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Upgrading FDDI To Gigabit- FDDI-Gigabit Migration- FDDI- Gigabit Ethernet SwitchesGigabit Ethernet Switch Installations- Gigabit Switch Installation Bay Area Switch Installation

Upgrading FDDI to Gigabit Ethernet

ATEK is a certified design-build reseller of MRV switches and also offers a FDDI- Gigabit Ethernet migration solution.The Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI) protocol has been in common use in network backbones for a decade. FDDI provides a shared 100Mbps connection amongst many nodes using a ring topology. In most cases, individual hosts are connected to this backbone through bridges that attach many 10Mbps Ethernet connections to the 100Mbps FDDI backbone. FDDI allows ring-length to be up to 2km in distance, over multimode fiber-optic cabling, and is in common use in campus Enterprise backbones, especially in the government and financial industries. Most installations also use a redundant ring for backup purposes.

As application bandwidth has grown over the last decade, FDDI networks have been unable to scale to match the requirements. Today it is necessary to have well over 100Mbps on the network backbone, and so switched Gigabit Ethernet is a common choice to leave room for future growth. Unfortunately, the distance limitation over multimode fiber using Gigabit Ethernet is 550m, when using standard fiber-optic interface types.

MRV has developed a unique technology, Gigabit Multimode Extension (GMX), which actually couples enough power into multimode fiber to run Gigabit Ethernet to distances of well over 2km. This simple yet powerful technology actually allows Gigabit Ethernet to be a drop-in replacement for FDDI. Without GMX, the network infrastructure must be replaced; that is, multimode fiber-optic cabling must be switched to single-mode fiber-optic cabling. In addition, typical single-mode Gigabit Ethernet prices are much higher than GMX prices, allowing both a cost-elimination in the fiber-optic cabling and a cost-reduction in the network equipment itself. MRV's OptiSwitch family of switching and routing products, as well as the FiberDriver line of physical layer products provide GMX technology to bypass the limits of traditional multimode fiber.

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Gigabit Ethernet technology by itself does not provide the ring-redundancy that FDDI provides, however MRV offers a wide range of standards-based redundancy protocols, including Rapid Spanning Tree for a fast fail-over to backup fiber-optic connections. Since typical FDDI networks have 2 fiber-optic pairs running from each device to the next in the ring, it is quite simple to use redundant Gigabit Ethernet connections. MRV also provides optical fail-over equipment to protect the individual fiber-optic connections and cables. Optionally, the network administrator can choose to use Link Aggregation technology instead of redundancy technology to interconnect the devices. Using Link Aggregation, the fail-over capability still exists, but the secondary link is kept active to supply extra backbone bandwidth.

When upgrading from FDDI to Gigabit Ethernet, one must be sure to check the fiber-optic distances and make decisions about what kind of topology and redundancy to implement. If the distances from device to device are small enough, standard Gigabit Ethernet (1000Base-SX) technology is sufficient. For larger distances, MRV provides the unique GMX technology to extend each link up to 2km. MRV equipment also provides a wide range of topologies and redundancy protocols, either at Layer-2 or Layer-3, allowing a seamless upgrade to connect the 10Mbps, or even 100Mbps end-stations to a Gigabit Ethernet backbone. This solution removes the backbone bottleneck and even allows room for future growth without any change to the network infrastructure.

ATEK Communications has been installing and upgrading customers to FDDI To Gigabit, FDDI-Gigabit Migration, FDDI- Gigabit Ethernet Switches and offering competitively priced Gigabit Ethernet Switch Installations in the Bay Area for years. We specialize in gigabit ethernet switch installations. ATEK has also been recently approved as a certified MRV and Wideband switch reseller which allow you to get gigabit ethernet over your existing cable plant -enabling you to achieve this by investing in our gigabit ethernet switch and a gigabit ethernet nic card.. The Wideband gigabit ethernet switches are the only switches in the world that can deliver gigabit ethernet withour rewiring that will save your company thousands of dollars.Recent developments have changed the way the industry looks at Gigabit Ethernet. Cost barriers and problems working on existing wiring have been eliminated, resulting in widespread adoption. See what applications are driving Gigabit deployment, how productivity is being increased and what migration strategies are recommended.

