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How to Avoid Network Degradation

Published Date

Data Center Cleaning and Inspection Best Practices

Your network carries critical information that your company depends on every day.  Why risk network failure when you can clean your cable for less than 13 cents per fiber? This low cost can make or break the success of your business. 

Did you know that approximately 85 percent of all network failures are due to dirty connectors?  Here at AFL we have the solution.  AFL is an end-to-end solutions provider and in addition to our cleaning and inspection products, we have created a step-by-step best practices guide to cleaning your dirty connectors. 

Cleaning Products and Step-by-Step Procedure

As an end-to-end solutions provider and product distributer, there are several products that AFL has made available that make cleaning and inspection easy.  With these products AFL has provided a simple three step process that can prevent network degradation due to dirty connectors.  Best practices for cleaning your network involves INSPECTING, and CLEANING. There are two types of cleaning; DRY cleaning, which is done first, and then WET cleaning if the endface appears to be dirty still after DRY cleaning. The following procedure indicates the step-by-step process of cleaning and inspection of your network.  

First, INSPECT the endface.  This can be done with the following products;

  • FOCIS Flex
  • FOCIS WiFi 2
  • FOCIS Duel
  • Probe Adapter Tips 


After inspection, if you find that your endface is not clean, the second step is to DRY CLEAN the endface.  This can be done with the following products;

 

  • One-Click MPO
  • NEOCLEAN-M
  • CLETOP-SB
  • OPTIPOP-R3


Once DRY CLEANED, repeat step one and inspect the endface once more.  If the endface is still not clean, follow step three, which is to WET the endface by applying one of the following products to the tip of a DRY CLEAN product which is then applied to the endface. (DO NOT WET THE ENDFACE DIRECTLY)  Once this is done properly, DRY CLEAN the endface again.  You can WET the products from the second step with the following products;

 

 

  • FCC2
  • FiberWipes
  • CleanWipes
  • CCT Tips
  • CLETOP Sticks


At this point, INSPECT your endface once more to ensure the endface is clean. You can then plug the endface into the clean mating connector, completing AFL’s best practices procedure for cleaning and inspection. 
 
As a true end-to-end solutions provider, AFL has brought to you the most efficient ways to avoid network degradation.  To learn more about the best practices for cleaning and inspection read the following document; Data Center Cleaning and Inspection Best Practices.