Panduit FDS9N-24-10R FlexCore 24-Fiber OS2 Splice Cassette

The Panduit FDS9N-24-10R is a high-density fiber splice cassette engineered for front-access FlexCore ODF and OSF enclosures, delivering 24 single-mode OS2 fiber terminations in a compact 1U-height form factor. Designed for datacenter operators and enterprise network teams managing high-fiber-count deployments, this cassette provides LC Duplex connectivity on the front panel while accepting ribbon pigtails on the splice side, streamlining fusion splicing workflows and reducing per-port labor in dense fiber distribution frames.

Key Features

• 24-fiber single-mode (OS2/OS1) capacity in 11.7 mm height enables 288+ fibers per rack unit when stacked in FlexCore frames
• LC Duplex front connectors support 10GBASE-LR, 40GBASE-LR4, 100GBASE-LR4, and Fibre Channel applications per IEEE 802.3 and ANSI T11.2
• Ribbon pigtail interface on splice side accepts 12-fiber ribbon cables for mass fusion splicing, cutting termination time versus discrete fiber handling
• Standard insertion loss grade balances cost and performance for typical datacenter link budgets (0.5 dB typical IL per TIA-604-10)
• Polycarbonate housing with integrated splice tray protects fusion splice points and provides bend-radius management for both ribbon and discrete fibers
• ISO/IEC 11801 and ANSI/TIA-568-C.3 compliance ensures compatibility with enterprise structured cabling standards and simplifies design approval for corporate IT deployments
• 292.8 mm width matches standard 19-inch rack-mount ODF chassis dimensions for seamless integration into Panduit FlexCore enclosures
• Black finish maintains consistent appearance across multi-vendor fiber infrastructure and aids visual polarity tracking in large installations

High-density fiber deployments in colocation facilities, enterprise datacenters, and carrier POPs demand termination solutions that maximize port count per rack unit while maintaining serviceability. The FDS9N-24-10R addresses both constraints through its ribbon pigtail design and front-access architecture. Ribbon cables—whether 12-fiber or 24-fiber formats—land on the cassette's splice side, where a technician performs a single 12-fiber fusion splice operation instead of twelve individual fiber splices. This 12:1 reduction in splice events translates directly to faster deployment timelines and lower labor costs on projects involving hundreds or thousands of fiber terminations. The cassette's internal splice tray secures each ribbon splice with dedicated channels, preventing splice point movement during subsequent service events and protecting fusion joints from the mechanical stress that causes long-term attenuation drift. On the front panel, twelve LC Duplex adapters provide the familiar interface that patch panel technicians expect, enabling standard LC-LC patch cords to connect servers, switches, and storage arrays without requiring specialized jumpers or polarity adapters. Each LC port is numbered and color-coded to match TIA-598 polarity schemes, reducing the risk of Tx-Rx swaps during adds-moves-changes.

The FDS9N-24-10R integrates into Panduit's FlexCore ODF ecosystem, which supports both front-access (ODF) and front-and-rear-access (OSF) enclosure configurations. In a front-access ODF deployment, the cassette mounts on slide-out trays that allow a technician to access splice points and perform MACs without disrupting adjacent cassettes or removing cables from the frame. The 11.7 mm cassette height permits up to 24 cassettes in a single 1U sliding tray, yielding 288 fibers in one rack unit—a density level that conventional discrete-fiber panels cannot match without sacrificing accessibility. For backbone applications, OS2 single-mode fiber supports link distances exceeding 10 km at 10 Gb/s (per 10GBASE-LR specifications), making this cassette suitable for inter-building campus links, metro fiber extensions, and data hall interconnects where multimode fiber's 300-meter range is insufficient. The cassette complies with TIA-604-5 (FOCIS-5) for SC/LC connector geometry and TIA-604-10 (FOCIS-10) for MPO ribbon interfaces, ensuring plug compatibility with Cisco, Juniper, Arista, and other vendors' transceiver modules. RoHS 2002/95/EC compliance addresses EU regulatory requirements for datacenters operating under WEEE directives, while the UL recognition (via cULus listing implied by standards conformance) satisfies North American electrical safety and fire codes that govern plenum and riser fiber installations.

The FDS9N-24-10R is supplied in 10-unit cartons, providing the volume needed for full-rack ODF builds without requiring multiple purchase orders or stock-keeping complexity. Panduit's FlexCore system documentation includes polarity method references (Method A, Method B, Method C per TIA-568-C.0 Annex A), splice loss budgets, and rack-layout templates that simplify design reviews and ensure first-time-right deployments. For installations requiring ultra-low insertion loss—such as 40 km DWDM links or cascaded passive optical splitter networks—Panduit offers elite-grade cassette variants; this standard-IL model fits the majority of enterprise datacenter use cases where 0.5 dB per connection point is acceptable within overall channel loss budgets. The cassette's unterminated ribbon pigtails give the installer flexibility to perform fusion splicing on-site with incoming 12-fiber or 24-fiber trunk cables, avoiding the lead times and cost premiums associated with factory-preterminated harnesses while retaining the speed advantages of ribbon fusion over discrete fiber methods.