Fiber Optic
In Networking, Fiber optic is a type of cable that uses light to carry information, rather than electricity.
These cables contain a core, made of either plastic or glass. The core is the part the light travels through. Cladding, coating, and Kevlar materials protect the core from damage.
The whole thing is then wrapped in an outer jacket, or sheath. Which is the part you can see and touch.
Some cables have many cores inside. For example, Service providers run cables through the ground with over 100 cores each.
There are two types of fiber optic cables in networking.
Multi mode – Which has a thicker core, is cheaper and is used for shorter distances. Then there is single mode. It has a thinner core, for longer distances, but is more expensive.
A cable can have a single core or two cores. A Single core cable is half-duplex, meaning it can only send or receive at one time. This is frequently used by service providers.
Dual core is full duplex, it can send and receive at the same time. It is often used in an enterprise network.
These cables may also have different connectors on the end. Common ones are SC and LC, with LC being the most common in enterprise networks.