manpower needed for simple daily moves, adds, and changes. It eliminates many known IT vulnerability points, shrinking the network attack surface, and is ideal for zero trust architecture. It offers flexible design options to right-size capacity (e.g., 1 gig to 10 gig) and density (e.g., ten to thousands of connected users and devices).

Optical LAN is optimized for modern fiber-based network connectivity inside buildings and across campuses. Key benefits of Optical LAN include centralized management, reduced infrastructure, and the ability to easily mix 1G and 10G transmissions over the same fiber.

Class 4 Fault-Managed Power: Enabling Long-Distance Power Delivery

Powering an Optical LAN network is revolutionized with Class 4 power distribution, a new power class designated by the National Electrical Code. The innovative Fault Managed Power System (FMPS) represents a significant leap forward in the safe and efficient delivery of high-voltage power across long distances.

The Panduit FMPS is the first UL-certified system in the market. It is an end-to-end power delivery solution that combines advanced monitoring and control capabilities to provide unprecedented safety, flexibility, reliability, and efficiency, along with significant sustainability and cost benefits.

You can think of an FMPS as an extension cord that can be run safely up to 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) to power applications – including an Optical LAN system and connected devices – at the end of that distance. Significant power (600 watts per copper pair), over long distances (up to 2 kilometers), safely (standards compliant), and efficiently all add up to a revolutionary power distribution system.

Integrating Optical LAN and Class 4 Power for Smart Buildings

Pairing FMPS with Optical LAN creates a solution that drives a more efficient, flexible, and future-proof smart building infrastructure:

1. Centralized architecture: Both fiber and power can be distributed from a single location, simplifying backup power and management
2. Long-distance reach: The combined solution can extend network connectivity and power up to 2 kilometers from the source
3. Scalability: Easy to add capacity or upgrade speeds without replacing cabling infrastructure
4. Reduced footprint: Reduce or eliminate telecom rooms and route power and data through a combined cabling pathway, eliminating conduit or extra cable trays
5. Centralized battery back-up: Use Class 4 power to cost-effectively add a centralized UPS to the Optical LAN network, providing battery back-up to critical devices

The recommended architecture for an FMPS deployment with Optical LAN is simple and easy to deploy and is similar to smart building applications that leverage FMPS to power a switch.

In the case of smart buildings, a core or aggregator switch is positioned in the headend or main distribution frame (MDF) with the FMPS transmitter, backed up by a centralized UPS. Copper and fiber cabling is distributed from there out to the intermediate distribution frame (IDF) or telecommunications closet, where the FMPS receiver powers a switch at the edge.

With Optical LAN, there are two common deployment styles: a star topology and a hub and spoke topology. With both, the optical line terminal (OLT) is located at the headend or MDF with the FMPS transmitter, backed up by a centralized UPS. Fiber cable and Class 4 copper cable route from the MDF in a single pathway, providing data and power connectivity along with battery back-up, and connecting the FMPS receiver at the network edge.

For a star network architecture, cable routes to a zone enclosure where the FMPS receiver converts the power to 48 or 56 V DC to power optical network terminals (ONT) directly. From there, the ONT provides connectivity and Power over Ethernet (PoE) to the end devices, utilizing standard Category cables and RJ45 connectors. 

^{A network star topology can be used to deploy Optical LAN, with FMPS powering the ONT.}

The second option, a hub and spoke architecture, employs FMPS to power a Class 2 power distribution hub, which can then power multiple ONTs from a single IDF. From this point, ONTs can serve multiple locations, further extending the reach and flexibility of the FMPS system. In this architecture, the OLT and the FMPS transmitter are in the headend/MDF, with Class 4 copper and fiber cable routed to a zone enclosure up to 2 kilometers away. Here the Class 4 copper goes to the FMPS receiver, which powers a Class 2 power distribution unit (PDU), and the fiber connects to a passive optical splitter. The PDU and passive optical splitter both feed into ONTs for the Optical LAN system, adding an additional reach of up to 600 meters (2,000 feet).

^{With a hub and spoke network topology, FMPS powers a power distribution hub, when then powers multiple ONTs.}

Real-World Applications and Adoption

Several key vertical markets are early adopters of FMPS-powered Optical LAN deployments. These include:

• Federal government agencies (including classified networks)
• Hospitality industry
• Education sector
• Healthcare facilities
• Manufacturing plants
• Transportation hubs

The pairing of Optical LAN and Class 4 Fault Managed Power is poised to revolutionize how we design, build, and manage smart building infrastructure. By addressing critical challenges in scalability, security, reliability, sustainability, and power distribution, these technologies offer a compelling vision for the future of intelligent buildings and campuses.

To learn more about Optical LAN and Fault Managed Power, please watch the on-demand webinar, Capitalizing on Class 4 Power in Optical LAN Applications, jointly sponsored by Panduit and Tellabs.