Gigabit Multimode Extension


What is GMX?
The MRV Gigabit Multimode Extender solution applies a unique technology that allows the transmission of high-speed signals over Multimode fibers to distances much longer than the standard.  Standard 802.3z Gigabit Ethernet, 1000-BaseSX, allows distances up to 550 meters.  With MRV’s GMX technology, Gigabit Ethernet Multimode fiber-optic networks can extend up to 2km.  This allows for the use of high-speed backbone protocols over fibers that were originally used for FDDI rings.  The simplicity of the solution ensures new service benefits with a low-cost deployment and an efficient use of existing fiber infrastructure.  It also provides for a low-hassle upgrade to Gigabit Ethernet from an existing FDDI backbone.
 
The GMX technology also works at 100Mbps, extending to distances of up to 8km over Multimode fiber.  Typical 100Mbps distances are 2km over Multimode fiber.  This dramatically increases the available fiber plants that can be used to support 100Mbps Ethernet.
 
GMX technology can even be deployed in Wave-Division Multiplexing (WDM) environments.  MRV’s FiberDriver™ line of products includes 4- and 8-channel WDM systems providing up to 8Gbps full duplex bandwidth to a guaranteed distance of 2km over multimode cabling!
 
The technology works by a combination of active and passive components.  By coupling more optical power into the fiber, GMX technology raises the signal-to-noise ratio much higher than in typical Multimode fiber-optic links.  This improved signal strength in turn allows longer distances of fiber-optic cabling to be used.


Who Uses GMX?
GMX is primarily used where Multimode fiber is already installed.  In most cases, the fiber-optic plant was previously used for a lower-speed technology where the allowed distance over multimode cabling was higher.  In these cases, when upgrading to new, faster protocols, these fiber-optic cables would normally have to be replaced by expensive, single-mode cabling.  Worse yet, the cost of the optical transmission equipment for single-mode, even for a few kilometers, is much higher than for multimode solutions.  GMX comes to the rescue by providing a long distance extension capability without either changing the cabling plant or requiring high-cost single-mode optics.
 
GMX technology is often used to upgrade FDDI networks.  Many FDDI networks rely on the 2km distance over multimode cabling that FDDI allows.  When upgrading these networks to Gigabit Ethernet, the installer has previously had to change the cabling, which can be prohibitive.  With GMX technology, no change to the infrastructure is necessary.  The same multimode fiber that works with FDDI to 2km will also work with Gigabit Ethernet, using GMX, up to the same distance.  This capability greatly simplifies this common network upgrade, making it even more effective to switch to Gigabit Ethernet.
 
GMX technology is also deployed as a cost-savings method.  In many cases, for either 100Mbps or Gigabit Ethernet, the required distance is beyond the standard multimode cabling distance, but is not so much that high-power single-mode optics are required.  In these cases, GMX provides a very cost-effective bridge between short-distance multimode and long-distance single-mode options.


How is GMX Deployed?
GMX is deployed just like any other fiber-optic system.  The existing multimode cabling plugs into the GMX module of either the OptiSwitch™ or FiberDriver™ product.  The switch or media converter does all the work; GMX is plug-and-play.
 
When upgrading an FDDI network to Gigabit Ethernet, it is important to remember to use GMX modules in the OptiSwitch™ chassis whenever links of greater than 550m are deployed.  Typically, FDDI networks operate as dual-redundant rings.  In this case, there are several options.  First, the administrator can use redundant Gigabit Ethernet modules for the OptiSwitch™, providing exactly the same functionality as FDDI.  Second, these redundant links could be used together with Link Aggregation to provide more bandwidth on the network backbone (using 2 fiber-pairs, up to 2Gbps of switched bandwidth would replace the 100Mbps of shared bandwidth using FDDI).  And finally, these extra links could be used for other network technologies as a parallel network backbone.


GMX Links

 

OptiSwitch Product Line

The OptiSwitch product line is comprised of four families of products: OptiSwitch, OptiSwitch-F, OptiSwitch-M and OptiSwitch-Z.



OptiSwitch
Modular Ethernet Switching
The OptiSwitch family is designed to meet the needs of high-density fiber optic switching applications. With a variety of chassis styles and over sixty modules, the OptiSwitch family provides an exceptional level of versatility. It supports both high-end switching and IP routing functionality and is ideal for broadband data communication service.


OptiSwitch-F
Fixed-Form Switching and Routing
Fixed-form switches and routers provide a fixed number of Ethernet ports to which you can connect workstations and other network devices, such as servers, routers, and other switches.  Some of these switches also allow plug-in uplink modules.  Many of the product offerings support MRV’s wide range of optical plug-in modules for maximal fiber-optic flexibility.  The switches can be deployed as desktop-to-backbone switches, aggregating 10BASE-T, 100BASE-TX, and Gigabit Ethernet traffic from other network devices.

