Copper UTP Cat 5 or Cat 6 cabling is the most typical medium used to carry Ethernet signals within a corporate data network, as it is the least inexpensive and easiest to install. However, with no shielding, it is also the easiest for a corporate spy to “sniff” and cannot be considered truly secure.
In contrast, 100Base FX fiber optic cable carries the data signals over glass fibers, which cannot be sniffed as the electromagnetic signals are transformed into light signals before being transported by the optical media.
The downside is that fiber optic cable is both more expensive and harder to install, which translates into higher installation costs as well.
The solution? Use fiber optic cable where it matters most, and then convert the data signals into less expensive copper cabling using an efficient and inexpensive media converter such as those available from Allied Telesyn. Or install a dual copper-fiber optic network, and use switches and routers that support both mediums – available from wide variety of providers. Media conversion switches are also available, as are media conversion switches that source PoE (Power over Ethernet) for the copper portion of the network.
The downside to this approach is that your network will be hard wired in the wall – so if you choose to move the location of the group that requires the fiber optic cabling to a new location within the building just to keep people on their toes, you will have to upgrade wiring in that new location as well. Another downside is that fiber optic cable does not allow the use of PoE or Power over Ethernet to be deployed.
But the added peace of mind that increased security brings for locations such as legal and accounting may be well worth this lack of future mobility.
It pays to plan your network infrastructure such that the fiber runs are kept as short as possible to minimize your overall cost. Structured cabling installers can help you with this planning, which may mean relocating Finance or Legal (balance the costs of the move against the added costs of longer fiber runs) before the network upgrade happens so that shorter runs can be used.
Fiber optic cable also makes sense in areas where a telepresence system is to be installed, as fiber is not subject to EMI interference like copper UTP can be. This leads to cleaner signals and better quality video service. If you have areas that have a lot of electromagnetic noise or sources for interference, fiber cabling may make sense here too.
Last but not least, as signals don’t degrade as readily along fiber cabling as they do on copper cabling, fiber cables can be run for incredibly long distances. This can be costly, but if you need to have a run longer than 500 meters (the limit for coaxial cable), then fiber is definitely the way to go. This cable can be run underground as well.
If you liked this article, tell all your friends about it. They’ll thank you for it. If you have a blog or website, you can link to it or even post it to your own site (don’t forget to mention http://www.intsysinst.com as the original source).