A factory-made fiber cord with connectors at each end, usually simplex or duplex zipcord in 1 to 30 m lengths. Jumpers connect transceivers to patch panels and link panels in cross-connects. Their connector type, polish, fiber type and polarity must match both ends, and they are the cheapest and most often replaced part of a link.
Port's down, swap the jumper for a new one from the bag before we start chasing the backbone.
Also heard as
- patch cord
- patch cable
- fiber jumper
Do not mix it up with
- Pigtail: A pigtail has a connector on one end and bare fiber on the other for splicing.
Related terms
Pigtail
A short fiber with a factory connector on one end and bare fiber on the other, spliced onto a cable to terminate it.
Patch panel
A rack-mounted enclosure of adapters where permanent cable fibers end and jumpers connect them to equipment.
Zipcord
Duplex fiber cable made of two simplex cords joined side by side, like lamp cord, used mainly for patch cords.
Patch
To connect two ports, usually equipment to panel or panel to panel, with a jumper.
Roll
To swap the two fibers of a duplex pair so transmit and receive line up with the far end.