Panduit FCS2ZO-12-LSP LC Splice/FAP Cassette, 12-Fiber OM4 with 250µm Pigtails
Overview
The Panduit FCS2ZO-12-LSP is a 12-fiber OM4 LC splice/FAP cassette from the Opticom® family, designed for structured fiber cabling in enterprise data centers, distribution frames, and high-density backbone runs. It ships with 12 factory-terminated 250µm pigtails on the rear (unterminated/splice side) and LC Duplex connectors on the front, giving you a clean transition point between field-spliced fiber and patching infrastructure — no field-polishing required on the pigtail side. If you're building out OM4 40G/100G links per TIA/EIA-568-C.3 and need a cassette that lands cleanly in a standard fiber panel enclosure, the FCS2ZO-12-LSP is the unit to evaluate.
Key Features
- OM4 Multimode Fiber, 12-Fiber Count: OM4 supports 40GBase-SR4 to 150m and 100GBase-SR10 to 100m — you're covered for current 40G and 100G short-reach applications without upgrading glass. The 12-fiber count maps to one 12-fiber trunk or a single MTP/MPO breakout lane, keeping patching organized per link group.
- LC Duplex Front Connectors: LC Duplex is the dominant small-form-factor connector in enterprise SAN, Ethernet, and structured cabling today. Front-facing LC ports plug directly into SFP+ and QSFP breakout patch cords — no adapters, no additional coupler modules needed.
- 250µm Pigtail Diameter on Rear: The 250µm coating (bare-buffered) on the splice tails is the standard diameter for fusion splicing. Field technicians splice directly to the incoming trunk without re-coating or adapting — this is the correct specification when your OSP or riser trunk terminates in bare 250µm fiber.
- Unterminated Rear (Splice/FAP): The unterminated rear means you're not paying for connectors you'll cut off. In splice-to-cassette applications — where the trunk is fusion-spliced to the pigtail inside a splice tray — this is the economically and operationally correct product. If you need pre-connectorized MPO trunk compatibility, that's a different cassette family.
- Compact Form Factor — 1.38" H × 4.3" W × 7.92" L: Dimensionally sized for standard fiber panel enclosures and rack-mount fiber management frames. The 1.38" height is under 1U, which matters in tight 1U or 2U enclosure bays. Confirm your enclosure's cassette bay depth supports 7.92" length before ordering.
- TIA/EIA-568-C.3, IEEE 802.3ae, and ANSI T11.5 Compliance: Three standards in one cassette — enterprise structured cabling (TIA), 10GbE/40GbE/100GbE optical (802.3ae), and Fibre Channel (T11.5). If your cabling plant is subject to structured cabling audits, compliance with TIA-568-C.3 is specifically required; this cassette carries that certification on the label.
- Panduit Opticom® Sub-Brand: Opticom is Panduit's fiber management system — enclosures, cassettes, pigtails, and panels are designed to interoperate dimensionally and optically. Mixing Opticom cassettes with Opticom fiber optic enclosures avoids cross-brand fitment surprises in dense deployments.
- Package Qty 1 / Carton Qty 10: Ordered individually — no forced bundle. If you need to stock multiples, the carton quantity of 10 applies for volume procurement planning.
Integration & Compatibility
The FCS2ZO-12-LSP integrates into any enclosure or panel system that accepts standard LC splice/FAP cassettes. Front-facing LC Duplex ports accept standard LC duplex patch cords for connection to SFP+ 10G transceivers, QSFP 40G SR4 breakout harnesses, or LC-based FC HBAs. The rear pigtails, at 250µm bare-buffered diameter, are suited for fusion splicing in a splice tray co-located with or adjacent to the enclosure. This cassette does not accept MPO/MTP trunk push-in from the rear — it is a splice-type unit, not a push-pull connector cassette.
For fiber optic systems planning: OM4 is backward-compatible with OM3 equipment but its performance advantage — extended reach at 10G/40G/100G — is only realized when the full link uses OM4 fiber and OM4-rated components. Mixing OM3 patch cords on an OM4 trunk link downgrades the effective link budget to OM3. Confirm your patch cords match the fiber class.