Most Gigabit Ethernet products require optimum wiring environments with Category 5e or higher. While these products often still connect in less than perfect environments, the result is a number of retransmissions. Just a 1% retransmission rate reduces the bandwidth by 80% (see chart). WideBand products are WGNA Certified to work on all types of Category 5 at 100 meters with less than 1 bit per million error rate. This means the full Gigabit of bandwidth can be delivered Without Rewiring..

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ATEK Communications Gigabit Switch Network Installations

ATEK Communications has been installing networks and switches in the Bay Area for years. ATEK has been recently approved as a certified Wideband switch reseller. The Wideband gigabit ehthernet switches ae the only switches in the world that can deliver gigabit ethernet withour rewiring that will save your company thousands of dollars.

Gigabit Ethernet Without Rewiring - WideBand has been a leading manufacturer of Gigabit-over-copper networking since 1994 and was a developer of the first pre-standard products. When the standard began to be formed, WideBand president Dr. Roger E. Billings was an active member of the steering committee that developed the technologies found in today’s IEEE 802.3ab Gigabit Ethernet. Many of the underlying technologies of the standard, including the method for full duplex transmission and the elimination of data collisions, were originally developed at WideBand.

WideBand products are made in the USA to the highest quality standards and possess a uniquely robust signal that allows full Gigabit bandwidth even on less than perfect installs of Category 5 and 5e cabling. and can deliver Gigabit connections up to 200 meters on Category 5 cable and 100 meters over Category 3 cable. To show signal headroom, WideBand Gigabit products are even demonstrated working over barbed wire!

SEE VIDEO!

Whether your company is a small or medium-sized business or large, corporate enterprise, make your migration to Gigabit and 10 Gigabit Ethernet faster and easier with these products from Wideband, Allied Telesyn, Telco Systems, Netgear,Intel and Cisco. All our gigabit ethernet switches are tested for proven interoperability. With Gigabit and 10 Gigabit Ethernet networking products from Intel and Cisco, it's simple to bring the performance of Gigabit and 10 Gigabit Ethernet to your servers, desktops and storage networks .

WideBand Corporation has developed a line of Ethernet Products that operate 100 Meters over standard Category 5 cable. There is no longer any need to rewire with Cat 5E before upgrading to Gigabit Ethernet.

With the layer 2 patented switching technology from Wideband, you can get LAN Gigabit Ethernet performance - without rewiring. Yes- you can get Gigabit Ethernet over CAT 3, CAT 5, CAT 5e- as long as you maintain your EIA-TIA distances of not over 90 meters- per cable run.

Call us for addtional information on this technology- You will be more than amazed.

High-Speed, Layer 3 Managed Gigabit Switching
Now you can enjoy full Layer 3, Gigabit functionality at an affordable price. The Wideband Managed Gigabit Switch provides maximum throughput and flexibility for demanding networks, with all the Layer 3 features you expect. This 10/100/1000 switch addresses today's high-performance requirements, while providing the control you need – and the future proofing you want. Wideband Switches are ideal as a backbone for 10/100 switches, SAN- or Terrabit Server transport servers, Gigabit servers, or as the robust core of a demanding, all-Gigabit network.

Wideband Switches can be used to inexpensively off-load routers that are segmenting your network and lay the groundwork for new IP-based services. Layer 3 routing combined with Quality of Service, bandwidth provisioning and access control features enable Voice over IP (VoIP) telephony, video conferencing, and other cost-saving applications.

Wideband Switches provide Layer 3 Managed Gigabit Switching over both Layer 2 and Layer 3 managed switching functionality. Its high-performance design offers a comprehensive set of features:

  • Routing: IPv4 routing at wire speed, with up to 512 routes per unit; VRRP (IP redundancy), ICMP, RIP I and RIP II, OSPF2**, and DHCP/BOOTP relay
  • Switching: Port trunking, broadcast storm protection, extensive VLAN support, IGMP snooping, Rapid Spanning Tree, and link aggregation
  • Quality of Service: DiffServ, access control lists, and bandwidth provisioning
Wideband Switches provide the connection flexibility of 24 Copper Gigabit ports, and four small form-factor pluggable (SFP) modules, sold separately. All ports are auto-negotiating and support Auto Uplink™ technology.

