Gigabit Networking Question

[mikeg]

Ok I am thinking of upgrading the network and I would like to go to maybe Gigabit Ethernet. What are the wiring specs and what type of cables does it use. Anyone Know?
Mike

 

[Kell]

There are two varieties of Gigabit Ethernet. One uses SC Fiber--a full-duplex connection composed of two fiber-optic lines, one for transmit, one for receive. The other ("gigabit over copper") uses the same type cables as Fast Ethernet, just stricter tolerances.

Gigabit over copper is limited to 100 meters. I believe Cat6 cable is required for reliable transmission, but Cat5e does well enough if you run your network over a reasonably fault-tolerant protocol (i.e. TCP/IP). I believe (not 100% certain) that gigabit over SC fiber goes to 500 meters, but it can't take much bend radius. Sharp creases in your fiber-optic cabling will not make gigabit happy.

Gigabit over copper is generally much less expensive than gigabit over fiber. Fiber Gigabit cards cost upwards of $400 last I checked; high-quality copper Gigabit cards can be had for less than $200. Cabling becomes an issue as well, as fiber optic cable costs more to manufacture and typically has to be done in a factory with expensive stationary tools--fiber optic cables are not the sort of things you can punch easily out in the field. Cat5e/6 cables, OTOH, can be punched quickly and relatively easily for <$100 worth of hand tools.

Fiber optic hardware is also somewhat more dangerous to work with, mainly in terms of eye damage. Someone getting careless or stupid with fiber optics can get himself permanently blinded.

 

[ScottMac]

Gig can be run over either Single Mode or Multi-mode fiber, depending on the transciever/GBIC (as well as copper).

I believe all of the "deals" being offered for "cheap" Gig are using copper.

Cat5e or better is strongly recommended.

Near-perfect termination and quality components are vital for clean/fast/error-free transmission.

FWIW

Scott

 

[Garion]

Gigabit requires a minimum of CAT5e - Cat6 really isn't a spec yet, it's someone trying to sell you a more expensive cable. If you do it, be sure to get good quality store-bought cables - It's not worth it to try to make your own. It's a pain, good crimpers are expensive and your quality will never be as good as commercial cables. They are reasonably cheap, so it's well worth it.

And.. Don't spend a lot of cash on GigE equipment - It's really not going to get you a tremendous amount of performance on your typical home PC without all the bells and whistles of an enterprise-class server. (Things like SCSI RAID, etc.). If you DO go for it, make sure you've got a 64-bit PCI slot and a 64-bit PCI card. 32-bit isn't worth it.

- G