How to Use Vertical Cable Organizers for Rack Cable Management

Cable management, especially rack cable management, is a always the time-consuming and tedious job for IT network workers. Cable organizers like patch panel, 1U/2U cable managers and D-rings are commonly used by network workers in server rack cable management. Then how to use these cable organizers for rack cable management effectively? This article will explore some details for you.

Single-sided Cable Organizer in Rack Cable Management

The single-sided vertical cable organizers, also known as cable manager, are usually installed on open frame racks to organize and protect cables. As it is single-sided, the finger ducts are facing towards the front side or users. It is in most cases attached to the rack and won’t take up much room in rack cable management. The 45U single-sided cable organizer provided by FS.COM is capable of managing all the fiber and copper cables in a server rack. It is equipped with molded cable management fingers which have integral bend radius control. Each of this single-sided vertical cable manager consists of two 22.5U sections in one package. The two parts can be seamlessly combined together when they are installed along a standard 45U height server rack. The user-friendly cover on this rack cable organizer can help protect the cable from damage and dust-proof, and also hide the cables inside.

vertical cable organizer

Dual-sided Cable Organizer in Rack Cable Management

Different from the single-sided cable organizer, the dual-sided cable manager is designed with management fingers on both front and rear sides. The double-sided structure enables the maximize space utilization, which can better meet the vertical cable management need. The 45U plastic dual-sided vertical cable organizer is deployed to deal with the slack cables, preventing the chaotic cable runs. Its soft finger ducts on front and back sides allowing for quick and easy cable routing on the server racks. Two 22.5U sections being coupled seamlessly form a complete 45U dual-sided vertical cable manager which is suitable for both fiber and copper cabling. The covers on both sides can protect cables from damage and dust. It can be a good partner of horizontal cable managers. In addition, this vertical cable manager has multiple finger ducts that can store a large number of cables.

How to Use Vertical Cable Organizers for Server Racks

The vertical cable organizers are often deployed where cables run chaotically. When applying them, assemble all the gadgets including the cover and the easily inserted brackets. Use screws to fix them on the open frame rack. After the two 22.5U dual-sided cable organizers being matched seamlessly, the cable management can go on. To produce a tidy and clean appearance, care should be given that the cables on the same row should be passed through the same gaps between two fingers. Get some cable ties to achieve better effects. After the cabling, close the cover. Success. Here is a video introducing how to apply vertical cable organizers in rack cable management.

Conclusion

Vertical cable organizer, or vertical cable manager, can simplify rack cable management effectively. It has nothing to do with the network but serves the cable management. In the cabling system, only combing the cable runs clearly can the network system work in an orderly way. FS.COM has been all along working on the growing conundrum to offer you market-leading quality and novel design. We now have different cable organizers available for your reference to deal with vertical and horizontal cable management.

What Is InfiniBand and InfiniBand Switch?

In 1999, with the rapid development of CPU performance, the existing defective I/O systems had become a bottleneck restricting server performance. The telecommunication industry had urgent need for a powerful next generation I/O standard and technology to cater for the high speed communication network. Under this circumstance InfiniBand originated. Accordingly InfiniBand switch combined high-speed fiber switch with InfiniBand technology was invented to achieve node to node communication in IB networking. This post will introduce what is InfiniBand, what is InfiniBand switch and how to bridge InfiniBand to Ethernet.

What Is InfiniBand?

It was until 2005 that InfiniBand Architecture (IBA) has been widely used in clustered supercomputers. And ever since more and more telecom. giants are joining to the camp. Now InfiniBand has become one of the mainstream high performance computer (HPC) interconnect technologies in HPC, enterprise data centers and cloud computing environments. InfiniBand, infinite bandwidth, as the name reveals, is a high-performance computing networking communication standard. It features high throughput, low latency and high system scalability. InfiniBand as a cutting-edge technology, is ideal for communications between servers, server and storage, server and LAN/WAN/Internet. InfiniBand architecture is to use this technology to achieve multiple link networking for data follow between processors and I/O devices with non-blocking bandwidth.

InfiniBand topology HPC cluster an InfiniBand switch is integrated in each of the chassis

Figure 1: InfiniBand topology HPC cluster – an InfiniBand switch is integrated in each of the classis.

What Is InfiniBand Switch?

InfiniBand switch is also called as IB switch. Similar to PoE switch, SDN switch and NVGRE/VXLAN switch, IB switch is to add InfiniBand capability to network switch hardware. In the market Mellanox InfiniBand switch, Intel and Oracle InfiniteBand switch are three name-brand leading IB switches. InfiniBand switch price also varies from vendors and switch configurations. IB switch ports comes with different numbers, connector types and IB types. For instance, the leading IB switch vendor Mellanox manufactures 8 to 648-port QSFP/QSFP28 FDR/EDR InfiniBand switches. In a common 4 × links, FDR and EDR InfiniBand support respectively 56Gb/s and 100Gb/s. In addition to the popular FDR 56Gb/s and EDR 100Gb/s IinfiniBand, you can go for HDR 200G switch for higher speed and SDR 10GbE switch for lower speed. Other IB types available are DDR 20G, QDR 40G and FDR10 40G.

InfiniBand switch in a basic InfiniBand Architecture

Figure 2: InfiniBand switches in a basic InfiniBand Architecture by Mellanox to ensure higher bandwidth, lower latency, and enhanced scalability.

How to Bridge InfiniBand to Ethernet?

As Ethernet and InfiniBand are two different network standards, one question is of great concern – how to bridge InfiniBand to Ethernet? In fact many modern InfiniBand switches have built-in Ethernet ports and Ethernet gateway to improve network environment adaptability. But for cases where IB ports are only on InfiniBand switch, how to connect the layer 2 InfiniBand host to layer 1 multiple gigabit Etherne switches? You may need NICs such as Infiniband card/Ethernet converged network adapters (CNAs) to bridge the InfinBand over Ethernet.

Ethernet gateway Bridge-group bridges InfiniBand switch to Ethernet

Figure 3: An illustration of Ethernet gateway Bridge-group bridges InfiniBand to Ethernet by Cisco.

Or you can buy Mellanox InfiniBand switch series based on ConnectX series network card and SwitchX switch, which supports virtual protocol interconnection (VPI) between InfiniBand and Ethernet. As thus it enables link protocol display or automatic adaptation and one physical Mellanox IB switch can implement various technical supports. The VPI supports 3 modes – the whole machine VPI, port VPI and VPI bridging. The whole VPI enables all ports of the InfiniBand switch run in InfiniBand or Ethernet mode. The port VPI commands some ports of the switch run in IB network and some ports run in Ethernet mode. The VPI bridging mode implements InfiniBand bridging to Ethernet.

Conclusion

InfiniBnad technology simplifies and accelerates link aggreagation between servers and supports server connectivity to remote storage and network devices. InfiniBand switch combines IB technology with fiber switch hardware. It achieves high capacity, low latency and excellent scalability for HPC, enterprise data centers and cloud computing environments. How to bridge InfiniBand to Ethernet in a topology built with InfiniBand switch and Ethernet switch? Devices like channel adapter (CNA), InfiniBand router/Ethernet gateway, InfiniBand connector and InfiniBand cable may be required. To ensure flexible bridging, go for IB switch with optional Ethernet ports or Mellanox InfiniBand switch series with VPI functionality. Of course such InfiniBand switch price can be rather exorbitant, but its advanced features make it worthy of that.

Core Switch vs Normal Switch: What Is the Difference?

In enterprise network, network switch is always an indispensable component. Thus locating right switches in your three-layer architecture is the first step to set up a reliable hierarchical internetworking model. As we know, there are normal access/edge layer switch, aggregation/distribution layer switch and core layer switch. In my last post – What Is Distribution Switch and Why Do We Need it? – the role of distribution switch functioning multiple switch aggregation and inter-VLAN routing has been illustrated. Today we will introduce core switch and what’s the difference between core switch vs normal switch.

What Is Core Switch?

Core switch occupies in the topside layer of the enterprise networking (core layer), which functions as backbone switch for LAN access and centralizes multiple aggregation to the core. Since other 2 lower layers rely upon it, core layer switch must be a highly redundant and powerful layer 3 switch to ensure efficient high-speed and reliable data transmission. One feature on its hardware is that core switch is often a fiber switch to match with high-speed fiber optic cables and fiber optic transceiver modules. In the core layer, switching is ending and routing is beginning. Core switch is also equipped with layer 3 routing features, thus it kills two birds with one stone.

Core switch normal port speed is at least 10Gbps to handle high traffic on the uplink. Say FS S5900-24S 24 Port 10GE SFP+ stackable managed switch. This fully managed fiber 10GbE switch supports a wide range of layer2/3, inter-VLAN routing, MPLS, QoS and many other high-end functionality, natural fit for core layer networking. The switch stacking technology allows you to control the single stack to expand network capacity.

S5900-24S 24 port 10GbE fiber switch ideal for core switch

Figure 1: FS S5900-24S 24 port 10GbE fiber switch is a routing Ethernet core switch with high-performance, high-security, and switch stacking technology, expanding your network to 418Gbps.

What Is Normal Switch?

What we mentioned normal switch is often an edge switch/access switch in the access layer of enterprise network. Or in cases where network topology is not involved such as small office and home environment, normal switches may be used solely to connect end devices. Such access switch in the market often comes with copper switch with a few SFP/SFP+ port. Say S2800-24T4F fanless gigabit managed 24 port switch with 4 combo SFP slots. This quiet energy-saving access switch with abundant ports is ideal for SMBs, labs, schools and other places requiring silent operation. To provide PoE for your PDs, gigabit PoE switch is also widely used as access switch for IP surveillance cameras, VoIP phones and WAPs.

