Amy Posted December 18, 2009 Posted December 18, 2009 Hi, We have 2 closets. 1 with users and the servers, and one with only users. We are upgrading all of our swtiches to gigabit. We have decided on the netgear gs748ts. We want to run fiber, but I have no idea wear to start. How much can we get, what connectors etc. Can anyone help?
squeeky Posted December 18, 2009 Posted December 18, 2009 fiber between the switches ? or to your servers ?
Amy Posted December 18, 2009 Author Posted December 18, 2009 between the swtiches and between the 2 closets. the servers are on 1 GB CAt 6 already.
squeeky Posted December 18, 2009 Posted December 18, 2009 the first thing you will need is to make sure your switches come with the fiber modules. Like these Network Switch Module - AGM733 the last set of switches we purchased didnt come with the modules just the ports and the modules had to be purchased. Each module basicaly just provides tx and rx ports
Amy Posted December 18, 2009 Author Posted December 18, 2009 Yes, i realize that part. but wont those type of connectors depend on the ends that the fiber wire has?
squeeky Posted December 18, 2009 Posted December 18, 2009 yes it will. Im just looking at those switches spec to try figure out the set thats correct. 1
plexer Posted December 18, 2009 Posted December 18, 2009 Not really you'd have your fibre terminated on a fibre patch panel and then use fibre patch leads to connect to the switch modules
Edu-IT Posted December 18, 2009 Posted December 18, 2009 Not really you'd have your fibre terminated on a fibre patch panel and then use fibre patch leads to connect to the switch modules Is there any harm cabling directly into the modules?
Chillibear Posted December 18, 2009 Posted December 18, 2009 Is there any harm cabling directly into the modules? Not really if you want to save a bit of money, it's just normal/convention to terminate all your cabling in panels then patch as required. It allows you a bit more flexibility in reconfiguring your racks at some point - just adjust the length of the patch leads, etc. I assume you UTP cabling is into a panel? Chances are any fibre products you by/install these days will have LC connections on them (http://www.cs-electronics.com/images-large/LC-End-L.jpg). The main thing to understand with fibre is: singlemode vs multimode. Essentially you use singlemode fibre for long distance runs, the fibre itself isn't expensive, but the transcievers (SFPs) tend to be more expensive. Multimode cabling tends to be used for shorter runs (depending on quality up to 500m type distances) , the SFPs are cheaper. So just be careful you buy the correct SFP for the cabling you get installed. The only other key thing to be careful with is discussing the number of cores in your fibre cable, it can get a bit confusing with people talking about cores, and cables. For each connection you will need two fibre cores (one for transmission in each direction essentially), generally fibre comes as 2 core, 4 core, 8 core, 12 core and 24 core cable. You need to decide if you put in just enough for your needs or if you put in a bit more for some future use you may have in mind. The switch you've selected appears to have four SFP slots so if you wanted to use them all to interconnect the switches you'd want an 8 core cable.
plexer Posted December 18, 2009 Posted December 18, 2009 My fibre including recently installed is terminated to st connectors.
Chillibear Posted December 18, 2009 Posted December 18, 2009 (edited) Re cabling connections, I suppose I should just clarify that the SFPs will take an LC type connector, but if you're terminating into a panel you can choose any termination that takes your fancy for the panel, you'd just need patch leads with the correct ends to then convert and connect to the SFPs in the switches. Fibre has a wonderful selection of different plugs, so I'm sure there will be one that suits! You can mix and match happily, just be careful that you connect them up the right way round so the RX->TX and TX->RX! The only real differences between the various plugs are the signal loss and mechanical strength. My fibre including recently installed is terminated to st connectors. I've tended to opt for LC in recent installations, mainly for the density in a 1U panel, and ease of patching to the SFP. Prior to that the outsourced IT company used to insist on SC connections. I think I've got a load (20 or so) of spare ST-LC patch leads hanging around from an old installation if you want them? Edited December 18, 2009 by Chillibear added note
srochford Posted December 19, 2009 Posted December 19, 2009 What distance is there between the 2 closets and how easy is it to run cable? If there's a good route then the cheapest option is to do it yourself. You can buy pre-terminated fibre which you just pull through, screw on to a patch panel and job done :-) Videk sell the fibre - Videk Online - I'm guessing they won't ship to CT but there are loads of companies that do it.
Amy Posted December 21, 2009 Author Posted December 21, 2009 What distance is there between the 2 closets and how easy is it to run cable? If there's a good route then the cheapest option is to do it yourself. You can buy pre-terminated fibre which you just pull through, screw on to a patch panel and job done :-) Videk sell the fibre - Videk Online - I'm guessing they won't ship to CT but there are loads of companies that do it. The closets are not more than 250 feet apart.
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