My TN Connection

More and more organizations are requiring longer distances on 1000BASE networks, especially in the Telco, Service Provider, utilities and transport market sectors. We are all aware of the limitations on multimode fiber and that distances of up to 125km can be achieved by using single mode fiber. But, what options do organizations that require 400km distances, yet only have multimode fiber interfaces (1000BASE-SX) on their devices, have? continue »

More and more products are being released with single mode single fiber optics and can be perceived as being very expensive, but are they?

What is single mode single fiber?
The answer is that it is possible to transmit and receive using one strand of single mode fiber. This is achieved by using two different wavelengths - one end will transmit at 1550 and will receive at 1310 and vice versa for the other end. By using these wavelengths the signals will never collide.

continue »

When one is looking to make a purchase of a networking switch or media converter, the type of fiber connector to purchase can occasionally be overlooked. Although, there are a variety of fiber optic connectors available on the market these days, I will present the five most common and touch on the differences between them.

Fiber optic connectors terminate the end of an optical fiber cable, which enables a quicker connection and disconnection then splicing would. From my experience, organizations tend to choose one type of connector to standardize on. This connector is normally based on the equipment or the fiber type (one for multimode and one for single mode) the organization is currently utilizing in their existing network. continue »

What is Super Ring? Let me first explain Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) and Rapid Spanning Tree Protocol (RSTP). With dealing with Ethernet switches and a solution that involves using multiple switches connected together one must be aware of possible bridge loops.

As an example, if you were to not have a switch that supports STP or RSTP and had multiple active paths between network switches a bridge loop would occur. Bridge loops will create several problems for you like the MAC address table used by the switches could fail since the same MAC addresses are seen on multiple ports. Also, a broadcast storm will occur which will send out unwanted traffic across your network, this will consume all available CPU resources and bandwidth. continue »

A question often raised is whether media converters can support large packets (jumbo frames), but before that question is answered let me explain large packets.

Historically, Ethernet was defined with a maximum packet size of 1518 bytes, where 4 bytes were used for the header (destination address, source address, type or length) 4 bytes were used for the trailer (checksum) and a maximum of 1500 bytes for the data payload.  As networks have developed so has the need for new features and speeds. Such features as VLAN, QoS, ToS, and others mean there is the need for additional header details. continue »