S2800-24T4F fanless 24 port gigabit switch as edge switch rather than core switch

Figure 2: FS recommends S2800-24T4F 24 port gigabit switch for your access layer to ensure quiet and reliable operation.

Core Switch vs Edge Switch: What Is the Difference?

  • Network Layer Location

Core switch is a powerful backbone switch in the central of the network core layer, which centralizes multiple aggregation switches to the core and implements LAN routing. Normal edge switch is in access layer to directly connect multiple end devices.

  • Hardware and Software Feature

What makes a best core switch? A core witch often comes with optimized hardware and software design. A remarkable feature is owning redundancy in configurations such as ports, power and PSU. A core backbone switch is also a layer 3 switch with internal firewall capability as part of its routing functionality. A normal edge switch usually doesn’t require such high demands. Actually it may even not a managed switch in simple end user connection.

core switch vs edge switch deployment scenario

Figure 3: Deploying FS 10G fiber switch as core switch, gigabit PoE switches for PDs and gigabit 48 port switches as access switches.

Conclusion

Core switch is a fatal component in enterprise network core layer, which functions both switching and routing. Compared core switch vs edge switch, core layer switch owns advanced features in hardware and software to cater for high-end applications. Though core switch price is higher than a normal switch, deploying best core switches in the core layer is a must to ensure a reliable backbone. FS provides cost-effective core switch and enterprise network solutions for different applications. Any other information to know, you can visit our official website and blog.

NVGRE vs VXLAN: What’s the Difference?

What is network virtualization? Network virtualization is a software-defined networking process to combine hardware and software into a single virtual network. Over the years, network virtualization has always been upgrading as different virtual network technologies have popping out. It has a transitional period from dummy virtualization networking to more advanced one like virtual VLAN. Then the appearance of two tunneling protocols – NVGRE and VXLAN have brought in new network virtualization technologies. Software-defined networking (SDN) NVGRE vs VXLAN: What’s the difference? This post will introduce SDN NVGRE vs VXLAN definition, NVGRE/VXLAN network switch features and the difference between NVGRE and VXLAN.

NVGRE vs VXLAN What's the Difference

NVGRE vs VXLAN：What Are NVGRE and VXLAN?

NVGRE (Network Virtualization using Generic Routing Encapsulation) and VXLAN (Virtual Extensive Local Area Network) are two different tunneling protocols for network virtualization technology. They don’t provide substantial functionality but define how various virtual devices like network switches encapsulate and forward packets. However many times people mention software-defined NVGRE/VXLAN as network virtualization technologies. Both NVGRE and Virtual Extensive LAN encapsulate layer 2 protocols with layer 3 protocols, which solve the scalability problem of large cloud computing and enable layer 2 packets exchange across IP networks.

NVGRE vs VXLAN: What’s the difference?

  • NVGRE is mainly supported by Microsoft whereas VXLAN is introduced by Cisco. The two tech giants are scrambling to make their standards become the unified standard in the industry.
  • Both technologies change the situation of fixed VLAN size – 4096 virtual networks while creating up to 16 million virtual networks. However, VXLAN vs NVGRE deployment method and header format are quite different. VXLAN uses the standard tunneling protocol UDP to generate a 24-bit ID segment on the VXLAN header. Instead, NVGRE employs GRE (Generic Routing Encapsulation) to tunnel layer 2 packets over layer 3 networks. NVGRE header format is lower 24 bits GRE header, which can also support 16 million virtual networks.
  • VXLAN can guarantee load balancing and reserve the data packet order between different virtual machines (VMs). However, as NVGRE needs to provide a flow to describe the bandwidth utilization granularity, the tunneling network must use GRE header. This causes NVGRE incompatible with traditional load balancing. To solve this problem, NVGRE host requires multiple IP addresses to ensure balanced traffic load.

NVGRE vs VXLAN: NVGRE/VXLAN Enabled Network Switch

As Power over Ethernet technology booming, PoE enabled switch such as gigabit PoE switch had been invented to add PoE to networks. Similarly, software-based technologies like LACP, SND, NVGRE and VXLAN have also penetrated to hardware devices. For example, NVGRE/VXLAN enabled data switch owns NVGRE/VXLAN capability to expand VLAN size compared. Such NVGRE or VXLAN enabled switches come with different capacity ranging from 1G to 100G in the market.

FS recommends S and N series high-end L2/L3 switches. Say S5850-48T4Q 48 port 10Gb Ethernet switch with 4 40G QSFP+ ports and N5850-48S6Q 48 port 10Gb SFP+ Top-of-Rack (ToR)/ Leaf switch with 6 40G QSFP+ ports. Both of the 10GbE switches support NVGRE and VXLAN to support over 16M virtual networks.

S5850-48T4Q high performance Ethernet copper switch supports advanced features like VxLAN, IPv4/IPv6, MLAG, NVGRE, best fit for enterprise/data center/Metro ToR access requiring complete software with comprehensive protocols and applications deployment. N5850-48S6Q fiber switch supports advanced features including MLAG, VXLAN/NVGRE, SFLOW, SNMP, MPLS etc, ideal for fully virtualized data center. Besides, the optional ONIE type of this model supports any ONIE-enabled software to be installed in the open switch, natural fit for open network installation network.

S5850-48T4Q NVGRE vs VXLAN 10Gb switch with 4 40G QSFP+

Figure 1: FS provides various NVGRE vs VXLAN capable network switches ranging from 1G to 100G.

Conclusion

VXLAN and NVGRE are advanced network virtualization implement tunneling protocols/technologies compared with VLAN. They expand virtual networks size from 4096 up to 16 million and allow layer 2 packets to transmit across IP fabric such as layer 3 networks. NVGRE vs VXLAN differences lie in supported tech giants, tunneling method, header format and load balancing compatibility. Adding NVGRE and VXLAN capability to network switch overcomes VLAN scalability limits in large cloud computing and enables an agile VM networking environment.

What Is Distribution Switch and Why Do We Need It?

We know that in data centers a three-layer hierarchical model contains core layer, aggregation/distribution layer and access layer. In this network topology, corresponding network switch is implemented in different network layer. A core switch is a high-capacity backbone switch, which locates in the topside for WAN access and centralizing multiple aggregations in the core. Thus backbone core layer switch is often a fiber switch for advanced optical link. An access switch or an edge switch is for direct end devices and hierarchy connection. But what is distribution switch? What are the functions of distribution layer switch? And what’s the difference between aggregation switch vs core switch and distribution switch vs router? This article may help.

what is distribution switch and aggregation switch function

What Is Distribution Switch?

A distribution switch is a distribution layer switch, which uplinks to upper layer core switch and links down to the access/edge switch. Simply put, an aggregation switch in between functions a bridge between core layer switch and access layer switch. This is also the reason why we call distribution switch as aggregation switch.

Distribution Switch Functions

Why distribution layer switch is needed in network layers? In general, aggregation switch reacts on multiple switch aggregation and layer 3 routing functionality. It also supports complex policy implementation such as QoS and packet filtering. Highlights, distribution switch employs Access Control Lists (ACL) to offer optimized security policies. This security capability enables aggregation switch to decide which traffic can be permitted for communication. Here we illustrate the necessities of distribution layer switch into details by comparing it to other switches and routers.

  • Distribution Switch vs Access Switch

Usually we employ gigabit Ethernet switch in access layer 2 to run at 1Gb. When traffic driving from a layer 2 switch, the network topology requires a device with layer 3 features to process it to VLANs. Aggregation switch is often a layer 3 switch, so it supports inter-VLAN routing over a layer 2 switch. When multiple access switches among different VLANs are required to be aggregated, a distribution switch can achieve inter-VLAN communication.

  • Core Switch vs Distribution Switch

For core switch vs aggregation switch, one question may come in mind: why not directly connecting access switch to the core switch? An important reason is for convenient network access. When there are dozens of clients spreading over different offices in 5 buildings, we can deploy a distribution layer 10GbE switch in the center of each building to connect multiple access layer gigabit Ethernet switches in different offices. Then the 5 distribution switches can easily link to a 40GbE core switch in data centers. There are cases of combining collapsed distribution and core into one when there are only several severs and end users. We also call such switch as collapsed core or collapsed backbone since distribution layer switch is combined.

using fs 10GbE switch as distribution switch

Figure 1: Deploying FS S5800-48S6Q 10GbE switch with 6 40G QSFP+ uplinks as distribution switch in three-layer hierarchical model.

  • Distribution Switch vs Router

Generally, both a router and distribution layer switch has layer 3 routing functionality. But there is some distinctions. Compared to layer 3 switch/multilayer switch, a router has full layer 3 features and intact routing functionality like Internet Service Provider (ISP) and WAN. A aggregation switch combines layer 2 switching technology with layer 3 routing technology in one hardware. So a layer 3 distribution switch owns edges over router as switch while possessing inter-VLAN routing functionality. Besides, as a router a layer 3 distribution switch can route packets more quickly than a router due to functionality to make cache entry in its fast memory.

deploy layer 3 switch distribution switch over layer 2 switch and routers

Figure 2: Scenarios to deploy layer 3 switch – distribution switch over layer 2 switch and routers.

Conclusion

Despite advanced features of policy-based network connection, distribution layer switch functions aggregation and routing. As an aggregation switch, distribution switch connects multiple access switches and centralizes them to core switch. As a layer 3 switch, distribution switch adds routing functionality to achieve fast and easy inter-VLAN routing communication. As thus distribution switch deployment changes the situation that subnet must relay on router to manage network. And solves the issue of low speed and complexity caused by traditional routers.

What Is the Best Way to Connect Multiple Ethernet Switch?

