博文

目前显示的是 十二月, 2019的博文

Introduction to Horizontal and Vertical Cable Manager

For many IT manager or data center professionals, one of the most difficult task is to keep cables in proper order. Image that you walk into a sever room to troubleshoot cables because of the bad cable management, you see the cable here, cable there, cable everywhere. Can you walking through this without crying?   Now that you have looked at the horrible cable management, it is time for you to do something to avoid joining the terrible cable management hall.   From the above image, we can see that there are bunches of cables in one sever room, which includes power cables, network cables, and in some cases, keyboard or mouse cables. In this situation, proper rack cable management is absolutely essential. Without it, you will need to trace out every cable in the rack anytime, this, of course, can be very time consuming and difficult.   Fortunately, there are many excellent products available on the market, such as cable manager, wire duct, patch panel, cable ties and so on,

Compatible Test of Cisco QSFP-40G-SR4 Optics

When purchasing the third party optics, customers usually suffer from the poor quality and compatibility issue, which is the major obstacle of OEM market. Just as a saying goes, what is good is not cheap. However, this article will prove that the cost-effective OEM optics from fiber-mart.COM are well worth the penny.   fiber-mart.COM, as a professional and reliable manufacturer and supplier of compatible optical transceiver, provides a series of self-developed products which can be highly compatible with many major brands, such as Cisco, HPE, Juniper, Brocade, Arista, etc. In this blog, we are going to present a compatibility testing of our hot-selling Cisco compatible QSFP-40G-SR4 optics on Cisco Nexus 9396PX.   Cisco QSFP-40G-SR4 Optics   Before we come to the major part, let’s have a brief overview of the 40G QSFP-40G-SR4 and the Cisco Nexus 9396PX switch. Cisco QSFP-40G-SR4 Compatible 40GBASE-SR4 QSFP+ transceiver is a short-range transceiver for 40 Gigabit Ethernet. I

100G QSFP28 PSM4 to Address 500m Links in Data Center

100G QSFP28  PSM4 optics is a type of 100G optical transceiver that provides a low-cost solution to long-reach data center optical interconnects. 100G PSM4 (parallel single-mode 4 lane) standard is mainly targeted to data centers that based on a parallel single-mode infrastructure for a link length of 500 m. Compared with the hot-selling 100GBASE-SR4 and 100GBASE-LR4 optics, 100G QSFP28 PSM4 recently wins the popularity among the overall users. This article will provide a complete specification of the 100G QSFP28 PSM4 transceiver and explain the reason why people would need QSFP28 PSM4.   QSFP28 PSM4—A Low-Cost but Long-Reach Solution   100G QSFP28 PSM4 is compliant with 100G PSM4 MSA standard, which defines a point-to-point 100 Gb/s link over eight parallel single-mode fibers (4 transmit and 4 receive) up to at least 500 m. PSM4 uses four identical lanes per direction. Each lane carries a 25G optical transmission. The 100G PSM4 standard is now available in QSFP28 and CFP4 for

How to Choose Fiber Enclosure for Your Data Center

The data center is the heart of a fiber optic network. To ensure its long-term reliable network performance, all the optical equipment within data center should be well organized. However, the current multi-fiber counts and high-density optical cabling put strain in the cable management. Fiber patch enclosure provides solid fiber-optic-link protection and space-saving cable management, which is becoming a must-have component in data center. There are several fiber optic enclosures available on the market that are widely utilized in data center or server room. This article will briefly introduce the commonly used fiber enclosure designs to better meet your data center requirement. LC to LC fiber cable and patch panels are mounted in a fiber enclosure in the following picture.   Fiber Enclosure Designs   Rack mount fiber enclosure is the commonly used type in data center as it provide a convenient and rugged termination point for fiber jumper cables. This rack mount enclosures o

Cabling Guide for Cisco Nexus 9508 Switch

Due to the the ever-expanding data center consolidation, virtualization and cloud technologies, network installers feel the urge to maintain a competitive advantage of their infrastructure. Except for the performance, bandwidth and latency in datacenter cabling, management and operational agility and simplicity have also elevated themselves to the top mind of data center architects and operator. Cisco Nexus 900 series represents a familiar starting point on the journey toward a new era in software-defined network, which is announced to be the most port dense and power efficient plus fastest packet forwarder and programmable data center modular switch in the industry. This article introduces basic information of Cisco Nexus 9000 series and the cabling solutions for Nexus 9508 switch.   Cisco Nexus 9000 Series Switch   According to Cisco’s announcement, the Nexus 9000 Series switch is the foundation of the Cisco next generation data center solution. The Cisco Nexus 9000 Series s

