Color coding

Patch cords

The buffer or jacket on patchcords is often color-coded to indicate the type of fiber used. The strain relief "boot" that protects the fiber from bending at a connector is color-coded to indicate the type of connection. Connectors with a plastic shell (such as SC connectors) typically use a color-coded shell. Standard color codings for jackets and boots (or connector shells) are shown below:

Buffer/jacket color	Meaning
Yellow	single-mode optical fiber
Orange	multi-mode optical fiber
Aqua	10 gig laser-optimized 50/125 micrometer multi-mode optical fiber
Grey	outdated color code for multi-mode optical fiber
Blue	Sometimes used to designate polarization-maintaining optical fiber

Connector Boot		Meaning	Comment
Blue		Physical Contact (PC), 0°	mostly used for single mode fibers; some manufacturers use this for polarization-maintaining optical fiber.
Green		Angle Polished (APC), 8°	not available for multimode fibers
Black		Physical Contact (PC), 0°
Grey,	Beige	Physical Contact (PC), 0°	multimode fiber connectors
White		Physical Contact (PC), 0°
Red			High optical power. Sometimes used to connect external pump lasers or Raman pumps.

Remark: It is also possible that a small part of a connector is additionally colour-coded, e.g. the leaver of an E-2000 connector or a frame of an adapter. This additional colour coding indicates the correct port for a patchcord, if many patchcords are installed at one point.

Multi-fiber cables

Individual fibers in a multi-fiber cable are often distinguished from one another by color-coded jackets or buffers on each fiber. The identification scheme used by Corning Cable Systems is based on EIA/TIA-598, "Optical Fiber Cable Color Coding." EIA/TIA-598 defines identification schemes for fibers, buffered fibers, fiber units, and groups of fiber units within outside plant and premises optical fiber cables. This standard allows for fiber units to be identified by means of a printed legend. This method can be used for identification of fiber ribbons and fiber subunits. The legend will contain a corresponding printed numerical position number and/or color for use in identification^[11].

EIA598-A Fiber Color Chart[11] Position Jacket color 1 Blue 2 Orange 3 Green 4 Brown 5 Slate 6 White 7 Red 8 Black 9 Yellow 10 Violet 11 Rose 12 Aqua 13 Blue with black tracer 14 Orange with black tracer 15 Green with black tracer 16 Brown with black tracer 17 Slate with black tracer 18 White with black tracer 19 Red with black tracer 20 Black with yellow tracer 21 Yellow with black tracer 22 Violet with black tracer 23 Rose with black tracer 24 Aqua with black tracer

Color coding of Premise Fiber Cable[11] Fiber Type / Class Diameter (µm) Jacket Color Multimode 1a 50/125 Orange Multimode 1a 62.5/125 Slate Multimode 1a 85/125 Blue Multimode 1a 100/140 Green Singlemode IVa All Yellow Singlemode IVb All Red