In the big data era, gigabit Ethernet switch with high capacity has gradually penetrated from big enterprises, SMB to small offices and homes. Newly emerged technology like WIFI is also driving the proliferation of wireless APs and other applications. Therefore the Ethernet topology requires for a comprehensive integration of various devices like firewall, servers, routers and multiple Ethernet switches. How to connect multiple managed switches together? Can I simply connect network switch one by one? Does daisy-chaining switch make sense? Or should I stack switch with stackable switch to set up a switch stack? What’s the best method to connect several data switches together?

waht is the best way to connect multiple Ethernet switch

Solution 1: Cascade Switch to Connect Multiple Ethernet Switch

Switch cascade is a traditional way to connect multiple Ethernet switches, which comes with various methods and network topology under different requirements. Among them daisy chain topology and star topology are two common ways.

·Daisy Chain Topology – Daisy Chain Switch One by One

Daisy chain is a layout form to connect multiple Ethernet switches together in sequence or in a ring. A simple linear topology displays as A-B-C, in which you just daisy chain each network switch top to bottom. For no more than 3 Ethernet switches, a linear topology of daisy chaining is okay since there is no loop. However, it owns drawbacks in switch failure due to lacking redundancy. Once one network switch fails, the others will also be dragged in. A simple ring topology is A-B-C-A, which can provide redundancy in link failure. However, simultaneously a loop creates when you finally daisy chain switch C back to A. Thus even only daisy chaining 3 Ethernet switches, an inevitable loop can be a fatal weakness.

Simply put, daisy chaining switch is error-proof and easily causes unnecessary low performance issues. Besides loop, a bottleneck creates in the chain and speed will slow down when traffic passing through the second Ethernet switch (since the link is heavily utilized). So daisy chaining switch is not recommended if scheme is optional. For simple home use or low demand networks, daisy chaining switches can make sense. But make sure your network switch support STP to deal with the loop issue.

daisy chain topology vs star topology for connecting multiple Ethernet switch

Figure 1: An illustration of daisy chain topology vs star topology for connecting multiple Ethernet switches.

·Star Topology – Link Access Switches to the Core

Compared to daisy chain topology, a physical star topology by deploying a powerful core switch to connect multiple access switches with uplinks is an optimal solution. For instance, connecting each gigabit switch via 10G SFP+ uplink to a central 10GbE switch. Or connecting a powerful gigabit Ethernet switch to each edge switches. In this scenario no loop occurs and all access switch is much closer to the central switch data center. For redundancy concern, you can also double or triple uplink each access switch to the core switch.

core Ethernet switch star topology by S3800-24T4S

Figure 2: Deploying a powerful gigabit Ethernet switch S3800-24T4S as core switch to connect edge switches, which forms a simple star topology.

Solution 2: Use Stackable Switch to Connect Multiple Ethernet Switch

Daisy chaining switch can be a solution when Ethernet switch quantity is small and separate placement is required in low demanding applications. How about an optimized way to connect multiple switches? Here comes stackable switch. Stackable switch deploys advanced stacking technology to achieve switch stacking, leaving out performance issues of clumsy daisy chaining topology like loops and bottlenecks.

To stack switch with managed stackable Ethernet switch can set up a switch stack, which works as a unified system with one console port for control to enhance network scalability and simplify network management. The port density and performance of switch stack can equal to expensive rack mount switch. Say stackable 24 port gigabit managed switch with 4 10Gb SFP+ uplinks: S3800-24T4S 1000Base-T copper switch and S3800-24F4S SFP switch. Both Ethernet switch supports up to 4 24 port switches stacked together, providing 96 1GbE port density and switching a total capacity of up to 512 Gbps. Also with single and dual power supply available, this 24 port gigabit managed switch offers redundancy in emergent power outage. To stack up S3800-24T4S 24 port switches with 10G SFP+ ports, you should connect them via SFP+ modules with fiber patch cable or via DAC or AOC directly.

stack switch by S3800-24T4S stackable Ethernet switch

Figure 3: Deploying S3800-24T4S stackable 24 port gigabit switch to stack switch.

What Is the Best Way to Connect Multiple Ethernet Switch?

To cascade network switch by daisy chaining topology or star topology is a simple way to connect multiple network switch. Daisy chaining switch is not recommended due to aforesaid performance issues like loop and bottleneck. However, it does make sense when a powerful core switch is absent. Otherwise to connect gigabit Ethernet switch with 10G uplink to a core 10GbE switch is a better solution to go.

Using stackable switch to stack switch leaves out loop and other link issues. However, it only be feasible among same stackable switch model or stackable switch from the same vendor. Also, all Ethernet switches shall be stacked together, so it doesn’t support separate placement.

Table below compares the pros and cons for connecting multiple network switches by daisy chaining switch and stacking switch. You can refer to your own demand for selecting the best way.

Item Daisy Chain Switch Stack switch
Placement Separate Centralized
Link Distance Long/Short Short
Switch Types Various switches from different vendors Same stackable switch only
Link port Normal/Uplink port Stacking port
Operation & Control Separate As one single switch
Performance Problem-prone: Loop, bottleneck Advanced Features

Conclusion

Traditional cascading Ethernet switch (daisy-chain topology or star topology) and advanced stacking switch are two ways for connecting multiple network switches. When both stackable switch and a powerful core switch is unavailable, problem-prone daisy chaining switch makes sense for low demanding applications. Otherwise you can deploy a 10GbE switch or powerful gigabit switch as core to connect each edge switch for better performance. Stack switch by stackable managed switch, deploying stacking technology as built-in software to connect multiple Ethernet switch is a must for enterprise-level networks. It leaves out low loop issues and simplifies control mechanism.

What Is MLAG Networking？

When buying a layer 3 capable 10GbE switch, we usually see product obviously described as owning multiple advanced features like MLAG, IPv4/IPv6 and sFLOW. But many people don’t know what they refer to. This article will focus on MLAG networking to illustrate what is MLAG, MLAG configuration advantages, and how to implement MC-LAG networking with Ethernet switch.

S5800 48F4S SFP Switch for MLAG networking

Figure 1: S5800-48F4S 48 port SFP switch supports MC-LAG networking.

What Is MLAG Networking?

MC-LAG networking is a networking type achieved by MC-LAG technology. MLAG (MC-LAG), abbreviation for Multi-Chassis Link Aggregation Group, is a new multi-device link aggregation technology for data center Ethernet switches. MLAG configuration centralizes constituent ports on separate chassis, mainly serves as reliable load functionality to increase bandwidth and provide redundancy in emergent breakdown of one of the device. MC-LAG networking is introduced by Arista in 2012. LAG is defined in the IEEE 802.1AX-2008 standard, where MC-LAG is not involved. Instead, MLAG implementations are vendor-specific. Say MC-LAG Juniper and mLACP Cisco. However, the combined chassis is still compliant to the IEEE 802.1AX-2008 standard.

Why MLAG Configuration Is Superior?
MLAG vs LAG

Rooted in LAG but not ceased to advance, MC-LAG adds node-level redundancy to the normal link-level redundancy. As thus MLAG networking enables more virtual switches to simultaneously share the same LAG endpoint. In this way bandwidth is expanded and redundancy is enhanced once again.

MLAG vs LAG

Figure 2: A comparison of LAG networking vs MLAG networking configuration.

MLAG vs Spanning Tree

What’s the significant difference between MLAG vs STP (Spanning Tree Protocol)? Generally MC-LAG HA (High Availability) configuration is superior to Spanning Tree. Counting the MLAG configuration crossing “X”, all links can share the load during normal operation. However, Spanning Tree must disable some links to achieve loop prevention.

MLAG three tier architecture

Figure 3: An illustration of HA MC-LAG implementation with multiple Ethernet switches link in data center three-layer architecture.

How to Achieve MLAG Implementation with Ethernet Switch?

To illustrate the MC-LAG configuration method, take S5800-48F4S 48 port managed gigabit SFP switch as example. This low latency layer2/3 Ethernet switch is designed as carrier access switch and caters for 10G link aggregation networks. With advanced feature including MC-LAG, MPLS, IPv4/IPv6, SFLOW, SNMP etc. supported, this 10GbE switch is ideal for MLAG networking.

To implement MLAG, 4 10GE SFP+ ports on the 48 port switch can simultaneously be connected to multiple switches. As the following figure shows, connecting S5800-48F4S switch A1 with A2, and then linking the virtual Switch A (switch A1 and A2 as a whole) with S5800-48F4S switch B, a simple LAG + MCLAG networking is implemented. To go further to MLAG + MLAG configuration, S5800-48F4S switch B can also be replaced by two linked switches switch B1 and B2. As thus 4 × 10GbE uplink bandwidth is achieved. Meanwhile more switches share the endpoint 10GbE bandwidth at the same time. Besides, node-level redundancy is added to link-level redundancy due to two nodes on one link. For instance, the switch A2 can function well while switch A1 fails.

S5800-48F4S MLAG application

Figure 4: Deploying S5800-48F4S 48 port 10GbE switch for MC-LAG implementation.

Conclusion

MC-LAG networking is superior over LAG technology due to node-level redundancy added to link-level redundancy. The HA MLAG configuration also surpasses spanning tree for no link drop is required in loop prevention. Buying 10GbE switch for MLAG implementation, S5800-48F4S SFP switch is a natural fit to go. And for cases where power cabling is unavailable for your PoE powered devices (PD), you can consider buying a gigabit PoE switch as access switch for you MLAG networking.

48 Port Switch Buying Guide

As a core hardware device in data centers, network switch is vital for setting up a reliable network. Meanwhile 48 port switch with high port density has become popular among enterprise-class, small to midsize and even home users. However, how to buy an optimal 48 port switch for different network environment confuses many people. This article will make an analysis of 48 port switch for your buying guide.

