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NFN Network Description

Peer-to-peer network
Minimum hardware requirement for NFN
2 nodes connected via wire or fiber

Supports 103 Nodes with a maximum capacity

of 324,360 points.
It will support up to 54 nodes when it is set
up to circulate digital audio messages from
a DVC node.
Each node requires a unique address and it
communicates with other nodes via a network
interface board.
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8th Edition Nodes

AFP-200 / AFP-300 /
AFP-400
AM2020, AFP-1010
NFS-3030
NFS-640
Network Control
Annunciator (NCA)
Network Control Station
(NCS 2.0 to 4.x)

9th Edition Nodes

DVC/DVC-EM
NCA-2
NFS2-3030
NFS2-640
NFS-320
Network Control Station
(NCS 5.0 to 5.9)
ONYXWorks

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Network Interface Boards

The physical interface which connects nodes
forming a network:
NAM-232W, NAM-232F
AFP-200/300/400

SIB-NET with MIB-W, MIB-F, MIB-WF

NCM-W, NCM-F
NFS2-3030, NFS-3030, NFS2-640, NFS-640, NFS-320,
NCA-2, NCA, DVC

NCS-NCW, NCS-NCF
NFN-GW-PC-W, NFN-GW-PC-F
RPT-W, RPT-F, RPT-WF

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Network Communications Module

(NCM)
Connects to the NUP (Notifier Universal
Protocol) port on Onyx Fire Alarm Panels,
NCA, NCA-2 and DVC.
Each NCM on the network MUST be
running the same version.

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NCM-W

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NCM-F

Channel A & B
connections

Network
connection
Ports (NUP)
Diagnostic
LEDs

Not Used

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NCS-NCW
NFN-GW-PC-W

NCS-NCF
NFN-GW-PC-F

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Repeaters (RPT)
Repeaters (RPT) regenerate data signals
between network nodes, extending
communication distances.
RPT-W two twisted pair wire ports
RPT-F two fiber optic cable ports
RPT-WF one twisted pair wire port and one fiber
optic cable port.

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Ground fault detection

feed-through
Threshold
Selection for
Port A and
Port B

Port A and
Port B

Port B

24V

RPT-W

RPT-F

Threshold
Selection for
Port A

Port A

RPT-WF

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Network Configurations
NFN is capable of communicating using
two types of wiring styles, style 4 and 7.
Style 4
A single open, wire-to-wire short, wire-to-wire short
and open, wire-to-wire short and ground, or open and
ground results in fragmentation of the network

Style 7
A single open, wire-to-wire short, wire-to-wire short
and open, wire-to-wire short and ground, or open and
ground will not result in fragmentation of the network.
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Point-To-Point Configuration
Wiring a Noti-Fire-Net in Style 7 point-to-point.

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Point-To-Point Configuration
A point-to-point wiring configuration is defined as a twisted-pair
segment with ONLY two nodes/repeaters attached to it.
Terminating resistors are required at the beginning and the end of
every segment and are built into each MIB/RPT/NAM232.
Termination is done with slide switches on the NCM/NCSNCW/NFN-GW-PC-W.
Terminate

Terminate

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Terminate

Bus Configuration
A bus wiring configuration is defined as a twisted pair
network with more than two nodes.
Termination is only required on the FIRST and LAST
node of the bus. Remove termination on the middle
nodes of the bus.
TERMINATE

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Combination Network

BUS
Gymnasium

Science
Building

Point-to-Point
24V

Point-to-Point

Admin Building

Cafeteria

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Wire Connections
Polarity does not matter on network wiring.

MUST USE

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Wire Connections

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Wire Connections

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WRONG

Fiber Connections

Rx B

Tx B Rx A Tx A

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Rx B

Tx B Rx A Tx A

Mixing Wire and Fiber

RPT-WF

NCM-W
24V

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NCM-F

Network Wiring Requirements

When designing the wiring layout of a

NOTI-FIRE-NET system, the following
limitations must be considered:

1. The length of each individual twisted pair or

fiber optic network communication circuit
segment is limited.
2. The system path length is limited.