100G Direct and Breakout Cabling Solutions

With the emerging high-speed network standards and rapidly advancing technology, fiber optic network is driven to meet the growing demand for faster access to larger volumes of data. Although 10G/40G Ethernet becomes the mainstream of telecommunication market nowadays, organizations of all sizes still need to be prepared to integrate speeds of 100G and beyond. For data center networking, users can choose different solutions based on the different transmission distance need. In general, there are two kinds of 100G fiber optic solutions: direct cabling and breakout cabling. It is essential for users to understand the detailed information of each type of solution in order to select the one that meets their current and future connectivity needs.   How 100G Optics Develop   After the IEEE completing the certification of the first 100G standard for Ethernet networks, the transceiver industry launched a new type of form factors for 100G connectivity—CFP (“C” for 100, and FP for Form

Guide to Several Materials in Fiber Optic Cable Construction

Fiber optic cable  is considered as one of the most effective transmission medium today for safe, and long-reach communications, and it also offers a number of advantages over copper. In general, fiber optic cable consists of a core, cladding, coating, strengthening fibers, and a cable jacket, which has been clearly introduced in the previous article. Today’s article will focus on the several materials in fiber optic cable construction, as well as their features and applications.   PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride)   Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) is one of the most commonly used thermoplastic polymers in the world. The PVC cable is typically used for patch connections in the data center, wiring closet, and at the desktop. PVC is produced in two general forms, first as a rigid or unplasticized polymer (RPVC or uPVC). The following image shows a ST single-mode pre-Terminated cable (0.9mm PVC Jacket).   Features:   Good resistance to environmental effects. Some formulations are rated f

Whether to Choose 40G DAC or AOC Cables

With the top trend for data center and enterprises to move to higher data rate like 40G, relevant products and technologies are developed to back this new speed (e.g. the 40G optical transceivers and cables). However, there are so many options out there on the market. Network users usually don’t know how to make a choice. Take the 40G cables as an example, the most commonly used 40G cables are the 40G direct attached cable (DAC) and active optical cable (AOC). Each has its unique specification and usage. Which would be the most suitable one for connecting signals across the rack in data center? This article will provide you an ideal answer from the aspect of cabling performance, transmission distance and cost.   Brief Overview of DAC and AOC Cables   QSFP DAC cable  is a form of high-speed cable with “transceivers” on either end used to connect 40Gbqs switches to routers or servers. QSFP+ DAC cable usually comes in either active or passive versions. They are widely available f

How Should I Terminate My Fiber Optic Cable

In today’s day and age, we are more connected than ever. And we expect it.   At the work place we are attending virtual trainings on the latest technologies and we are connecting across the globe with our colleagues in real-time meetings – with just the click of a button.   When we leave work, we are going home using app-based scooters and bicycles that only needs the swipe of a cell phone. And if taking a highway home, you no longer search for change at a toll booth but instead you drive through a toll lane that scans and charges your account as you drive underneath it.   And it doesn’t stop at home. We are answering emails, while streaming Ultra HD video on our smart TV’s, all while having the latest super hero flick downloading on our tablet to watch on an upcoming business trip.   With the ever-increasing demand for the bandwidth needed to meet today’s expectations; how we design, install, and maintain our fiber optic networks must evolve with that same demand. In

The Benefits of Using Media Converters

Are you a network manager or a person working in IT? Have you ever had a need to extend your network infrastructure, but knew that your current cabling could not support the additional length and speeds required? If so, this is a common situation that many people find themselves in now a days. Today, we’re going to talk about  fiber optic media converters  and fiber switches and specifically how they can help you extend your network range, future proof your network speed, and revolutionize the way you manage your data.   So what exactly is a media converter anyway? What is a switch? Well, to start, a media converter is a simple networking device that makes it possible to connect two unlike media types, such as copper and fiber. A switch is a device that connects other devices within a network. You can also connect multiple data cables into a switch to allow communication between other networked devices. Fiber switches can manage the flow of data on a network by receiving and trans