What to Consider for Buying 48 Port Switch?

To buy an optimal 48 port switch for your network, one should take several factors into consideration. Above all, choose managed over unmanaged if possible. 48 port managed switch has advanced features in reliable performance, traffic control, custom management and security regulation. For modern applications requiring for high network privacy and resiliency, 48 port gigabit switch managed is a must. Besides, here lists other important factors for 48 port switch managed selection.

how to choose 48 port switch

·Capacity

What kind of virtualization applications are you implementing? Do they require extra high switching capacity? Generally 48 port switches in the market come with 2 different speed basis: 48 port gigabit switch and 48 port 10Gb switch. For average customers without special requirements 48 port gigabit switch can well meet their demands. But for speed pursuers 48 port 10Gb switch should be deployed for smooth operation in high traffic.

·Uplink Configuration

In addition to regular port, pay attention to the uplink port on 48 port switch. For multiple switch connection, 48 port gigabit switch often comes with several 10G SFP+ uplink ports whereas 10Gb switch comes with 40G QSFP+ or even 100G QSFP+ uplink ports for link aggregation. With a few corresponding uplink ports reserved, the 48 port gigabit switch can access to 10G core switch. And 48 port 10Gb switch can cater for future demands like next generation Metro, Dater Center and Enterprise networks.

·Power over Ethernet

For situations where power outlets are unavailable for cabling devices, 48 port PoE switch is a natural fit. A typical aforesaid case is for connecting Powered Devices (PD): IP cameras, VoIP phones and wireless access points (AP). By deploying 48 port PoE gigabit switch, you can easily put an IP surveillance camera anywhere on the ceiling.

What Are the Cheap 48 Port Switch Recommendations?

You can easily get the best 48 port switch with all advanced features once budget is not a concern. However, most people should note cost/performance ratio to get good but cheap 48 port switch. For good purchasing experience, here recommend you 2 best 48 port switch for reference.

·Cost-effective Non-PoE 48 Port Switch

Without PoE capability, here recommend S3900-48T4S 48 port switch managed. It comes with 48 10/100/1000Mb auto-sensing RJ45 ports and 4 10GE SFP+ uplinks for cost-effective gigabit access or 10G link aggregation. Thus you can easily deploy this 48 port Metro Ethernet switch either in the access layer or as core switch. Also, with dual power available this 48 port gigabit switch managed provides redundancy in emergent outage.

FS 48 port switch application

Figure 1: Deploying FS S3800-48T4S 48 port gigabit switch as access switch and S1600-48T4S 48 port PoE switch for PDs in network layer.

·Cost-effective 48 Port PoE Switch

FS recommends S1600-48T4S 48 port PoE switch for both 600W high PoE power budget and reliable hardware with software integration. With 48 1000M RJ45 ports and 4 10G SFP+ uplinks compact in 1RU, this 48 port PoE gigabit switch owns high density and space saving features. As a 48 port gigabit switch managed, it supports both Web Interface and CLI command. Therefore it offers enterprise-class functionality of free configuration, strong security and reliable RSTP. As PoE+ switch, it complies IEEE802.3af/at standard. Thus the PoE network switch can auto figure which standard the PoE enabled device supports and then supply power to it. To deploy S1600-48T4S 48 port switch, you can flexibly put it in a rack, on a wall or on desktop. Power on the switch. Then connect over 40 APs or other PDs all over the building with only one each cable is required to run for them.

S1600-48T4S 48 port switch PoE

Figure 2: S1600-48T4S 48 port PoE switch connecting to VoIP phones, wireless APs and IP surveillance cameras for intelligent switching and networks growth.

Conclusion

Take a long-term view, 48 port switch with high port density provides abundant ports for your current devices and room for future network growth. Buying a best 48 port switch requires one to consider its own demands for specific applications. Based on which, one should take based speed, uplink port configuration, PoE capability and other personal requirement into consideration. For cheap 48 port gigabit switch, we recommend you classic one S3900-48T4S and 48 port PoE switch S1600-48T4S. For 48 port 10Gb switch, you can also find one with decent offer in FS.COM.

24 Port Switch vs Daisy-chaining 8 Port Switch

As technology booming and networking devices proliferating, network expansion has become common in all data centers. Thus choosing an Ethernet switch with abundant ports is of great concern. However, one can also connect small switches like 8 port switches together by daisy chaining them. For SMBs and home usage, the choice between deploying a 24 port switch vs daisy-chaining 8 port switch has confused many people. We’re here to make an analysis for your selection guide.

24 Port Switch Solution Analysis

Deploying a single 24 port switch owns all the edges over several small 8 port switches. Above all, 24 port switch is designed with advanced features for high-performance. Say S1400-24T4F 24 port PoE switch, which has a 400W power budget and 52Gbps switching capacity rather than 130W and 20Gbps of S1130-8T2F 8 port PoE switch. Besides, more unoccupied ports provides you redundancy for network expansion. An 8 port switch can easily get saturated than you’ve expected. Also, running one 24 port switch saves space, power and is easier for management than daisy-chaining several 8 port switches. But meanwhile a single 24 port switch loses redundancy for network outage and separate placing flexibility.

S1400-24T4F 24 port switch

Figure 1: S1400-24T4F 24 port rack mount PoE switch complies with IEEE 802.3af/at, fit for VoIP phones, wireless APs and IP surveillance cameras for intelligent switching and networks growth.

Daisy-chaining 8 Port Switch Solution Analysis

In general, we don’t recommend one to daisy chain 8 port switches. The main reason is that it brings low performance and unnecessary troubles. Chaining switches makes your network too big a diameter, which is difficult to achieve effective Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) and Shortest Path Bridging (SPB). As a result, it forms a loop and your network will grind to a halt. Also, the 1Gbps uplinks for connecting those 8 port switches will become a bottleneck, which causes random dropped connections and incidental throughput issues. To alleviate the loop, mind never daisy chain more than 3 switches together. Besides, keeping hooking up 8 port switches, your network layout will look like a spider web of switches and cables in all different directions. In this regard 8 Port PoE switch may be a good way to go for saving one extra power wire for each device.

However, daisy-chaining 8 port switch can make things easier in some situations. For example, you have a 24 port gigabit switch in the garage and you plan to run each room with a cable to a port. But how about rooms needing more than one port? In this case you can daisy chain an 8 port switch to that port in each room, then all your devices can be connected. This is also the easiest solution when PCs in different areas requiring for separate IP locations.

S1130-8T2F 8 port PoE switch application

Figure 2: Applications of S1130-8T2F 8 port PoE switch for IP cameras, VoIP phones, wireless APs.

24 Port Switch vs Daisy-chaining 8 Port Switch Deployment Guide

To highlight, using a single 24 port switch with redundant ports is a more advanced solution in modern market. It leaves management troubles and low-performance issues like loop and connection drops of daisy-chaining 8 port switches. However, daisy-chaining 8 port switches is a solution to situations when you need several ports in different rooms or separate IP addresses. But all in all, even if you choose daisy-chaining 8 port switches, you need at least a reliable gigabit switch as core switch in the data center. Then you can add 8 port switches as small branch circuits.

Whatever you are choosing, gigabit PoE switch can fit the bill in any situations cruel for power cabling. For the loop issue, one key is to use managed gigabit switch. It detects loops and quickly shuts them down. All managed PoE gigabit switches in FS.COM are fully managed, supporting both Web Interface and CLI command. For replacing clumsy daisy chaining, you can stack switch by using stackable managed switch, which can let your switch stack work smoothly as a single one. Say stackable 24 port gigabit switch managed with 4 10Gb SFP+ uplinks: S3800-24T4S 1000Base-T copper switch and S3800-24F4S SFP switch. Both supports up to 4 24 port switches stacked together, providing up to 512Gbps total switching capacity for your network.

S3800-24T4S and S3800-24F4S stackable 24 port switch

Figure 3: S3800-24T4S and S3800-24F4S stackable managed switch stacking solution for network expansion.

Conclusion

24 port switch vs daisy-chaining 8 port switch: which to employ? For separate placement requirement, daisy-chaining 8 port switch can be a solution to go. A suggestion is to deploy a good 24 port gigabit switch in the data center. Then daisy chain 8 port switches as access switches. For reliable performance concern, one should go for 24 port switch. And for future-proof network growth, to stack switch with stackable 24 port switch can make sense. It also gets around performance issues in replace of daisy-chaining 8 port switches.

Ethernet Switch with 10Gb Uplink or 1Gb Uplink

With the booming high speed broadband technology, modern Ethernet switch has stretched its branches to SMB operators and even home individuals. The exclusive property of network switch to big enterprises no longer exists. Accordingly questions about the uplink ports on Ethernet switch has put forward by lots of newbies. What is uplink on Ethernet switch? What is the function of 10Gb uplink on gigabit switch? For a specific home or SMB usage, should I employ network switch with 10Gb uplink or 1Gb uplink? With concerns of a reliable backbone, should I upgrade to gigabit access switch with 10G uplink to core 10GbE switch? For anyone with doubts about Ethernet switch with 10Gb uplink vs 1Gb uplink, this article may help.

Understanding Uplink Port on Ethernet Switch

Uplink port on Ethernet switch serves as different layer network connection, which enables a lower network to link up to a higher network. One also uses it as regular port to connect end users while link aggregation is not involved. Connecting the uplink port on one access Ethernet switch to the regular port on another higher-layer core switch enables bandwidth expansion. The uplink bandwidth will be shared by all the end devices connected to the access switch regular ports. For example, by putting a 10Gb uplink on a 1Gb Ethernet switch, it would let 10 devices on the switch communicate at 1Gb each at the same time with the rest of the network. Otherwise if the uplink was only 1Gb, those 10 devices would only be able to get about 100Mb each.

