My TN Connection

With the large number of trade magazines focusing on information technology and network cabling, I sometimes find it hard to stay caught up on my reading file. For this reason, I always appreciate receiving suggested reading tips from my friends and colleagues on articles that they have found interesting. One of these articles, entitled Fiber-to-the-Desk Takes the Stand, is in the November 2007 issue of Cabling Business Magazine. In this commentary written by Mr. Bob Ballard, he convincingly argues that the myth of fiber installations always being more expensive than copper installations is no longer true. He says that several projects across the country have proven this and in particular he cites a project at the Houston U.S. Federal Courts office.

Houston U.S. Federal Courts Project
This South Texas Division of the U.S. Courts office was looking for methods of future proofing their network as they were approaching another round of updates. Over the years they have been pulling and re-pulling UTP cable in an effort to keep up with the demand for bandwidth in the courthouses. Mr. Ballard says “from Category 3 to 5e, they had it all”. So in preparation for their next update, they had to answer some questions:

• What was the total cost for switches if they ran copper?
• What would be the total cost of switches and media converters if they installed fiber? How did the cost of fiber cabling compare to that of copper?
• If they installed copper, how long would it be before they would eventually be installing fiber?

The answers to these questions all suggested now was the time for them to make the move to a complete fiber-to-the-desk application. Mr. Ballard continued by saying:

“I have seen network technology standards change dramatically over the past 15 years (10MB, 100MB, 1Gig and now 10G). Every time the speed gets faster, the copper manufacturers come out with their ‘final’ solution to meet the demands. Unfortunately, the US Courts, South Texas Division technicians have been installing and re-installing this ‘final’ solution for years. As a result, organizations attempting to keep up with these standards are forced to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars every 3-5 years because the copper infrastructure will not support the new technology that was being introduced.”

By creating a future proof fiber infrastructure, the Houston Courts office will not only see the cost benefit of eliminating the cycle of cabling upgrades but they will also see other cost saving benefits in the area of maximizing bandwidth capabilities, eliminating EMI/RFI interference, and establishing a more reliable network without alien crosstalk issues often associated with a copper network.

Implementing FTTD
When creating a fiber-to-the-desktop environment, organizations generally have three options to look at; stand-alone media converters, PCI powered media converters, and fiber network interface cards (NICs).

Stand-alone Media converter
A stand-alone media converter is the simplest method for connecting fiber cabling to a copper based workstation. A short UTP cable connects the media converter to the existing copper NIC and the media converter provides the fiber interface. Stand-alone converters requires a power supply, usually an external AC/DC converter power supply but some media converters can also be powered via a USB port from the workstation or PC. A stand-alone converter can be simply set on the desktop or it can be mounted under the desk or on the wall with a wall mount bracket.

PCI Powered Media Converter
In an effort to reduce the risk of a stand-alone converter being disconnected from its power source, a PCI powered media converter is mounted internally in the workstation or PC. This converter only draws its power from the PCI bus and does not consume any CPU processing power. While mounting the PCI powered converter is slightly more time consuming since it involves opening up the PC and installing the device in a standard PCI slot, it is more secure than a desk top converter and it is still a plug and play solution.

Fiber Network Interface Card
Upgrading your copper NIC to a fiber NIC is another option for fiber-to-the-desk. Since this solution replaces the original copper NIC, it does involve installing the device and the process of configuring the NIC. While this does take more time and IT resources, it is the most secure method for fiber connectivity at the desktop.

If you are considering upgrading your cabling plant, I think you to will find this fiber-to-the-desk article an interesting read.

About the author of the article:
Bob Ballard, owner of BDI DataLynk, is a BICSI certified Registered Communication Distribution Designer and is recognized by the Fiber Optics Association as a Certified Fiber Optics Instructor. Bob has been actively involved in the telecommunications industry for over 20 years and his expertise in the area of fiber connectivity has made him a sought after consultant. [See Bob’s Commentary on Fiber-to-the-Desk.]

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