OTDR Insights | Sumble

What is OTDR?

An OTDR (Optical Time-Domain Reflectometer) is an optoelectronic instrument used to characterize optical fiber. It injects a series of optical pulses into the fiber under test and extracts, from the same end of the fiber, light that is scattered or reflected back from points along the fiber. The strength of the return pulse is measured and integrated as a function of time, and plotted as a function of fiber length. It is commonly used for troubleshooting and characterizing fiber optic cables, identifying faults, and measuring fiber length and attenuation.

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What other technologies are related to OTDR?

OTDR Competitor Technologies

945 OLTS

OLTS (Optical Loss Test Set) measures insertion loss and optical power, directly competing with OTDR for basic link certification.

mentioned alongside OTDR in 99% (588) of relevant job posts

OTDR Complementary Technologies

VFL

A Visual Fault Locator is complementary as it helps identify breaks and bends in fiber cables, especially short distances, and can be used in conjunction with OTDR for comprehensive fiber testing.

mentioned alongside OTDR in 94% (1.1k) of relevant job posts

power meter

Power meters measure the optical power level, complementing OTDR which characterizes fiber optic link performance by measuring loss and reflections.

mentioned alongside OTDR in 52% (2k) of relevant job posts

fusion splicing

Fusion splicing is the process of joining two optical fibers together and is complementary because OTDR testing is often performed before and after splicing to verify the quality of the splice.

mentioned alongside OTDR in 68% (1.3k) of relevant job posts