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Network Wiring Requirements

1
B

Network
Node

2
B

Network
Node or
repeater

Network
Node or
repeater

Network
Node

Point-to-point segments 1, 2, and 3.

Each segment is connected to only two nodes/repeaters
and can not exceed the limits of the wire used.

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Limit on System Path Length

End of Network

End of Network

4
B

Network

Network
Node

Node
B

Network
Node or
repeater

Network
Node or
repeater

Network
Node or
repeater

Network
Node or
repeater

3
System Path Length = Sum of the
length of Segments 1, 2, 3, and 4.

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Overall Distance
(Feet)
450,000
400,000
350,000
300,000
250,000
200,000
150,000
100,000
50,000
0
0

50

100
150
200
Total Number of Nodes/Repeaters

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250

Limit for Fiber Optic Circuits

The attenuation of cabling between two nodes/repeaters is limited
by cable choice.
Fiber optic circuits are point-to-point only, NO Star or Bussing is
allowed.
Use repeaters (RPT-F) to extend segments.

Attenuation limits for multimode fiber:

62.5/125m cable = 8dB limit
50/125m cable = 4.2dB limit
Use industry standard equipment using a test wavelength of
850 nanometers to calculate dB loss.

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Calculating approximate dB loss

1.

2.

3.

Calculate loss due to cable look up the rated dB

loss per foot from manufacturers specifications.
Multiply this by the length of cable between 2
nodes/repeaters to determine loss due to cable.
(Loss/ft x length in ft)
Calculate loss due to connectors/splices Look up
the dB loss for each connector and splice. Add all
figures to determine loss due to connectors/splices.
Calculate total loss Add the attenuation factors
obtained in steps 1 & 2. This will provide an
approximate attenuation total.
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Calculating approximate dB loss

2. Calculate loss due to connectors/splices
Look up the dB loss for each connector and splice.
Connectors = 0.3 dB loss for most adhesive/polish connectors.
0.75 dB loss for most prepolished/spliced connectors.
Splices = Typically 0.3 dB loss for each splice

1.
Add all figures to determine loss due to connectors/splices.

E.g. There are two prepolished connectors and one splice

between the networked nodes
(0.75 + 0.75 + 0.3) = 1.8 dB loss

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Calculating approximate dB loss

3. Calculate total loss
Add the attenuation factors obtained in steps 1 & 2. This
will provide an approximate attenuation total, which
should be 8 dB or less for the standard NFN.
Step 1 (.001 x 1800) =
Step 2 (0.75 + 0.75 + 0.3) =

1.8 dB loss
+ 1.8 dB loss

Step 3 Approximate total loss =

3.6 dB

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HS-NCM Overview
Increased Node Count
200+ Node Addresses on HS-NCM even when using
Digital Audio
Current NCMs 103 Nodes, 54 Nodes w/Digital Audio
Single Channel Digital Audio over NFN
Future releases will allow multiple channels of Digital
Audio over NFN
HS-NCM can have two node addresses per module
ONYX Series Compatible (8th and 9th Edition)
Flash Memory

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HS-NCM Overview
NFN on IP based VDSL Network (Very High
Data Rate Subscriber Line)
The HS-NCM is NOT compatible with the
standard NCM Noti-Fire-Net Network.
Supports NUP Universal Protocol
Can be configured as a network repeater
Installs in same single module bay as NCM
Replacement for all IP based Gateways
BACNET GATEWAY
NWS
NFN-GW-EM
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HS-NCM Hybrids
HS-NCM-WSF

HS-NCM-WMF

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HS-NCM Applications
DVC,NCA-2,Gateway
or another FACP

NUP
USB
NFN

NUP

HS-NCM
2 Node
Addresses

USB
NFN

Veri-Fire Tools

100
HS-NCM

HS-NCM

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Blah,Blah,Blah,
Blah,Blah,Blah.

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he talking
about ?

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Questions,
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