Ethernet Switch with 10Gb Uplink

10Gb uplink is commonly built in 1Gb access Ethernet switch for 10G link aggregation. Thus gigabit switch with 10Gb uplink is also called as 10GbE switch by many users. In the market such Ethernet switches with 10Gb uplinks are available for copper and optical SFP switch with 2/4 uplinks. For instance, FS provides 4 SFP+ 10Gb uplinks on 24/48-port 1000Base-T RJ45/SFP managed gigabit switches such as S3910 series 24-port stackable 1000Base-T Ethernet switches.

Some vendors like FS.COM also bring in PoE to 10Gb uplink switch for advanced features. Say S1600-48T4S 48-port PoE+ managed gigabit switch. It can boost your network to a switching capacity of 180Gbps and offers 600W total power budget for power-hungry PDs. Such Ethernet switches with 10Gb uplinks frequently used as access layer switches to link up to backbone core 10GbE switch. Then all end users on the gigabit switch can share the 10Gb bandwidth, not 1Gb anymore.

Ethernet switch with 10Gb uplink application

Figure 1: Deploying FS 48-port Ethernet switches with 4 SFP+ 10Gb uplinks ports as access switches to connect 10Gb core switch in data center layer.

Ethernet Switch with 1Gb Uplink

Only a few years ago 100Mb Ethernet switch are still common among many SMBs as access switch. However, nowadays it has gradually obsoleted by 100/1000MBase gigabit switch. To enhance network connection resiliency, modern gigabit switch comes with 24/48 RJ45 100/1000Base-T ports and 4 1Gb SFP ports for uplink. Except uplink function, The SFP uplinks on copper gigabit Ethernet switch provides optical link option when the network requires fiber cabling. FS supplies such SFP uplinks on 8/24- port PoE+ managed gigabit switch with different power budget for 1G speed.

FS PoE gigabit Ethernet switch with SFP 1Gb uplink

Figure 2: FS PoE+ Ethernet switches with SFP 1Gb uplinks and  PoE+ switch with SFP+ 10Gb uplinks are natural fit for IP cameras, VoIP phones and wireless APs.

Ethernet Switch with 10Gb Uplink or 1Gb Uplink Selection Guide

So how to choose from 10Gb and 1Gb uplink of Ethernet switch? Try to ask yourself about questions as follows. What kind of application virtualization are you implementing? How many users are there? Whether the applications and user quantity requiring for the extra bandwidth of 10Gbps? Is my cabling up-to-snuff for 10Gb uplink? Can I afford 10Gb Ethernet?

Then here are some suggestions for you. First, attach importance to applications virtualization. If your employees only need to open occasional Word documents, reply to emails or update database records, there would not be much of a requirement for 10G uplink on Ethernet switch. But if you should do lots of mass data transfer such as photos and videos exchange even in a small advertising shop it would quite be another story. Second, concern about number of users. The proliferating wireless APs and office devices bring much burdens to your network. Third, for concerns of future-proof expansion and a reliable backbone, even if your current 1GbE is unsaturated, Ethernet switch with 10Gb uplinks is also a good solution for enterprises with hardware upgrading demands. But if the aforesaid factors not concerned, your gigabit Ethernet switch with 1Gb uplink may suit your network just fine.

Conclusion

Both 10Gb uplink and 1Gb uplink on Ethernet switch are designed for link aggregation of multi-layer switch connection. Ethernet gigabit switch with 10Gb uplink enables total 10Gbps bandwidth to divide to end devices for accessing max. 1G speed. While Ethernet switch with 1Gb uplink delivers max. 100Mbps data rate to 10 devices. For concerns of high bandwidth applications, multiple office devices quantity and future-proof expansion, Ethernet switch with 10Gb uplink is the way to go. Otherwise your existing gigabit switch with 1Gb uplink can make sense.

10GbE Switch for Small and Medium Business

The current information ear is and will continue to be in full swing while pulsed by networking high traffic and applications. Meanwhile, with productivity greatly improved by technologies like VLAN, Cloud Computing and IEEE 802.11ac, gigabit Ethernet switch can no longer bear the high pressure in enterprise-class data centers, SMBs and even homes. In this circumstance 10GbE network is required for meeting the demands. And as a core component, 10GbE switch is dispensable for 10G network upgrade. So here provides a guide for buying 10GbE switch for SMB and offers some cost-effective 10gbe switches for your selection.

Overview of 10GbE Switch for SMB

For the high expense out of advanced performance required by 10GbE network, the purchase market of 10GbE switch is generally not very optimistic for SMBs. Searching on many forums and communities for 10Gb switch, we can see Cisco switches are always the hot topic. However, one will hesitate to pick Cisco and some other brand-name 10GbE switches especially for SMB out of budget concerns. In this regard FS specially designed a series of 10Gb switches for SMBs under cost-effectiveness and equal performance concerns. By deploying such 10GbE switch to your SMB network, one can benefit from reduced response time, smooth operation in high traffic and improved work efficiency.

10GbE Switch for SMB Buying Considerations

Based on budget saving of SMBs, here are some considerations for choosing an affordable 10GbE switch.

·Port Quantity

In the market the 1/10Gb switch is often equipped with 4 × SFP+ uplink ports for 10G uplink network, which is very suitable for small, medium and some start-up business. For the demand of remaining your gigabit for 1G devices, you should also consider about the gigabit ports with 12/24/32/48 ports for selection.

·Stackable Ability

Stackable 10GbE switch is very common in network upgrade for simplified management and link aggregation. Taking FS S3900 Series managed stackable switches as example. With 6 × S3900-24T4S 10Gb switches stacked together to work as a whole system, operators no longer need to control each switch individually but managed it as a single switch with one console port. Moreover, it will become very easy to add and remove any switch from the stacking system.

·Managed or Unmanaged

Unmanged 10GbE switch is a configuration fixed plug-and-play switch, which not supports any customized configuration. Managed 10Gb switch has partly managed smart switch and fully managed switch option. Generally, for optimized performance of 10G network, managed switch is dispensable for SMB to ensure smooth operation in heavy workload. Also, it provides traffic control, customization and security monitoring.

·PoE or Non-PoE

Getting rid of extra power cable for connecting devices with power outlet, PoE 10GbE switch provides placing flexibility to powered devices such as IP phones and wireless access points. For instance, FS S1600-48T4S 48 port PoE+ switch with 4 × 10G SFP+ ports can supply power to a series PDs with PoE budget up to 600W. However, if power supply is not a question, one can pick non-PoE for budget saving.

FS 10GbE Switch Options for SMB

After explaining the aforesaid factors for 10GbE switch selection, we’ll give you a clue for affordable options of 10Gb switch. For SMBs and home labs, the most cost-effective solution is to pick up gigabit switch with 10G uplink rather than 10G core switch. Here we recommend you such managed 10GbE switches, ranging from 1000Base-T copper switch or SFP switch with 24/48 ports and PoE availability.

1/10GbE Switch P/N Port Quantity Managed Stackable
Copper Switch S3900-24T4S 24 × 1000Base-T RJ45, 4 × 10G SFP+ Yes Yes
Copper Switch S3900-48T4S 48 × 1000Base-T RJ45, 4 × 10G SFP+ Yes Yes

For SMB with a very tight budget, one can go for S3900 Series. S1600-48T4S 10Gb switch is also a cost-saving way to go for PoE technology. It is noted that SFP switch often costs more than copper switch, but owns higher switch class and functionality. Say, S5800-48F4S 10GbE switch is a layer2/3 SFP switch, natural fit for applications of data centers as carrier access switch. It has low latency and advanced features such as MLAG and SFLOW.

Conclusion

For 10GbE switch option of small to medium business, budget is always a big concern. Based on this regard, one should consider buying gigabit Ethernet switch with 10G uplink. Further, taking a comprehensive consideration of the number of port, managed ability, PoE and stackability will make the best decision of 10Gb switch.

Gigabit Switch with 10G Uplink Recommendation

Touching on switching capacity of the modern networks, the invariant rule is: the faster, the better. Of course for large enterprises, 10G network is a lower value. And more often 40G even 100G network is required for data centers. However, for individuals, small and medium-sized business (SMB), 10G network is often out of reach for exorbitant price of 10gbe switch. In this case, Ethernet switch with 10G uplink can help to achieve 10G network. This article will recommend affordable managed gigabit switch with 10G uplink.

Gigabit Switch with 10G Uplink: Choose 1000Base-T Copper Switch or Fiber SFP Switch

Generally, there are two gigabit switch with 10G uplink solutions: 1000base-T copper switch and 1G SFP fiber switch. In the current market, 1000base-T gigabit switch with 10G uplink is usually more popular, especially with home individuals, office users, and SMBs. The main reason is largely traced back to price discrimination between them. RJ45 copper gigabit switch employs existing Ethernet copper cable (Cat5e/6, etc.) as a medium to transmit data, which saves one budget for matched fiber optics of SFP switch. Moreover, the 1000base-T copper switch is backward compatible with legacy networks. However, 1G SFP link owns the edges of reduced electromagnetic interference, lower latency and power consumption over copper link. For advanced users sensitive to aforesaid factors, one can consider taking gigabit switch with SFP uplink.

FS copper vs SFP gigabit switch with 10G uplink

This figure shows FS S3800-24T4S copper gigabit switch vs S3800-24F4S 1GE SFP switch with 10G uplink.

