On Mon, 29 Nov 2010, Matt Simmons wrote: > The reasons to go with fiber over copper are (in order of precedence > in my mind, anyway): > > 1) Length > > If you're over the 100m distance (or really, anywhere close to it), > you'll need to use fiber > > 2) Interference > > Copper cables are subject to EMI, which optical fiber isn't. If you're > running networking through, oh I dunno, crazy manufacturing spaces > with all kinds of electromagnets and bizarre electrical fields, then > maybe glass (or plastic, more likely) is the way to go > > 3) Future-proofing > > If you're running backbone cable, you probably want to use fiber, if > only because it's nearly futureproof (just run more than you think > you'll need). Last time I checked, the top throughput of single mode > fiber hadn't even been determined, let alone approached. As faster > transceivers are put into place, if your wiring infrastructure can > stay the same, then that's a big win.
4) switch isolation If you have bad power the fact that you don't have a conductor between switches can make things more reliable (eliminating ground loops). this problem is more likely with longer distances. If you are setting up High Availability with two switches and different servers connected into each switch, having a fiber connection between switches means that no matter what happens inside one switch, it cannot send excessive voltage to the other switch via the connecting cable. David Lang _______________________________________________ Tech mailing list [email protected] https://lists.lopsa.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/tech This list provided by the League of Professional System Administrators http://lopsa.org/
