is it possible to mix OM-2 with OM-3/4 Patchcords or installed Fiber.
As far as i know, they are the same diameter of 50µm, they only have different bandwith caracteristics.
Is there any other reason to don't do that? (except for the orange/aqua mess in the racks ;))
Best Answer
If you have OM2 in the walls, it makes no difference, and if you have a mixture of OM2/3/4 in the walls, it's probably a good idea to use (only) patch cords that match the highest grade fiber in the walls, as they won't hurt the lower grade runs, though it does run a risk of making the uninformed think that all the cables in the wall are OM4 when they are not. But the uninformed are rather hard to sort out in any case.
If you have OM3/4 in the walls, it's not a good idea, though it may "work" for some value of "work." But it's a terrible place to "save" a few bucks while wasting/degrading a few kilobucks of installed fiber plant.