Panduit FC39N-16-10A 16-Fiber MPO-LC OS2 Cassette

Panduit FC39N-16-10A QuickNet 16-Fiber MPO-LC Cassette Module

The Panduit FC39N-16-10A QuickNet cassette delivers high-density fiber breakout for data center and enterprise backbone installations. This pre-terminated module converts a single MPO-8 male trunk connection into eight LC duplex patch ports, supporting 16 fibers of OS2 single-mode connectivity in a compact cassette form factor. Method A polarity ensures industry-standard pin-out compatibility with your existing MPO infrastructure. Black polycarbonate housing withstands repeated insertions in high-turnover environments. Factory termination eliminates on-site fusion splicing, reducing deployment time and maintaining consistent insertion loss across all 16 fibers. Designed for Panduit Opticom enclosures and compatible high-density patch panels.

Key Features

• 16-fiber capacity via 8× LC duplex connectors and 1× MPO-8 male trunk port
• OS2 single-mode fiber (9/125 μm) for long-haul data center and campus runs up to 10km+
• Method A polarity configuration ensures correct transmit/receive pairing in duplex links
• QuickNet pre-terminated cassette eliminates field termination and reduces install time by 70%
• Polycarbonate housing resists impact and provides bend-radius protection at breakout points
• Supports 10G, 40G, and 100G Ethernet applications with appropriate transceiver pairing
• Black enclosure integrates cleanly into structured cabling and rack environments
• Factory-tested insertion loss and return loss per TIA-568 and IEC 61300 standards
• 10-pack carton quantity simplifies procurement for large-scale data center deployments

The FC39N-16-10A employs a cassette-based architecture that bridges high-fiber-count MPO trunk cables to individual LC duplex patch cords—the dominant connector type in enterprise and hyperscale environments. Each cassette accepts a single MPO-8 connector on the rear trunk side and breaks it out to eight LC duplex ports on the front panel. This 8:1 breakout ratio maximizes rack unit density while maintaining easy access for moves, adds, and changes at the patch layer. OS2 single-mode fiber supports transmission distances exceeding 10 kilometers at 10 Gbps and scales to 40G/100G with parallel optics, making this cassette suitable for inter-building links, storage-area-network trunks, and spine-leaf data center fabrics. The 9-micron core diameter and ≤0.4 dB/km attenuation at 1310 nm ensure low signal loss even on extended campus runs or multi-floor vertical risers.

Method A polarity follows the TIA-568 standard for MPO-to-duplex breakouts: Position 1 on the MPO connector maps to the transmit fiber of the first LC duplex port, Position 2 maps to receive, and this alternating pattern continues across all eight duplex pairs. This deterministic mapping prevents polarity mismatches that cause link-down events and eliminates the need for crossover patch cords or gender-changer adapters. When paired with Method A trunk cables and transceivers configured for opposite transmit/receive pins, the entire optical path maintains correct polarity end-to-end. The cassette's physical keying and labeling confirm Method A orientation, reducing troubleshooting time during high-port-count deployments where a single reversed connector can take a blade server or switch module offline. The polycarbonate construction withstands the mechanical stress of daily patching in co-location facilities and prevents fiber damage at the critical breakout junction where 16 individual strands transition from ribbon to individual LC ferrules.

Pre-terminated QuickNet cassettes reduce installation labor by 60–80% compared to field-fusion splicing, a critical advantage during data center cutovers or tenant fit-outs with tight commissioning windows. Each cassette arrives factory-assembled with connectors already terminated, insertion loss measured, and polarity verified. Installers pull MPO trunk cables through conduit or overhead cable tray, insert the trunk connectors into the rear of the cassette, and immediately provision active links—no fusion splicer, no cleaving, no connector polish. This plug-and-play model lowers skill requirements, shortens on-site time, and shifts quality control to Panduit's manufacturing line where automated test equipment validates every fiber path. The black housing integrates visually into structured cabling environments and provides clear contrast against fiber color coding for rapid circuit identification during troubleshooting or MAC operations.

The cassette form factor integrates into Panduit's Opticom enclosures and third-party high-density fiber panels that accept standard QuickNet modules. A single 1U enclosure can house up to six cassettes, delivering 48 LC duplex ports (96 fibers) in one rack unit—density that's impossible with traditional bulkhead-mounted adapters or pigtail splice trays. This scalability supports leaf-switch architectures where each top-of-rack switch requires 24–48 fiber uplinks to spine switches, and storage fabrics where every storage controller needs redundant paths to Fibre Channel directors. The 10-pack carton quantity suits large-scale rollouts: a 20-rack pod with 10 leaf switches can be cabled with a single carton, simplifying procurement and ensuring consistent part numbers across the installation. The cassette's removable design allows field replacement without disturbing adjacent modules or re-pulling trunk cables, reducing mean-time-to-repair when a port is damaged or when migrating from 10G to 25G optics requires cassette upgrades.

OS2 fiber delivers the lowest attenuation of any single-mode specification—≤0.4 dB/km at 1310 nm and ≤0.3 dB/km at 1550 nm—ensuring adequate link budget for 10GBASE-LR (10 km), 40GBASE-LR4 (10 km), and 100GBASE-LR4 (10 km) applications even after accounting for connector insertion loss, splice loss, and aging. The 9-micron core supports coherent wavelength-division multiplexing (DWDM) for customers planning to overlay additional channels on the same fiber pair, and accommodates bidirectional (BiDi) transceivers that transmit and receive on a single fiber strand using different wavelengths. This future-proofing protects your cassette investment as network speeds increase: the same FC39N-16-10A module that supports 10G SFP+ links today will handle 25G SFP28 or 100G QSFP28 breakout tomorrow without physical infrastructure changes. The cassette's LC interface pairs with all standard 1.25 mm ferrule transceivers from Cisco, Arista, Juniper, Dell, HPE, and other OEMs, ensuring interoperability across multi-vendor switching and routing platforms.

The Panduit FC39N-16-10A cassette is UL Listed and manufactured to ISO 9001 quality standards, meeting TIA-568-C.3 and IEC 61754-7 connector performance requirements. Factory testing validates insertion loss ≤0.75 dB per mated connection pair and return loss ≥50 dB, ensuring compliance with IEEE 802.3 Ethernet optical power budgets. The Opticom sub-brand represents Panduit's structured cabling product line, recognized across enterprise IT and data center markets for mechanical reliability and compatibility with industry-standard enclosures. When backbone consolidation, virtualization sprawl, or converged IP surveillance pushes fiber counts beyond what traditional patch panels can manage, the FC39N-16-10A delivers the port density, installation speed, and polarity assurance that keep mission-critical networks online. Each cassette ships with manufacturer warranty and includes protective dust caps for unused LC ports and the MPO trunk connector during staging and pre-deployment storage.