If your project calls for a fiber optic cassette with pre-installed MPO connectors on the rear for tool-free trunk connection, review the MPO-to-LC cassette variants in the Panduit Opticom line — those are architecturally distinct from this splice model. For general network cabling infrastructure planning, a splice cassette approach typically offers lower insertion loss at the splice point versus a mated MPO connector, which is relevant in link-budget-tight 40G/100G designs.
What's in the Box
- 1× Panduit FCS2ZO-12-LSP LC Splice/FAP Cassette (OM4, 12-fiber, 250µm pigtails)
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Is the FCS2ZO-12-LSP compatible with OM3 patch cords and trunks?
A: Physically yes — LC connectors and fiber geometry are compatible. However, using OM3 components anywhere in an OM4 link degrades the effective optical budget to OM3 reach limits. For full OM4 performance on 40G or 100G short-reach links, all segments should use OM4-rated fiber and components.
Q: Does the FCS2ZO-12-LSP accept an MPO/MTP trunk on the rear?
A: No. The rear of this cassette terminates in 12 bare 250µm pigtails intended for fusion splicing. It does not have an MPO/MTP push-in port on the rear. If your architecture requires a tool-free MPO trunk connection, you need an MPO-to-LC fan-out cassette, not this splice/FAP unit.
Q: What standards does the FCS2ZO-12-LSP meet?
A: It is rated to TIA/EIA-568-C.3 (enterprise structured cabling), IEEE 802.3ae (10GbE/40GbE/100GbE optical), and ANSI T11.5 (Fibre Channel). These three standards cover the majority of enterprise data center and backbone applications.
Q: How many cassettes come in a carton, and can I order just one?
A: The carton quantity is 10 units. The package (sellable) quantity is 1, so you can order a single cassette without taking a full carton.
Q: What enclosure depth do I need for this cassette?
A: The FCS2ZO-12-LSP measures 7.92 inches in length (depth). Verify that your target enclosure or panel frame accommodates cassettes at least 7.92 inches deep, in addition to the 1.38-inch height and 4.3-inch width, before finalizing the installation design.
Q: Is this cassette suitable for 100G SR10 links?
A: Yes. OM4 fiber, which this cassette uses, supports 100GBase-SR10 to 100 meters per IEEE 802.3ae. Ensure the entire link — trunk, pigtail splices, and patch cords — uses OM4-rated components to achieve that reach budget.
The FCS2ZO-12-LSP is a splice-type unit — that distinction matters more than it sounds. The 250µm bare-buffered pigtails on the rear mean a fusion splicer goes directly to the incoming trunk without any connector-to-connector mating on the distribution side, which eliminates one insertion loss event per fiber compared to an MPO-coupled cassette approach. In link-budget-tight 100G SR10 designs or long OM4 backbone runs approaching the 100m limit, that difference is not theoretical.
Technical Highlights:
- OM4 Glass, 12-Fiber: Supports 40GBase-SR4 to 150m and 100GBase-SR10 to 100m per IEEE 802.3ae — the right fiber class for current-generation 40G/100G short-reach optics in enterprise data center design.
- 250µm Pigtail Spec: Bare-buffered 250µm is the standard fusion splice diameter. Field techs splice directly to incoming 250µm trunk fibers without re-coating steps, which reduces splice prep time and potential splice quality issues from improper recoating.
- TIA/EIA-568-C.3 + ANSI T11.5 Dual Compliance: Covers both Ethernet (802.3ae) and Fibre Channel (T11.5) in the same cassette — relevant in converged storage-and-network backbone environments where both protocols share physical plant.
Deployment Considerations:
- At 7.92 inches in length, confirm your enclosure's cassette bay accommodates that depth before ordering. Several older 1U panel frames are sized for shallower cassettes; a dimensional mismatch here means the cassette won't seat fully and the front LC ports won't align with the patch field.
- This is a splice cassette, not a push-pull MPO cassette. If your riser or inter-rack trunks are pre-connectorized MTP/MPO, you need a different cassette family — the pigtails here don't accept a push-in MPO plug without a splice tray and fusion splicing workflow.
The FCS2ZO-12-LSP fits cleanest in enterprise data center MDA-to-HDA backbone runs using fusion-spliced OM4 trunks, where minimizing insertion loss and maintaining TIA-568-C.3 compliance for structured cabling certification are both hard requirements.
