Optical fiber allows for high-speed communication over long distances. In this video, you’ll learn about fiber optic SC, ST, and LC connectors.
If you’re working with fiber optics, there are a number of standard interfaces you might find. One of these interface types is an ST interface, which is a Straight Tip. You can see the straight tip at the end of the connector. And this is a style of connector that is a bayonet connector, which means you push it in and slightly twist it to lock it in place. To be able to remove it, you need to untwist it and then remove it from the connector.
This push and turn bayonet ensures that the fiber stays in place and can’t accidentally be pulled out of the connector. Here’s a closer view of the straight tip, and you can see the bayonet function on the side where you would push it in, and then slightly turn it to lock it in place.
Another more modern style of connector is the SC connector, or the Subscriber Connector. You might also see this referred to as a Square Connector or a Standard Connector. This style of connector also locks in place, but instead of using a bayonet, you push it in and it locks. You will need to slightly pull on the outside of the connector to be able to unlock it so that it can be removed from that interface.
This is a popular style of connector, and it’s used across many different devices, patch panels, and other components within the data center. This style of connector can be used with individual fibers, or you can combine them together as one single unit with a pair of fiber inside. This makes it very easy to connect and disconnect both the send and receive side from a connection all at the same time.
There’s always a need to fit more connections into a smaller amount of space. In order to do this with fiber, you could use a Lucent Connector, or an LC connector. This is a much smaller, more compact connection. And this one holds in place with a clip that’s on the top of the connector. You might also see this connection type referred to as a Local Connector or a Little Connector.
Here’s a better view of an LC connector, with both sides of it connected together, so that you can easily connect and disconnect a pair of fibers simultaneously. And here’s all three of the connectors together, the ST connector, the SC connector, and the LC.
You can see the ST is probably the largest of the three. The SC is certainly in the middle. And obviously the LC is much smaller than either of them. All of these connectors work effectively the same way. They allow you to connect and disconnect from a fiber connection. You obviously want to be sure that the connectors that you’re using match the same connectors on the devices you’re connecting to. And in many cases, it will be an ST, SC, or LC connection.