Simply put, we are joining two sites that are 200m apart using 8 core OM4 Multimode
fibre cable. Am I correct in understanding that lc patch panels on either end of the fibre cable are ok and that relying on the SFP modules on lc sfp networked devices on either end to transmit and receive their relevant signals is sufficient?
Or is there any requirement to "boost" the fibre signal at any point with say extra sfp modules within the link?
All current devices on the existing network like switches etc have lc connections.
SFP modules and LC-to-LC patch panels
fiberfibrechannelsfp
Best Answer
OM4 is good for 400 m with 10GBASE-SR or for 550 m with 1000BASE-SX, according to the IEEE standards. (These can often be "extended" but there's no guarantee.)
The link power budget isn't usually a problem with short-range multi-mode fiber (MMF), so you should be good with patching in between - provided the fiber and patch cable quality is decent, and all connectors are clean.
[Edit] Since you seem to be using legacy (FDDI) 62.5 µm fiber: don't patch those to or with more modern 50 µm cables. The cable parameters change causes a significant power drop which will likely make the whole run fail. If part of the entire path is 50 µm and another part is 62.5 µm, I'd use another switch with SFPs (or a suitable media converter) in between to adapt.
Mixing FDDI, OM1, and OM2+ is generally not advised. It works with rather short runs but won't on longer ones. Changing the MMF grade can severely degrade the signal.
Mixing OM2 to OM5 isn't generally such a problem but still decreases the reach somewhat.
DWDM might cost you some reach as well. The optical multiplexing is not completely lossless. Still, 200 m shouldn't be a problem.