1000Base-T Copper Gigabit Switch with 10G Uplink Recommendation

For 1000Base-T copper gigabit switch, here recommends both PoE and non-PoE ones for your selection guide.

·Non-PoE

For non-PoE gigabit switch, here strongly recommends you FS S3900-24T4S 24 port switch and S3900-48T4S 48 port switch. They come with 24/48-port 10/100/1000base-T ports with 4 x 10GE SFP+ uplinks. Both of them are gigabit stackable managed switches and designed to cater for cost-efficient gigabit access or aggregation for 10G uplink networks.

FS P/N S3900-24T4S S3900-48T4S
1000Base-T RJ45 Port 24 48
10GbE Uplink 4 4
Switch Class Layer 2+ Layer 2+
Switching Capacity 128Gbps 176Gbps
Power Consumption 43W 48W
Throughput 95Mpps 130Mpps
·PoE

For Gigabit PoE switch with 10G uplink, here recommends you S1600-48T4S 48 port PoE+ switch with 4 SFP+. The 48 port PoE switch can better fit for SMBs or enterprise class network as access switch. It can be mounted in a rack, on a wall or on desktop. One can connects it to VoIP phones, wireless APs and IP cameras for intelligent switching and network growth. Besides this 48 port PoE switch, 8 port gigabit switch and 24 port PoE switch are also available. Generally speaking, 8 port gigabit switch is suitable for home use. And 24 port PoE switch is commonly deployed in small business with few connections.

S3800-48T4S and S1600-48T4S gigabit switch application

Deploying FS S3800-48T4S 48 port switch and S1600-48T4S 48 port PoE+ gigabit switch with 4 x 10G uplink in access layer.

Fiber SFP Gigabit Switch with 10G Uplink Recommendation

For gigabit SFP switch with 10G link, here recommends S3900-24F4S. It comes with 4 x 1GE combo ports, 20 x 1G SFP ports and 4 x 10GE SFP+ ports. This 24 port gigabit switch comes with 1+1 redundant power supplies. For 48 port switch demand, go for S5800-48F4S. It is a Layer 2/3 switch with 4 x 10G SFP+ uplinks. The table below lists the details of these two Ethernet switches.

FS Fiber SFP Gigabit Switch S3900-24F4S S5800-48F4S
Port Configuration 24 x 1G SFP ports, 4 x 10G SFP+ uplinks 48 x 1G SFP ports, 4 x 10G SFP+ uplinks
Switch Class Layer 2+ Layer 2/3
Switching Capacity 128Gbps 176Gbps
Throughput 95Mpps 130.95Mpps
Max. Power Consumption 43W 75W
Conclusion

For 10G network, deploying gigabit switch with 10G uplink can largely save you budget. No matter copper RJ45 1000base-T switch or 1GE SFP switch, you should consider your own requirements before purchasing an Ethernet switch. Gigabit switches with different ports have been recommended in this post, including 8 port gigabit switch, 24 port switch and 48 port switch. All those can be found in FS.COM with the most competitive price.

Use 8 Port PoE Switch for IP Surveillance

With increasing privacy awareness and demand for security monitoring, IP surveillance has been widely used in the current society: in public supermarket, hotel, enterprise and even home. PoE network switch is used to provide both power and data connection to IP cameras in surveillance system. For small and medium-sized business or home application, 8 port PoE switch is a good choice.

8 port PoE switch for IP Surveillance

Figure 1: Using FS 8 port PoE switch for IP surveillance.

Why Use 8 Port PoE Switch for IP Surveillance?

Usually, 8 port PoE switch is used for supply power to powered devices (PD) for placing flexibility, including IP phones, IP phones and wireless access points (WAP). Some vendors like FS provide 8 port PoE switch with high resistance to electromagnetic interference and severe environment adaptability. This guarantee the smooth operation of weather-proof IP cameras and the stability of the whole IP surveillance system. Moreover, with all IP surveillance components centralized together with PoE switch, it is more convenient for management and control.

What Are the Considerations for Choosing 8 Port PoE Switch?

For an IP surveillance system with very few IP cameras, one can simply add a PoE injector (midspan) between the non-PoE Ethernet switch and IP cameras. This is a cost-effective solution for elementary IP surveillance system because an 8 port PoE switch is usually more expensive than a PoE injector. However, what about more than 4 IP connections are required? In this case, PoE switch 8 port is absolutely a better way to go. Here are some considerations one should refer to while selecting a proper 8 port PoE switch for IP surveillance.

·The Power Consumption of IP Camera

Knowing the power consumption of each IP camera helps to choose an 8 port PoE switch with corresponding per port power consumption and the total power budget. The power consumption of PoE IP cameras can reach up to 20W (PTZ IP cameras RLC-423), and be as low as 3 or 4W. Just remember that your 8 port PoE switch should be able to provide power for each IP camera and won’t exceed its total power budget.

·Max. Power Consumption of 8 Port PoE Switch

There are two PoE standards: IEEE802.3af and IEEE802.3at. IEEE802.3af PoE standard can deliver 15.4W maximum power on each port of the switch, and 12.95W power available at PDs. IEEE802.3at is a PoE+ standard with 30W per port and 25.5W available for transmission. Each PoE switch has power consumption specifications for per port and as a whole. For example, FS S1130-8T2F 8 port PoE switch complies with both IEEE802.3af and IEEE802.3at. Per port maximum power consumption is 30W and total budget of the PoE switch is 130W. For higher power budget, FS S1250-8T2F 8 port PoE switch can reach up to 250W. Make sure the maximum power supply of the whole switch is more than your IP cameras’ budget, or some of your IP cameras may won’t be provided with enough power. This is also the cause for poor performance and video loss.

·Managed or Unmanaged

Unmanaged 8 port PoE switch is a “dumb” plug-and-play one with fixed configuration, which runs in the most basic form with no management functionality. Managed one is an advanced version with superior functionality, configuration customization and remote security control. For heavy-workload networks with management requirement, managed 8 port PoE switch is obviously a future-proof way to go. It is noted that smart partly-managed PoE switch is a choice for functional and cost-efficient concerns. But for IP surveillance, choosing managed 8 port PoE switch is and will continue to be a future-proof solution.

There are other factors one may concern about, such as 1U form factor for space budget and stackable one for network expansion. Customized demand may be required for some special occasions. For instance, a fanless design is important for silent operation in libraries, classrooms and laboratories. FS S1130-8T2F 8 port PoE switch can meet the need. The best way is to list all those points you care about, then check each one for the targeted PoE switch.

How to Install 8 Port PoE Switch in IP Surveillance System?

An IP surveillance system comprises PoE switch, IP cameras, NVR and Ethernet cabling. To illustrate how to use PoE switch for IP surveillance, we’ll take FS S1130-8T2F 8 port PoE switch as example. This PoE+ switch has 8 x 10/100/1000Base-T RJ45 Ethernet ports and 2 x gigabit SFP ports, with IEEE 802.3af/at compatible, which means it supports 30W maximum power consumption.

To set up an 8 port PoE switch for IP surveillance, you can refer to the following tips. First connect all IP cameras and NVRs with RJ45 ports on PoE switch. Then connect LAN/WAN with SFP ports. It is noted that for non-PoE cameras, a splitter is required as a medium to connect PoE switch with IP camera. The following picture shows the detail information for installation.

FS 8 port PoE switch application

Figure 2: Installing FS S1130-8T2F 8 port PoE switch for IP Surveillance.

Conclusion

PoE switch provides placement flexibility, space and cost saving, and management convenience to IP surveillance system. For buying 8 port PoE switch, one should concern about power consumption of IP cameras and PoE switch, managed one for superior functionality and other customized requirements. Generally an 8 port PoE switch can satisfy a small sized IP surveillance system. For medium and bigger sized systems, FS also provides managed PoE switch with 24 and 48 port. Welcome to visit our official website for more detail information.

10Gb Switch Buying Guide

As the development of burgeoning network technology, gigabit network switch has become insufficient to meet the demand. In this circumstance, 10Gb switch, 40Gb switch and even 100Gb switch are designed to cater for current and future high capacity optical networks. Among them, 10GbE switch is the most popular one for both enterprise data center and carrier’s metro networks. This tutorial is a buying guide for 10Gb switch.

Overview of 10Gb Switch

Ever since 10 gigabit Ethernet has been defined by the IEEE 802.3ae standard in 2002, the ever-accelerated bandwidth intensive applications of 10G switches have been updating year by year. Typically 10gb network switch is used for interconnecting routers, servers in data centers to construct Spine-Leaf network. The reasons for boosting 10Gb switch deployments are never limited in the 10Gb speed providing. Moreover, 10GbE switch centralizes the pros of low latency, fewer bottlenecks, simple virtualized environment, spare bandwidth, rack space efficiency, low power consumption and expansion flexibility, etc.

FS 10Gb switch

Figure 1: FS S5850 & S5800 series 10Gb switches.

Concerns for Buying 10Gb Switch

When choosing  switch 10Gb, budget is always a big concern to obtain a cheap 10Gb switch. Generally speaking, more advanced 10GbE switches with managed or PoE features will be more expensive than the opposite one. Another factor first comes in our mind is number of port. For example, 12/24/32/48 port 10Gb network switches are all available at FS.COM. Table below shows the detail specification of FS S5800-48F4S 48 port SFP switch as an example for 10Gb switch.

Switching Class Layer2/3
Switching Capacity 176Gbps
Form Factor 1 RU
Latency 2.3us
Throughput 130.95Mpps
Max. Power Draw 75W
Hot-swappable Power Supplies 2 (1+1 redundancy)
Hot-swappable Fans 4 (N+1 redundancy)
CPU Cavium CN5010-500BG564-CP-G/500MHz

In addition to cost and port quantity, there are other factors to concern for buying 10Gb switch. Take a second for figuring out your network requirement and grasping the knowledge basis of 10GbE switch will save you budget and provide you superior buying experience.

