International supplier AFL has launched ASCEND, a modular high-density platform setting the standard in larger, more technical data centre environments.

The ASCEND platform comprising of fibre housings, cassettes and assemblies is raising the level for future-proofing needs.

Steve Polidan, general manager of AFL’s Optical Connectivity and Premise Cables division, believes that with the rising demand in bandwidth, networks will have to be more flexible; hence the introduction of ASCEND.

“The ASCEND platform is designed to overcome today’s ever-changing network requirements; the entire product solution provides the flexibility and versatility needed in today’s fast-paced market,” he says.

Available in 1RU, 2RU and 4RU sizes with densities of up to 144, 288 and 576 fibres, these fibre housings consist of front and back doors both hinged on the bottom. The back of the housing cover is removable for unobstructed access to all connector interfaces. With routing rings at the front of the trays, routing patch cords is easy, secured and organised.

ASCEND’s cassette portfolio independently mounts within the fibre management housings and trays allowing for ease of access and modularity. Cassette designs range from BASE-8 to BASE-24 and cover additional applications ranging from patch-thru connectivity to xWDM installation. Available in singlemode and multimode, ASCEND optical cassettes feature low loss MPO connectors and VFL compatible shuttered LC adapters.

Splice cassettes include 250µm pre-terminated single fibre pigtails and can be spliced directly to loose or ribbon fibre cable. Splice cassettes are compatible with all BASE-12 ASCEND housings.

Available in singlemode and multimode, fanout cassettes are pre-terminated plug and play breakout modules designed to transition a trunk cable into individual connector ports.

Also comprising of both trunk cable and patch cord assemblies, ASCEND’s trunk cable assemblies feature AFL’s Microcore cable and the MTP PRO connector which allows for field-reversible polarity and gender with no housing removal, exposed fibres or loose points. Available in 12 to 144 fibres in BASE-8 and BASE-12 configurations, ASCEND trunk cable assemblies include an integrated cable mounting clip which eliminates the need for additional cable clamps, securely positioning the incoming cable and eliminating stress during installation. Patch cord assemblies are constructed with AFL’s Dual-Link cable and terminated with a field reversible LC Uniboot connector, minimising the front-side cabling footprint and reducing the impact on airflow up and down the rack and between the racks.