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MPO Breakout Cables

MPO Breakout Cables (Plenum Rated)


MTP FiberShield Specifications

MPO Breakout (aka. QSFP to SFP breakout or MPO harness or MPO fanout) cables make use of the most cost-effective multifiber delivery technology, the MPO connector. Originally designed to eliminate splicing and the number of individual connections, the MPO connector has subsequently become the global standard for establishing cost-effective high-performance communications. The MPO form factor has been used as the principal external interface by transceivers such as the QSFP+ (40G MPO), QSFP28 (100G MPO), and QSFP-DD (400G MPO). Plenum rated MPO harness cables are most typically used in process of upgrading 10G networks to greater speeds of 40G, 100G, and beyond.  For more information, please see our main MPO Cables page.

OptoSpan’s FiberShield MPO breakout cables are made of 8-fiber, 12-fiber, or 24-fiber exclusive FiberShield cables that have an MPO connector on one end and four, six, or twelve pairs of LC duplex connectors on the other end. The FiberShield design protects the sensitive optical fibers placed inside the cables by using three times the PVC jacket and DuPont Kevlar, resulting in a flexible yet durable 4.5mm cable that is 5x stronger than the usual 3.0mm cable.

Using MPO breakout cables, a seamless transition from duplex-based (LC) 10G applications to parallel optics-based (MPO) 40G/100G/400G applications is made possible. These MPO harness cables connect LAN switches and servers that are based on the MPO standard to patch panels and infrastructure that is based on the LC standard. With MPO harness cables, you can achieve more than 12 times the fiber density in the same amount of space as with regular LC cables! 

These MPO fanout cables are plenum rated and have a fire-retardant and non-conductive jacketing that was designed to provide extra protection in the case of a fire. Plenum (OFNP) rated cabling has been developed expressly to produce substantially less smoke and to inhibit the growth of flames during combustion. To prevent severe damage to a building's internal infrastructure, building safety rules frequently require Plenum rated cabling to be put exclusively in Plenum areas.

FiberShield MPO breakout cables are the industry's most durable!

MPO Breakout Cables (Plenum) with FiberShield Technology: OptoSpan's 8-, 12-, and 24-fiber MPO harness cables with plenum rating contain exclusive FiberShield technology that is 5 times stronger than those of rivals' MPO fiber breakouts, as well as 3 times the amount of PVC and DuPont Kevlar. These QSFP to SFP fiber breakout cables are 3mm or 4.5mm thick, which provides additional protection against unintentional damage that is common during installation.


8 Fiber MPO Breakout Cable

8 Fiber MPO Breakout Cable

12 Fiber MPO Breakout Cable

12 Fiber MPO Breakout Cable

24 Fiber MPO Breakout Cable

24 Fiber MPO Breakout Cable

Do you need help choosing the correct MPO fanout cables for your application? SanSpot’s MTP network engineers can evaluate your unique situation and recommend a complimentary cable configuration that is suitable for your needs. Please feel free to contact us toll-free at 1-800-720-3860, or you can email [email protected].

SteelPatch Armored MPO Fanout Cables: SteelPatch MPO Fanout Cables with Plenum rating include a specialized jacket made of steel that is molded into a helical pattern to hide the internal fibers. SteelPatch Armored MPO breakout cables are available in a variety of lengths. SteelPatch armor is able to boost cable strength by a factor of seven while staying completely flexible and lightweight.

What are the most common applications for MPO fanout cables?

MPO fiber breakout cables are commonly found in data centers and telecommunications companies, where they are utilized to efficiently link high-speed networks. There are two primary applications:

  • During the migration from 10G to 40G networks, 8-fiber MPO to 4xLC breakout cables are used to link the MPO-based QSFP+ or QSFP28 transceiver to four independent LC-based 10G/25G SFP+ transceivers.
  • 12 or 24 fiber MPO harness cables are used to combine six or twelve duplex LC ports into one MPO connector, which may then be used to connect to a single MPO connector on a patch panel.

What criteria should you consider while purchasing an MPO breakout cable?

Many important criteria influence the selection of the appropriate cable, including the kind of network optics, the number of fibers in the cable, the polarity of the cable, the type of MPO connectors, and the type of fiber media (single-mode or multimode). If you are unsure, or if you require assistance, please contact us before placing your order!

