What sort of Fibre-Optic Cable do I need between switches?

[Tom_M]

Hi all,

I'm doing some network upgrades in my house & would like to run some Fibre-Optic cable between two switches I have in the house.

 

Complete 'newbie' when it comes to Fibre; so I need some guidance as to what cable/bits I need to purchase.

 

Here's my setup:

 

Firewall is Sophos XG w/ the 10-Gigabit SFP+ Module(s) installed, I'd then need a cable to go between this & my Ubiquiti 48-Port PoE Switch (that also has SFP+) ports - THEN,

I'd be going from this switch, through the floors (under floor-boards) and out the exterior of the house for approximately 5m (likely in conduit?) before going into the annexe where it'll connect to the next switch.

 

Everything is 10-Gig capable apart from the last switch. Does it matter if I just use an SFP+ and then a SFP module to connect the switches?

 

Any cable that's recommended? Aware there's loads of different types. Aim is to upgrade the last switch to 10-Gig capable when finances permit...!

 

Thanks.

[dmj]

OM3 is rated upto 330M for 10GB.

You should be able to get preterminated lc-duplex OM3 cable.

 

if you are going under floors, consider getting armoured cable to avoid rat bites cutting through it.

 

edit: SFP+ is backwards compatible with SFP

[Tom_M]

OM3 is rated upto 330M for 10GB.

You should be able to get preterminated lc-duplex OM3 cable.

 

if you are going under floors, consider getting armoured cable to avoid rat bites cutting through it.

 

edit: SFP+ is backwards compatible with SFP

 

Thanks for the info! Would this be suitable?

I couldn't find much that showed pre-terminated that was outside-grade. Black PVC conduit is designed to protect from UV etc I think?! 🤣

 

In terms of the SFP vs SFP+: Could I buy 2x SFP+ modules (inc. 1 for the non-SFP+ capable switch) then & it would auto-negotiate back to the correct speeds? The SFP Switch is Cisco so will have to look into if such switches are 'fussy' over which bits etc are used... :/

[3s-gtech]

You should be able to get LC-LC OM3 pre-terminated which should go straight into your SFP modules. No need for joins and further patch cables that way.

[dmj]

Thanks for the info! Would this be suitable?

I couldn't find much that showed pre-terminated that was outside-grade. Black PVC conduit is designed to protect from UV etc I think?! 🤣

Looks Good To Me. (apart from the pics don't match the description)

In terms of the SFP vs SFP+: Could I buy 2x SFP+ modules (inc. 1 for the non-SFP+ capable switch) then & it would auto-negotiate back to the correct speeds? The SFP Switch is Cisco so will have to look into if such switches are 'fussy' over which bits etc are used... :/

 

I don't think SFP will auto negotiate speeds at all, when i said backwards compatible I mean you can put SFP+ into SFP. I still think you have to match speeds. Happy to be corrected on this.

[Norphy]

 

I don't think SFP will auto negotiate speeds at all, when i said backwards compatible I mean you can put SFP+ into SFP. I still think you have to match speeds. Happy to be corrected on this.

 

No, you're right. You can't connect a SFP+ module in one switch to an SFP in another and expect a connection. You can, however, put an SFP module in an SFP+ port and use that to connect to the SFP switch.