·Managed Switch or Unmanaged Switch

Managed 10Gb switch is an advanced one for optimized network performance, which is best suitable for heavy-workload organizations requiring for traffic control, custom management and security monitoring. Unmanaged switch 10Gb is a configuration fixed plug-and-play switch. No customized management and control are supported for operators. Unmanaged switch 10Gb is best fit for anyone who just want to simply set up a network and let it run automatically. It is noted that smart partly-managed 10G switch is a compromise solution for both functional and cost-effective concerns.

·PoE Switch or Non-PoE Switch

PoE 10Gb switch deploys a single cable as medium for both data transmission and power supply to PDs, such as Wireless access points, IP cameras and VoIP phones. Breaking the tether of power outlet, it can be easily placed anywhere, on desktop, on a wall or mounted in a rack. But if power supply is not a question, you can just pick up non-PoE 10GbE switch, which will save your expense.

·Stackable Switch or Standalone Switch

Network upgrade and expansion are common in data centers, in this case, more switches are required for connecting the growing number of devices. When deploying standalone 10Gb switch, operators need to control each switch individually. Also, it is a complicated process to add new switch. Thus standalone 10Gb network switch is commonly used in small business networks. For larger enterprises, stackable 10G switch is dispensable to simplify the management and increase the availability of the network.

Ending

10GbE switch speeds your network up and provides high reliability and flexibility to your data centers. How to choose a cheap 10Gb switch? Try to take a second for making clear the following question: What is my budget limit? How is my network environment? How many ports are in need on the 10Gb switch? Is a managed switch 10Gb or PoE switch necessary? Should I deploy a stackable switch for future-proof concern? For buying gigabit switch, 10Gb network switch,  40Gb switch, 100Gb switch, or even 400G switch, FS is always a reliable vendor to go.

Related article: Recommendations for Cheap 48-Port 10Gb Switches

24 Port Switch Recommendation

Among all the port types of Ethernet switch, the 24 port gigabit switch plays a really important role in expanding both enterprise and home network. For enterprise network, deploying several 24 port switch versus 48 port switch not only saves you money, but also provides you backup switches in network outages and separate placing flexibility. As for home network, 24 port switch offers you more spare ports for upgrade and expansion even though currently you only has less than 16 drops. This article will recommend you four 24 port switches in terms of 24 port managed switch or 24 port unmanaged and 24 port PoE switch or non-PoE switch for various demands.

Managed 24 Port Switch Recommendation

·24 Port Non-PoE Switch: FS S3900-24T4S ($280)

FS S3900-24T4S gigabit stackable 24 port managed switch comes with 24 x 100/1000Base-T ports, 4 x 10GE SFP+ uplinks, 1 x console port and 2 x power supplies to allow dual power. If dual power is redundant, you can go for this mode’s single power version, which will save you 30 dollars. The switching capacity for a single S3900-24T4S 24 port switch is up to 128Gbps. Morever, the 4 SFP+ ports allow one to stack switch. Up to 6 S3900-24T4S switches can be stacked together as a whole, thus proving up to 768 Gbps total switching capacity to your network and saving rackspace. This 24 port gigabit switch managed is designed to meet the demand of cost-effective gigabit access and 10Gb link aggregation for enterprise networks and operators. FS S3900-24T4S 24 port switch can be managed by both GUI command and web user interface, which is really user-friendly for concerns of interface as well as setting. For fiber switch 24 port, FS.COM is also a good way to go due to a competitive 24 port switch price.

·24 Port PoE Switch: FS S1400-24T4F ($399)

FS S1400-24T4F 24 port gigabit managed PoE+ switch, 400W comes with 24 x 10/100/1000Base-T RJ45 Ethernet ports, 1 x console port, 2 x combo ports and 2 x gigabit SFP (mini-GBIC) slots. This Layer 2 switch, a fully managed 24 port PoE switch, features optimized intelligent function to improve key business application availability, sensitive data security and transmission efficiency. Besides, FS S1400-24T4F 24 port switch complies with PoE+ standard for higher power capacity than PoE standard. The 24 port PoE switch is best fit for SMB, entry-level enterprise and home network to power devices such as wireless APs, IP cameras and VoIP phones.

Unmanaged 24 Port Switch Recommendation

·Cisco Non-PoE Switch: SG112-24 ($149.95)

Cisco SG112-24 24 port unmanaged switch has 24 x 10/100/1000 ports and 2 x combo gigabit SFP ports. The 24 port gigabit switch is a fixed-configuration switch with auto-negotiation, auto-uplink and cable diagnostics function. For any SMBs who just need the network to run automatically, this non-PoE unmanaged 24 port switch will be a good choice. However, it is noted that for concerns of customized setting, security control and heavy load adaptability, you should avoid unmanaged switch and go for 24 port managed switch.

unmanaged 24 port switch

Figure 1: Cisco SG112-24 24 port unmanaged switch with 2 SFP ports.

·Cisco 24 Port PoE Switch: SG 110-24HP ($237)

Cisco SG 110-24HP unmanaged 24 port PoE gigabit switch comes with 12 x 10/100/1000Base ports, 12 x PoE ports and 2 x gigabit SFP ports. The Cisco 24 port PoE switch has a switching capacity of 48 Gbps and forwarding capacity of 35.7 mpps with 100W PoE power budget. The 12 PoE ports support various powered devices such as APs and IP phones. This 24 port switch is a natural fit for anyone who wants to save the configuration trouble and requires for PoE features.

unmanaged PoE 24 port switch

Figure 2: SG 110-24HP unmanaged Cisco 24 portPoE switch with 2 SFP ports.

Summary

This article is dedicated to recommending different types of 24 port gigabit switch for various demands, based on concerns of managed or unmanaged, PoE or non-PoE. It takes the 24 port managed switch from FS.COM and 24 port unmanaged switch from Cisco System as examples to offer reference for 24 port switch selection. Generally speaking, 24 port managed switch is more advanced than the unmanaged switch. 24 port PoE switch has superior functionality to non-PoE 24 port gigabit switch. For most concerns of optimized performance and customization management, just go for FS managed 24 port switch, which is cost-effective with both 24 port PoE switch and 24 port non-PoE switch available. Fiber switch 24 port is not mentioned in the recommendation due to cost-saving concern, but if required S3900-24F4S fiber switch 24 port with decent price would be a good choice.

Related article: Recommendations for 48 Port Switches

Buy 24 port PoE switch: Managed PoE Switch vs Unmanaged PoE Switch

With the increasing popularity of PoE switch, the issue of network switch selection has aroused heated discussion in forums. For the question – should I buy managed vs unmanaged PoE switch 24 port? It seems that people one-sided speak for the 24 port PoE managed switch. However, this post is dedicated to dig the edges of 24 port PoE switch unmanaged and 24 port managed PoE switch for buying best PoE switch.

24 port PoE Switch Unmanaged over Managed PoE Switch Optimal Situation

24 port PoE switch unmanaged is somehow a low-grade switch compared to 24 port managed PoE switch in the current market. It is a plug-and-play network switch with configuration set up by OEM (original equipment manufacturer), which let your network run in the most basic form. Though not allowing customization, 24 port PoE gigabit switch spares green hands the trouble to configure and manage the unmanaged 24 port PoE gigabit switch. Therefore, 24 port unmanaged PoE switch is suitable for any business networks requiring for simplified management. Also, 24 port unmanaged switch can best satisfy the demand for home and small office usage for desktop powered devices (PDs).

Managed PoE Switch 24 Port over 24 port PoE Switch Unmanaged Optimal Situation

Compared to 24 port PoE switch unmanaged, 24 port managed PoE switch is an optimized version in terms of advanced administrative control and security management. In another way, 24 port PoE managed switch can be called a user-defined switch counting you to take in charge of the whole. Before operation, this kind box needs you to configure everything up. During the process of running, managed 24 port PoE gigabit switch allows you to implement control over traffic, management, surveillance and replacement. For example, you can program each port individually and disable those unused ports for power saving and network intrusion forbidden. It is exactly the control feature that secure your network. By monitor, once found you can easily prohibit those unauthorized users, which can largely protect sensitive internal data. Next, managed PoE switch 24 port provides you with failover and redundancy, which maintains network stability due to less downtime. Besides, 24 port PoE managed switch has built-in Spanning Tree Protocol (STP), which offers backup paths to prevent from endless looping in the case of some devices’ failure. Moreover, some 24 port managed PoE switches is equipped with SFP slots. For instance, FS.COM S1400-24T4F managed 24 port PoE switch gives you 4 SFP ports to allow network expansion with flexibility.

S1400-24T4F managed 24 port PoE switch

 S1400-24T4F 24 port PoE+ managed switch, 4 SFP, 400W by FS.

·24 Port PoE Switch: Managed vs Unmanaged vs Smart Switch

For 24 port managed PoE switches option, it is noted that there are two versions of 24 port PoE switch available in the market: smart PoE switch and fully managed PoE switch. Generally speaking, fully managed switch is targeted at providing optimal network performance and reliability, especially in large and complex data centers. 24 port smart switch over 24 port unmanaged switch is slightly managed to cater for smaller size network and cost saving demand, which is best fit for home and office usage.

