What Is Insertion Loss?_
Insertion loss measures the amount of optical signal power lost when light passes through a fiber optic connection (connector, splice, or cable run), measured in decibels (dB). Lower insertion loss is better. TIA-568 standards specify maximum allowable insertion loss budgets for structured cabling links. For GPU clusters with hundreds of connections, cumulative insertion loss must be carefully managed.
Technical Details
Insertion loss occurs at every point where light encounters a discontinuity: connectors (typically 0.2–0.5 dB each), fusion splices (0.1–0.3 dB), mechanical splices (0.5–1.0 dB), and fiber attenuation (3.5 dB/km for OM4 at 850nm, 0.4 dB/km for OS2 at 1310nm). TIA-568 defines link loss budgets that sum all expected losses in a channel and set pass/fail thresholds. For GPU clusters, insertion loss testing is critical because even marginally high losses can cause bit errors at 400G/800G speeds, leading to retransmissions that degrade network performance. Testing is performed with a calibrated power meter and light source at the operating wavelength.
How Leviathan Systems Works with Insertion Loss
Leviathan Systems tests insertion loss on every fiber connection using calibrated power meter and light source equipment, verifying compliance with TIA-568 link budgets before handoff.