Eaton N484‑3M8L12S 40/100Gb to 10/25Gb Fiber Breakout Cassette

Overview :

The Eaton N484‑3M8L12S is a high‑density fiber optic breakout cassette designed for structured cabling systems in data center and enterprise network environments. It provides a transition from high‑speed MTP/MPO backbone links to multiple duplex LC terminations suited for 10 Gb, 25 Gb, 40 Gb and 100 Gb equipment interfaces. Cabling and infrastructure teams deploy this module in modular fiber enclosures to break out aggregated parallel optics into discrete channels for access switches, servers, and optical transceivers.

This cassette operates over 9/125 µm singlemode fiber optics and includes three 8‑fiber MTP/MPO (APC) female ports on the trunk side and twelve LC duplex (UPC) female ports on the distribution side. It’s optimized for parallel optics applications and Base‑8 connectivity using polarized B MTP ports, making it suitable for QSFP+/QSFP28 fabric switch interconnects. Maximum insertion loss is specified at 0.35 dB, ensuring compliance with IEEE and Fibre Channel channel loss requirements.

The module is designed for use with Eaton’s N484‑series modular chassis (such as N484‑01U or N484‑00U), which house multiple cassettes to build out high‑density fiber panels in racks or enclosures. Its rack‑mountable cassette form factor allows tool‑free installation and removal without disturbing adjacent modules, enabling rapid reconfiguration or scaling of fiber infrastructure.

From an integration perspective, this breakout cassette works within standard singlemode fiber ecosystems and aligns with cabling recommendations provided by Eaton, including compatibility with N370 and N390‑series patch cables. The B‑ polarity MTP ports and LC duplex outputs support mixed‑speed environments, enabling backbone links at 40 Gb/100 Gb to feed multiple lower‑speed interfaces without replacing fiber trunks.

A typical deployment involves installation into an N484 panel in a central distribution area or data hall rack, converting high‑density QSFP+/QSFP28 MTP uplinks to LC patching for 10 Gb/25 Gb ports on access switches or servers. Cable managers are used to route LC terminations to their destinations while preserving bend radius and minimizing insertion loss.

This cassette should not be used as a standalone field termination point without the appropriate N484‑series chassis and structured fiber management infrastructure; it is strictly a component for modular fiber distribution panels. It also is not designed for multimode fiber systems (e.g., 50/125 OM3/OM4) unless explicitly specified by a compatible variant.

Key Features

• Breaks out 3× 8‑fiber MTP/MPO trunks to 12 LC duplex

• Supports 10/25/40/100 Gb Ethernet architectures

• 9/125 µm singlemode fiber optimized for long‑haul links

• Polarity B MTP ports for parallel optics connectivity

• Tool‑free installation in N484 modular chassis