Need Help? Get Answers from an MTP/MPO Experts

MPO Breakout Cable Applications:

  • 8-Fiber QSFP to SFP Breakout Cables are commonly used to link one QSFP+ or QSFP28 transceiver with an MPO connection to four LC-based SFP+ transceivers.
  • 12-Fiber MPO Harness Cables are typically used to connect a single MPO component to a total of 12 LC ports on patch panels or distribution frames.
  • 24-Fiber MPO Fanout Cables are commonly used for 10G to 100G migration and high-density intra-patch panel applications, where they can be used to combine 24 LC ports into a single MPO port to save space.

MPO Breakout Polarity:

  • Type B QSFP to SFP Breakout Cables (Standard) employ MPO connectors on one end and duplex LC connectors on the other, with a pre-defined polarity for one 40G MPO to four 10G LC connections.
  • Type A MPO Breakout Cables have a straight-through design, with MPO pin 1 mapped to LC fiber 1, MPO pin 2 mapped to LC fiber 2, etc.
  • Type C MPO Fanout Cables (Special Order) have an MPO connector on one end and LC duplex connectors on the other, where each pair of LC fibers is flipped.

MPO Breakout Connectors:

Each MPO breakout cable configuration must specify the type and gender of the MPO connectors used in the breakout cable assembly. The most common MPO connectors include eight, twelve, sixteen, or twenty-four pins. Example: 12-fiber MPO fanout cables are typically used for 10G or 40G applications, while 8-fiber and 24-fiber MPO-LC harness cables are typically utilized for 100G applications.

MPO Breakout Cable Types

Standard MPO fiber breakouts

  • 8-Fiber QSFP to SFP breakout cables are used for 40G QSFP+ distances of up to 150 meters and 100G QSFP28 distances of up to 100 meters.
  • 12-Fiber MPO harness cables link 12 LCs to one MPO connector.
  • 24-Fiber MPO fanout cables link 24 LCs to a single MPO connector.

SteelPatch Armored MPO breakout cables (7x stronger, but flexible)

  • 8-Fiber QSFP to SFP armored breakout cables are used for 40G QSFP+ distance of up to 150 meters, and 100G QSFP28 distance of up to 100 meters.
  • 12-Fiber MPO armored fanout cables link 12 LCs to a single MPO connector.
  • 24-Fiber MPO armored harness cables link 24 LCs to a single MPO connector.

Quality and Engineering Excellence

By utilizing our proprietary manufacturing process developed over 15 years of experience, we are able to produce higher performance products using the same components, hence lowering the cost to our clients. OptoSpan cables are made in a Class 10,000 (ISO14644-1, ISO7) clean room facility, which eliminates the potential of end face contamination.

Rohs Compliant

Quality Management Systems

  • ISO 9001: 2008
  • TL9000 (Ver. 5)

Standards Compliance

  • Telcordia GR-326 Core
  • TIA-604-18: FOCIS 18
  • IEC 61754-7-3:2019

OptoSpan fiber optic cables are RoHS compliant.

MPO Breakout Cable Cleaning and Testing

MPO connectors are more prone to contamination due to their bigger surface area and array of fibers. OptoSpan advises utilizing these simple MPO Connector cleaners to clean MPO cables before each insertion. Use the OptoSpan LC connector cleaner to clean the LC side.

OptoSpan provides a basic MPO fiber tester for troubleshooting MPO cable connections (fiber breaks or defects) during installation or discovering issues during normal operation.


You might be interested in the following MPO Cables related products.

Are you looking for custom-designed and purpose-built MPO cables? Visit our section on Custom MPO Cables...
Do you require MPO patch panels that are compatible with MPO patch cables? Visit our MPO Patch Panels...
Are you looking for 40G/100G MPO trunk cables? Visit our site on MPO Trunk Cables...
Need a High Performance MPO patch cable? Our MTP Cables...
Do you require the strongest MPO patch cables available in the industry? Visit our Armored MPO Cables section for more information...
For the highest performance MPO Cables, go to this link... MTP Elite Cables
If you prefer to use LC to LC fanout cables... Visit our Section on Breakout Fiber Cables...