Media converter
A media converter changes signals on a copper cable to signals that run on fiber, letting a company introduce fiber in the network without making other changes.
Because of this capability, network executives who need to upgrade their systems from copper to fiber but don't have the budget, manpower or time, can turn to media converters.
Media converters are also playing a role in facilitating the optical last-mile connection to metropolitan-area networks.
Media converters work on the physical layer of the network. They receive data signals from one media and convert them to another while remaining invisible to data traffic and other net devices. They make one cable "look" like another cable without changing the nature of the network.
In its simplest form, a media converter is a small device with two media-dependent interfaces and a power supply. It can be installed almost anywhere in a network. The style of connector depends on the selection of media to be converted by the unit. In a Fast Ethernet environment, a 100Base-TX to 100Base-FX Media Converter connects a 100Base-TX twisted-pair device to a 100Base-FX compliant single or multimode fiber port that has a fiber-optic connector. In a Gigabit Ethernet, a media converter commonly is deployed to convert multimode to single-mode fiber.
Media converters are as simple to install as patch cables and connectors. Media converters function as physical layer devices; they do not interfere with upper-level protocol information. This lets them support quality of service and Layer 3 switching.
For densely populated installs, up to 16 or more devices can be rack-mounted in chassis-style devices. These chassis-style products can be managed with SNMP so that the media converter becomes just another element in the network diagram - not a black hole.
Media converters were designed to be implemented in Ethernet networks and some ATM applications.
Because media converters are transparent, they do not change speed or duplex mode. Rather, they let the end devices determine the highest common denominator. The speed must be homogenous. Data cannot successfully pass when there is a mismatch of speed and/or duplex mode.
From Media converters bridge fiber gap, Network World Tech Update, 01/28/02.
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Topic: Optical
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