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 OTDR (Optical Time-Domain Reflectometer) Explained for Everyone In fiber optics, keeping the network running smoothly is important. One of the best tools to check how well things are working is the OTDR. What is an OTDR? An OTDR is a device that tests fiber optic cables by sending light through them and looking at what comes back. This helps technicians find problems, check how long the cable is, and make sure everything is working well. Why is an OTDR Important? Find Problems Fast: It quickly spots breaks or issues in the cable. Monitor Performance: It checks how well the fiber is working by looking at things like signal loss. Efficient Maintenance: It helps decide what needs fixing first, saving time and money. Using OTDR technology makes fiber optic systems more reliable and helps prevent problems before they happen. As our internet and communication networks grow, tools like the OTDR will be key in keeping everything running smoothly. Let's aim for not just working networks, b...

As we approach the milestone of 50 years of independence, it’s a moment for both celebration and reflection. Our nation has journeyed through a remarkable half-century, marked by growth, resilience, and hope. Yet, as we commemorate this significant anniversary, it’s crucial to acknowledge that our work is far from complete. While we have achieved much, Papua New Guinea still grapples with substantial challenges that hinder our progress. Many people have been raising these issues, both online and in everyday conversations. I did a small survey on my social media feed and here’s a breakdown of the different challenges we face as a nation: Category Issues 1. Human Nature - Lack of mutual respect among citizens - Absence of practical decision-making - Self-interest and lack of motivation - Expecting rewards without effort - Need for national unity and togetherness 2. Governance - Poor leadership transparency and accountability - Political manipulation by those in power - Failure to enforce...

  Understanding Fiber Polish and Cable Connectors In fiber optics, the quality of the connection is everything. The process of fiber polishing and the type of cable connectors used play a crucial role in ensuring optimal performance for data transmission. Here's a breakdown of both these concepts. Fiber Polish: The Key to Clear Transmission Fiber polishing is the finishing process applied to the end faces of optical fibers after cutting them. The goal is to create a smooth and flat surface that minimizes reflections and reduces signal loss, ensuring efficient light transmission. Types of Fiber Polish: Flat Polish: PC (Physical Contact) and UPC (Ultra Physical Contact) In this method, the fiber ends are polished flat and come into physical contact when connected. PC connectors are commonly used in telecom and data applications due to their reliable performance. Angled Polish: APC (Angled Physical Contact) The fiber ends are polished at an angle, typically around 8 degrees. This...

Vale Sir Rabbie Langanai Namaliu.  As tributes are pouring in from far far and wide and big or small by whom who crossed path with one of our country's best, our nation's golden child, I wish to commemorate the life of Sir Rabbie in an article I wrote on him and his colleague Sir Mekere Morauta just before Christmas on 24 December 2018.  It is titled, Let’s remember great people and was published in The National newspaper.  In your early years, you would look up to someone as role model, people who have directly or indirectly influenced you due to their exceptional talent, ingenuity, and willingness to help when you need that direction.  The Gang of Four refers to a group of influential young civil service chiefs who played a leading role in holding together public administration and public policy in the formative decade or so after Papua New Guinea’s independence in 1975. Growing up in awe of these exemplary Papua New Guineans, many of us coming up the years later...

 In the fast-evolving world of telecommunications, data transmission and networking play pivotal roles in supporting modern businesses. Two critical technologies that help manage the movement of vast amounts of data are Fibre Channel and Port Channel . While these terms may sound similar, they serve different purposes within the infrastructure of networks and data centers. In this post, we’ll dive into Fibre Channel , Port Channel , and other key concepts that keep telecom networks running smoothly. Fibre Channel: High-Speed Storage Networking Fibre Channel (FC) is a high-speed network technology primarily used to connect data storage systems to servers. It’s designed for storage area networks (SANs) , offering a reliable and high-performance solution for moving data between servers and storage devices, especially in data-intensive environments like large enterprises. Key Features of Fibre Channel: High speed: Fibre Channel can deliver speeds from 1 Gbps up to 128 Gbps. Reliab...

 Background I was doing some work that needed a backup on a server. I chose to install an Ubuntu Server to store all the backups. Initially, I thought it didn't need to be a-lot of space. How wrong I was. As you can imagine, the backup size kept growing and growing and it was not yet a week before I had to add an additional disk to my Ubuntu installation. I added another disk and then started the other issue of mounting it logically and making sure that it all booted up correctly. Whilst researching on adding this new disk to my Ubuntu installation, I came across this excellent article detailing what I needed. Below are my summarized steps for my future reference. Identify the drive sudo fdisk -l Select and format the drive sudo fdisk /dev/sdb n for new partition. p for primary partition and 1 for the first partition. Choose the default sectors for the first and last sectors Create a file system on the partition sudo mkfs -t ext4 /dev/sdb1 Mount the new drive sudo mount /...

In my latest series of experiments, I decided to try a lightweight distribution of Linux.  Why? This was all prompted that my wanting to install a bitcoin miner on Linux. I didn't need all the other applications and I just needed to install the bare essentials. TinyCore Linux Tiny Core Linux is a minimal Linux kernel-based operating system focusing on providing a base system using BusyBox and FLTK. It was developed by Robert Shingledecker, who was previously the lead developer of Damn Small Linux. Wikipedia VMWare Workstation Player VMWare Workstation Player is an application hypervisor that is supplied free of charge by VMWare Inc. It assists with running guest operating systems on your own computer. Installing TinyCore Linux When installing on Workstation Player, I used the instructions documented here . After that, it was a matter of following the installation instructions laid out on the TinyCore Linux website. Note that I used the whole disk space because it is the virtual di...