Cabling Dilemma

[cygan]

This case refers to my client's office where about 23 users are connected via Cat5E cables to a Giga Switch(i.e 24 Nos. 10/100 ports& 2 Gigabit Ports). A server running win 2000 server is conneceted to the switch via a CAT6 Giga . This setup is on the first floor of an industrial establishment which houses hundreds of other offices & small factories. The client also has an office on the ground floor right below this office, which has about 15 computers connected to a 10/100 switch which in turn is uplinked to the Giga Switch via CAT5E cable. The client has now purchased another office, which is to house nearly 24 more computers connected via Cat5e cables to a Gigabit switch similar to the one on the first floor. All the 3 offices have to be linked. That means the Gigabit switch on the second floor has to be uplinked to the Giga switch on the first floor.The problem is both these offices are not situated vertically one above the other, but at a distance of nearly 100 mtrs off the vertical. The wiring length when calculated comes to nearly about 115 -120 mtrs. Secondly the backbone cable has to pass over various corners of the building(atleast 15) to link the two switches. Thirdly, it has to pass through the passage over the entrances of various offices where there are are a ot of electrical harnesses & cables. I plan to use Cat6 Giga STP for this purpose. Would that be a feasible solution? Because of the various turns and the length to be covered, I am a little confused. Or can anyone please post a better solution keeping in mind the stated parameters. An early reply would be greatly appreciated.Thanx.

 

[spidey07]

if the lengths are over 100 meters end-2-end then you MUST use fiber.

Shielded twisted pair used for any kind of ethernet could cause you problems as well, ethernet is for unshielded cable.

So if you have a cable span greater than 100 meters, all cables for that office would go into a switch. Then that switch is connectd via fiber to the central switch.

 

[cygan]

Can fiber be used over turns and radiuses. Is there any attachment for connecting fibre to any Giga Copper Switch. Please let me know immediately. Thanx

 

[DainBrammage]

Yes fiber can bend as long ias its a gradual bend keep in mind the core is made of glass.

You can use media converters at each end of the fiber to to convert it from fiber to ethernet.

 

[Colebert]

Running cat 6 across all that distance, through the bends, and near the electrical stuff is just asking for trouble. its easy enough to mess up a straight 6ft cat6 run, let alone the path you're talking about.

I agree with the fiber recommendation.

This website/store has great info for beginners: www.lanshack.com

 

[Garion]

OK, so you need to run fiber. Some things to keep in mind:

Yes, fiber can be run, but there is a maximum amount of bend that it can have. In general, you want to avoid sharp bends. For a good rule of thumb (that I'm just making up here!), try to picture that you're wrapping the fiber around a basketball - Don't make any bends sharper than that. You probably just need multimode fiber. Think about running a flexible conduit for your fiber to protect it and give you a bit of room for growth - Don't forget to include a pull string!

It sounds like your switches are all designed for copper gigabit, but you need fiber to reach the new site. You have two choices to make this work. You can either buy new switches or you can buy some media converters, to take the copper to fiber and vice versa on the other end. They are generally available,
here is one example of what to look for. (Not that I necessarily know anything about this one - It's just the first google hit for "1000Baset media converter "). Media converters are probably cheaper, but new switches would mean less moving parts and more reliability.

Last thing - Do some research on fiber and make sure you get the right kind of fiber for your need and you get the connectors (there are 3-4 different ways fiber cables can be terminated) that work with the equipment you chose.

- G