The growing number of technology-driven devices and their bandwidth requirements are driving long-distance extensions in LANs. In many cases, WANs and LANs are converging, adding to further complexities and challenges. To mitigate and simplify them, network engineers are nowadays using fiber cables for quick extensions. The fiber cables are cheaper than regular copper cables and offer lot of benefits in terms of transmission, signal clarity, and performance. Having said that, does that mean all LANs and WANs are made of fiber optic cables? No. The reality is a large percentage of LANs and WANs still use legacy routers, switches, and cables. Replacing these devices or cables with fiber optic devices may not be a feasible option due to the huge upfront investment and efforts involved. Does legacy infrastructure mean limitations on the use of fiber optic cables? How can fiber optic cables and copper cables work together? The answer to these questions lies in media converters. These devices enable network engineers to maximize the value of their legacy investments while taking advantage of fiber optic devices and cables. How do these media converters work? What are the different types of media converters? How to choose the right media converter for your application? This post aims to answer all these questions and more.

 

A Quick Analysis of Media Converter

A media converter is a type of device that supports the photoelectric signal conversion and enables seamless integration of copper and fiber cables in a network. The device accepts the electrical signal from the copper cable and converts it to the optical signal of the fiber cable for transmission or vice versa. Many experts believe that media converters are mainly pass-through devices, which would accept the electrical signals coming from a switch or a hub and convert them into optical signals without re-timing or re-generating them. The media converters are often confused with Ethernet extenders, but their functioning and performances are entirely different. The media converters and Ethernet extenders both support Ethernet 10/100/1000 MBPs, the efficiency of Ethernet extenders depend on the type of media used. They convert Ethernet signals to DSL and revert them to electrical signals across copper cables. The transmission capability of the media converter is up to 160 km and the Ethernet extender up to 20 km.

Know About the Types of Media Converters

It is important to understand the design of a fiber optic media converter before understanding its types. Typically a media converter comprises two transceivers. These transceivers are known as media attachment units or MAU, which receive and accept data from each other, as well as power supply. Each MAU is connected to a different industry-standard connector that connects to a particular media type. One connector accepts a copper media type as an input and the other fiber. These connectors are designed to be IEEE compliant and they use standard link tests as well as data encoding.

The media converters are distinguished into different types based on their conversion. The following are the types based on their conversion.

  • Copper to Fiber Media Converters: As the name suggests, these media converters convert the electrical signals of copper cables into optical signals for their use in fiber-optic networks. Copper to fiber media converters is typically used to extend the transmission beyond 100 meter limit of copper cable. The popularity of these media converters has increased in the last few years owing to the flexibility and cost-effectiveness that they assure. They are widely used in applications where fiber optic cables are used to minimize RFI or EMI interference. You find these media converters in several managed and unmanaged models. They support 10/100/1000 or 10/100 rate switching.
  • Fiber to Fiber Media Converters: Fiber to fiber media converters enable dual fiber to single-fiber conversion and multimode to single-mode fiber conversion. This multimode to single-mode fiber converter is also known to extend network distance through wavelength conversion. It can convert wavelengths from 1310 to 1550 nm. They are employed in applications where the multimode media segments are located at long distances. Owing to their advanced features, these media converters assure 3 R’s – retime, reshape, and re- amplify. These media converters are protocol independent, which is why they support the long-distance transmission of different cable fibers, and wavelengths across different topologies and architectural layouts.

The fiber to fiber media converters are further distinguished into the following types:

  • Ethernet Fiber Mode Converters: These fiber to fiber media converters are designed for Ethernet applications. They are equipped with Ethernet transceivers, which regenerate the signals before passing them to the fiber transceiver port. Ethernet fiber mode converters can convert Ethernet signals to optical signals before transmitting over fiber optic cables. Many 10/100/1000 Ethernet fiber mode converters help to extend transmission distances up to 120 km. Thus, they have emerged as an economical solution for long-distance transmission.
  • SFP to SFP Fiber Mode Converters: They are used to connect two fibers and support all protocols such as fiber channel, Ethernet, FDDI, ATM/SONET OC-X, SDH STM-X, and so on.

Today, you can choose from managed and unmanaged media copper to fiber media converters and fiber to fiber media converters with smart features, which makes them adaptable to changing requirements. The following are a few common features of these media converters.

  • Secure Data Transmission: Today, advanced media converters feature high mean time between failures (MTBF), which improves their reliability and high security for data transmission.
  • Auto MDI/MDI-X: It is quite common to find media converters with this capability, which enables them to identify the incoming cable type and adjust the setting accordingly.
  • Auto-Sensing Ports: As the name suggests, the media converters with auto-sensing ports can adjust themselves to the speed of the LAN.

Why Media Converters are Inevitable Part of Modern LANs

Although media converters are designed for signal conversion, they do more than that. This can be easily proven from the following pointers.

  • Cost-effective Distance Extension: Most CATx cables or copper cables work best for 100 meters. Although fiber cables can work best for 50 km or so, still, using them directly in copper cable networks may not be easy. The media converters will help extend the reach of these fiber cables to 80 km, without any costly upgrades.
  • Minimizes Electromagnetic Interference: Electromagnetic interference is one of the key concerns in LAN infrastructure using copper cables. Fiber optic cables are immune to electromagnetic interference. Media converters help minimize the effect of electromagnetic interference by using fiber optic cables along with these copper cables. The media converters also allow users to take advantage of the highest level of security that fiber optic cables assure.
  • Improves Scalability: Limited scalability is one of the major drawbacks of copper cable infrastructure. Industrial Media converters allow users to extend the distance and add new devices to the network using fiber optic cables. These devices also increase the strength and quality of the network.
  • Cost Savings on FTTD: Most LANs can support Gigabit speeds, still, copper cables fail to meet the high bandwidth expectations of devices. Against this, fiber optic cables can accommodate applications that demand high bandwidth such as voice over IP and streaming media devices. The media converters minimize the requirement for all-fiber devices such as patch panels, all-fiber switches, and network interface cards, thereby making fiber to the desktop (FTTD) cost-effective.
  • Helps Build Large Campus Area Network: There may be several LANs in a given area or campus. Media converters can be used to connect these different LANs to create one campus area network, which spans over a limited geographic area. Both copper to fiber media converters and fiber to fiber media converter can be used in such networks.

Knowing the uses, types, and benefits of these media converters are not enough, you need to pay attention to their quality, configuration, and utility, too. Hence, it is always recommended to get in touch with the industry expert or a well-known manufacturer of these devices. This is because they will work with you and guide you regarding the selection and other aspects.