Robust
Wideband Switches provides powerful, high-performance data routing and forwarding via 24 auto-sensing, auto-negotiating, Gigabit Ethernet ports. 24 ports are copper Gigabit Ethernet, with four ports offering optional hot-swappable SFP slots, enabling fiber connections.

Non- Blocking Easier Network Management
All the Wideband Switches are simple to set up and use, with an intuitive browser interface for easy configuration. Choose from two management interface options – an easy-to-follow, browser-based interface, and a command line interface, available through console or Telnet. Configuration files can be loaded and saved using TFTP, reducing the need for on-site administration.

Versatile
A comprehensive set of Layer 3 features provides strong functionality in any network. For example, RIP routing for smaller networks and OSPF2 routing for larger, more complex networks. The Wideband Switches help maximize your network capabilities – and your return on investment.

Cost Effective
Call us after reading the technical data. For less than half of the cost of some of our competitor's switches, you will get the latest technology and not even have to rewire to get Gigabit Ethernet.

Upgrading FDDI to Gigabit Ethernet

ATEK is a certified design-build reseller of MRV switches and also offers a FDDI- Gigabit Ethernet migration solution.The Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI) protocol has been in common use in network backbones for a decade. FDDI provides a shared 100Mbps connection amongst many nodes using a ring topology. In most cases, individual hosts are connected to this backbone through bridges that attach many 10Mbps Ethernet connections to the 100Mbps FDDI backbone. FDDI allows ring-length to be up to 2km in distance, over multimode fiber-optic cabling, and is in common use in campus Enterprise backbones, especially in the government and financial industries. Most installations also use a redundant ring for backup purposes.

As application bandwidth has grown over the last decade, FDDI networks have been unable to scale to match the requirements. Today it is necessary to have well over 100Mbps on the network backbone, and so switched Gigabit Ethernet is a common choice to leave room for future growth. Unfortunately, the distance limitation over multimode fiber using Gigabit Ethernet is 550m, when using standard fiber-optic interface types.

MRV has developed a unique technology, Gigabit Multimode Extension (GMX), which actually couples enough power into multimode fiber to run Gigabit Ethernet to distances of well over 2km. This simple yet powerful technology actually allows Gigabit Ethernet to be a drop-in replacement for FDDI. Without GMX, the network infrastructure must be replaced; that is, multimode fiber-optic cabling must be switched to single-mode fiber-optic cabling. In addition, typical single-mode Gigabit Ethernet prices are much higher than GMX prices, allowing both a cost-elimination in the fiber-optic cabling and a cost-reduction in the network equipment itself. MRV's OptiSwitch family of switching and routing products, as well as the FiberDriver line of physical layer products provide GMX technology to bypass the limits of traditional multimode fiber.

Gigabit Ethernet technology by itself does not provide the ring-redundancy that FDDI provides, however MRV offers a wide range of standards-based redundancy protocols, including Rapid Spanning Tree for a fast fail-over to backup fiber-optic connections. Since typical FDDI networks have 2 fiber-optic pairs running from each device to the next in the ring, it is quite simple to use redundant Gigabit Ethernet connections. MRV also provides optical fail-over equipment to protect the individual fiber-optic connections and cables. Optionally, the network administrator can choose to use Link Aggregation technology instead of redundancy technology to interconnect the devices. Using Link Aggregation, the fail-over capability still exists, but the secondary link is kept active to supply extra backbone bandwidth.

When upgrading from FDDI to Gigabit Ethernet, one must be sure to check the fiber-optic distances and make decisions about what kind of topology and redundancy to implement. If the distances from device to device are small enough, standard Gigabit Ethernet (1000Base-SX) technology is sufficient. For larger distances, MRV provides the unique GMX technology to extend each link up to 2km. MRV equipment also provides a wide range of topologies and redundancy protocols, either at Layer-2 or Layer-3, allowing a seamless upgrade to connect the 10Mbps, or even 100Mbps end-stations to a Gigabit Ethernet backbone. This solution removes the backbone bottleneck and even allows room for future growth without any change to the network infrastructure.

 

Tampa Bay Cabling & Network Installation Services- Click Here


 
Fiber Optic Testing Equipment

ATEK also offers fiber opic testing. ATEK can assist your organization whether you need central office testing or outside plant singlemode splicing. For example, there are two methods to measure test loss, single-ended loss and double-ended loss. Single-ended loss works by using only the launch cable while the double-ended loss works by using a received cable attached to the meter also. All are technicians are certified by the manufacturers we represent to perform the tests.

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