Best Way To Run Fiber Indoors to Outdoors?

[csementuh]

Hello!

Long story short I want to run a fiber link from my utility room rack to a detached garage shop. The rack is in the front left corner of the house basement and the detached garage would be out past the back rear corner of the house. Pretty much as far away as it can be. If this doesn't make sense I can make a picture.. I'll probably use a 6 fiber cable just in case.

My question is...

Would it be best to run the fiber completely outside in conduit the whole way around the side and the rear of the house hugging the foundation until it reaches the detached shop? That would allow a direct run from termination box to box and be probably 200-250 feet or so. The downside is a lot of extra fiber in the ground that could later be damaged by backyard projects.

OR

Would it be better to run the majority of the fiber run in the house up inside the basement ceiling and then exit the right rear corner of the house where it would then go underground a shorter distance (maybe 50-100') to the shop? For this to work I'd likely have to install an outside fiber box on the rear corner of the house and terminate it there. I could then either use couplers there or fusion splice another cable in place. I'm in the process of finishing the basement and the ceiling will only be accessible for awhile longer now. The shop isn't close to being done yet where I could pre-run the line.

What would the best practice from the pros be?

 

[psc]

I've not got any advice here per se, but I'm about to do something similar - see my thread https://forums.servethehome.com/index.php?threads/networking-ducts-between-buildings.27230/

I'd have thought ducted fibre wouldn't be at much risk of damage, as long as you bury it at a suitable depth. That does mean that you need to think about how you'd dig the trench (hire a trencher...) and how close you can\should run it to the foundations (how deep are they?).

If you run across the ceiling, you'll want to put it in conduit\duct anyway, I assume, so you can swap it out if you ever need do. Running across the diagonal, you're going to be crossing the joists one way or another, which probably either means lots of drilling and no easy way to feed in the condiut, or running it below the joists and dropping the ceiling height slightly. What were you planning?

I'm curious why you'd want\need an outside termination point, though. It might be there's something I've not thought about with my plan...

 

[csementuh]

Thanks psc, I did read your thread and you seemed to be on the right track! I'll give my advice in it directly if this response doesn't help you also..

For my setup I'm just running fiber and maybe coax for cable TV. I'm going to run a fiber cable consisting of loose fiber, likely 6 for 3 pairs. The fiber ends need pigtails or connectors spliced on the end, which is a pain unless you know someone who can do the work. I am not just running a basic LC to LC type patch cable. The fiber cables are fat and well protected made for outdoor use. A LC patch type cable as you know is very thin and flexible and susceptible to damage. I do have some of these LC patch cable ran indoors but there are in 1/2" convoluted tubing which supports it in the ceiling and walls. The tubing is too small to pass the LC ends, so it's not meant to be replaced. With OM4 fiber and 100GB+ speed max, I don't see a big need to replacing it. (Although I hear there are varying/changing standards in regards to multimode fiber and what will actually stick around for the future. Also one thing to add is that it's pretty tough to pull a LC patch cable more than maybe 50 feet as the sheathing is thin and you risk destroying/breaking the fiber inside due to the pull force on the cable. For longer runs you use the multi strand cable. They do make armored patch cables that may work, but they're expensive, much more so than a standard patch cable and some basic split tubing.

That was long winded, but my intent is to run the 6 fiber cable indoors directly through framing as needed, and outdoors it will be in a conduit. If I run coax it can share the conduit. Inside I have easy access to run the cable through a chase and can make it to the back of the house corner with just a few bends. There wouldn't be conduit inside, so no easy way to ever replace the cable. Again, I'm not super duper worried about outgrowing 100GB+ rated OM4 fiber personally. I think OM3 will even do what I need at the distances I have.

Regardless my questions still stand on whether to run the cable inside then outside, or take it directly outside and around the house. I can see differing sides here. The cable is more protected inside, with a shorter outdoor run and less change of damage. Where as outside it is easier to replace in the future but probably a longer run, and conduit costs money as does trenching..

The 'need' for a junction box of some type in my scenario is simple. 1. It's not the best to run fiber directly from switch right into a device if it's a longer run. Reason being if you break a connector or the fiber itself and it's only one piece, then you are screwed. If you have a junctin box on the wall the long run is well protected, and then you use a short fiber patch cord from box into the switch or device and it's much 'safer'. If you're running fiber into a wall then you can use a keystone fiber connector plate to do the same thing. 2. My main reason for a box is that my outbuilding(s) aren't built yet. Nothing at all for the fiber to terminate in. This is simply futureproofing. I'm finishing the basement ceiling now, so if I don't run it inside I won't ever be able to later on. The junction/splice box would allow me to get a cable from my utility room to outside in a closer location to the eventual shop building. If I ran the cable entirely outside it wouldn't matter much, as my utility room is able to get outside there directly. Just a decision I need to make soon so I can continue on my path. I'm kind of leaning towards keeping the cable inside for the protection and the outside run short, but I'd like to hear 'best practice' on it.