Buy 24 Port PoE Switch: Unmanaged vs Managed PoE Switch Selection Guide

After explaining each one respectively, we can come to the following conclusion. 24 port managed PoE switch is designed for optimized network performance, which is best suitable for organizations with heavy workloads, high traffic and requiring for custom management and troubleshoot remotely and securely. 24 port PoE switch unmanaged is best fit for anyone who just want to simply set up a network and let it run automatically or starters to get rid of the configuration trouble. Thus it is commonly used in home and small offices. Simply put, the managed 24 port PoE switch is for advanced users whereas the unmanged 24 port PoE switch is specially for beginners

managed or unmanaged 24 port PoE switch

Conclusion

Buy 24 port PoE switch, should I buy managed PoE switch 24 port or 24 port PoE switch unmanaged? Or should I take smart PoE switch? Don’t indiscreetly make decisions. Before asking this question, figure out the exact network environment and the degree you want to take control of your network. Because each solution has its edges over the other and respective optimal situation for usage.

Related article: 48 Port PoE Switch Managed vs Unmanaged

FS 24 Port PoE Switch – Cheap PoE Switch Solution

PoE switch is becoming more and more popular with the ever increasing demand for high capacity and flexibility in various applications. Power over Ethernet switch is available with PoE switch 8 port, 16 port, 24 port and 48 port. Among them, PoE switch 24 port is the most popular and economic one in the market. So today we’ll focus on the part of 24 port PoE switch.

What Are the Options for FS 24 Port PoE Switch?

Power over Ethernet (PoE) is a technology that lets Ethernet cables carry electrical power in the process of data transmission. PoE switch is a power sourcing equipment (PSE) that has Power over Ethernet setting built-in to provide centralized function of data transmission and power supply for network terminals over one single cable simultaneously. FS 24 port PoE switch is designed with 24×10/100/1000Base-T RJ45 Ethernet ports, 2×combo port, 1×console port and 2 Gigabit SFP slots.

24 port PoE switch

Figure 1: This photo shows the front panel of 24 port PoE gigabit switch by FS.

FS recommends two managed gigabit 24 port PoE+ switch to provide high-quality and efficient networks: S1400-24T4F 24 port PoE switch and S1600-24T4F 24 port PoE managed switch.

Table below shows product details of S1400-24T4F and S1600-24T4F 24 PoE switch

P/N S1400-24T4F S1600-24T4F
Rate Level 1G switch 1G switch
Switching Capacity 52Gbps 52Gbps
Max. Power Consumption 400W 600W
Gigabit RJ45 Ports 24 24
SFP Ports 4 4
SFP+ Ports N/A N/A

There is no much distinction between the two versions of FS 24 port PoE+ managed Ethernet switch except the power capacity. One is 400W whereas the other is 600W. The suggestion is that if you need to power more devices, S1600-24T4F 24 port PoE switch would be a better choice.

What Are the Applications of 24 Port PoE Switch?

FS 24 port PoE switch provides the benefits of security, management efficiency and superior performance, which makes the 24 port PoE managed switch a natural fit for SME (small and medium enterprise) and start-up business solution. Such PoE switch 24 port is commonly applied to three powered devices (PD): VoIP phones, IP camera and wireless access points (AP).

24 port PoE switch application

Figure 2: This photo illustrates the application of FS S1600-24T4F 24 port PoE switch for IP phones and desktops.

What Are the Advantages of 24 Port PoE Switch?

Cost and Time Efficiency

FS S1400-24T4F 24 port PoE gigabit switch and S1600-24T4F 24 PoE switch is free from electrical power cable, which reduces the extra time and expense for installation.

Flexibility

24 port PoE switc breaks the tether of local electrical wiring, thus can be placed in any place they are needed, in a rack, on a wall or on desktop. The Auto-MDI/MDIX also makes 24 port gigabit PoE switch backward compatible with traditional network devices.

Reliability

Different from traditional distributed wall sockets, FS 24 port PoE switch is specified by worldwide PoE standards, both IEEE 802.3af and IEEE 802.3at. PoE switch 24 port can safely supply other PoE compatible devices such as Cisco IP phones.

High Capacity

FS 24 port PoE switch has 24 ports, which means you can connect up to 24 power-hungry PDs to network at the same time.

Conclusion

FS 24 port PoE switch is best fit for SMEs and start-up companies which require for VoIP phones, IP camera and wireless APs. 24 PoE switch not only upgrades your network to a higher-capacity system, but also centralizes the cabling function for power supply and data transmission. FS 24 port PoE switch price is highly cost-effective with equal performance with other brand-name PoE switches like cisco 24 port PoE switch. For cheap PoE switch 8 port, PoE switch 24 port and 48 port PoE switch, FS.COM will be a good way to go. So why not set up PoE to upgrade you network right now?

Single Mode Fiber Type: G652 vs G655 Fiber

With the increasing demand for greater capacity over long distance transmission, single mode fiber optic cable is designed with various versions. There are 6 different categories of SMFs: G652, G653, G654, G655, G656 and G657, among which G652 and G655 are two options frequently used in WDM. So G652 vs G655 fiber: what’s the difference?

Single Mode Fiber: What Is G652?

G652 is currently the most popularly adopted single mode fiber, for which G652 is defined as Standard SMF. It has G652A, B, C and D four versions. G652A and B have a zero dispersion wavelength point at 1310 nm, which makes it a natural fit for operation in the 1310 nm band. However, they are not suitable for applications in Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM) due to water peak. The more advanced C and D are optimized with elimination of water peak for spectrum operation, which makes them effective at wavelength between 1310 to 1550 nm to support Coarse Wavelength Division Multiplexing (CWDM). Comparing G652C, G652D single mode fiber has superior PDM (polarization mode dispersion) parameter, for which G652D is known as Standard single mode fiber (SSMF) and commonly used to support 10GbE and 40GbE system. FS. COM provides such G652D LC fiber in various versions.

FS.COM G652D LC single mode fiber single mode fiber

Figure 1: This photo shows a FS.COM G652D LC single mode fiber.

Single Mode Fiber: What Is G655?

G655 is known as nonzero dispersion-shifted fiber (NZDSF), because the dispersion at the wavelength of 1550 nm is close to zero but not zero. It is further divided into A, B and C three subcategories. There are two types of NZDSF: (+D)NZDSF and (-D)NZDSF, the dispersion of which is respectively proportional and inversely proportional to wavelength. Among them, the positive dispersion of G655 overcomes nonlinear effects in WDM system such as four wave mixing (FWM) due to high effective area. G655 is specified at 1550 nm and 1620 nm, and has low value of chromatic dispersion in the c-band (1530 -1660 nm), in which Erbium Doped Fiber Amplifier (EDFA) boost the optical signals. This match gives G655 an edge over G652. G655 fiber is suitable for DWDM system to meet increasing transmission capacity and long haul high capacity WDM transmission system.

Difference of G652 vs G655 single mode fiber

Figure 2: This diagram shows the difference of G652 vs G655.

G652 vs G655 Single Mode Fiber: What’s the Difference?

Table below shows the detail information of G652 vs G655 fiber.

Fiber Type G652 G655
Alternative Name Standard SMF/zero dispersion-shifted fiber (non dispersion-shifted fiber) Nonzero dispersion-shifted fiber (NZDSF)
Specified Wavelength 1310, 1550, 1625 nm (C and D excluded) 1550-1625 nm
Dispersion Point 1310 nm 1550 nm
Dispersion Value Higher Low
Attenuation Parameter Less than 0.4 dB/km Typically 0.2 dB/km at 1550 nm
PMD Parameter Less than 0.5 over C and 0.2 over D Less than 0.1 ps/sqrt (km)
Applications LAN, MAN, access networks and CWDM transmission Long-haul systems that use DWDM transmission
Price Lower than G655 High
Features Reduced water peak Low dispersion value; overcoming nonlinear effect

As shown in the table, G652 and G655 fiber are two single mode fiber types defined with different specifications of wavelength, dispersion, parameter of attenuation and PMD. G652 is featured a zero dispersion wavelength at 1310 and reduced water peak to support CWDM. G655 is an enhanced single mode fiber with the characteristic of elimination of FWM and low dispersion value, typically applied to long and high-speed DWDM transmission. For consideration of both the function and price, G652 especially G652D version has become the most commonly used one.

Conclusion

This article introduced two categories of single mode fiber types and made a contrast between G652 vs G655. It’s not proper to say one type beats the other since both have their characteristics for different applications. For transmission not requiring very high rate and long distance, G652. D can be the choice. But for much higher capacity and long distance required DWDM system, G655 will best meet the needs regardless of much higher cost.

Ethernet Cable vs Network Cable: What’s the Difference?

With the ever-increasing popularization of network applications in our daily life, people frequently hear words like “Ethernet cable” and “network cable”. We can easily get confused by these terms and questions like Ethernet cable vs network cable: What’s the difference? Whoever you are as long as you are network users, you need the basic knowledge to figure one from the other.

What Is Ethernet Cable?

Ethernet cable is a concept of cabling network wire that specified to be used in LAN (local area network), MAN (metropolitan area network) and WAN (wide area network). In actual application, cables that installed in Ethernet to connect with devices like switches, routers and PCs and used as a common network medium for data transmission and power supply (Power over Ethernet, PoE) are called Ethernet cables. They are of great concern while setting up wired networks, for both bad cabling and low-quality cable leading to low network performance.

Ethernet cable

Figure 1: This photo shows the installation of Ethernet cable in the network center.

What Is Network Cable?

Network cable is a wide concept of all types of cables used in various network. It is used to connect and transmit data between a network and computers. There are a variety of network cables in the market, and different network cables are required for different network conditions. Ethernet crossover, twisted pair, coaxial and fiber optic are four of the most frequently used network cables.

Ethernet Cable vs Network Cable: What’s the Difference?

·Range Involved

Ethernet cable is a branch of network cable. Only network cables that used in Ethernet environments (LAN, MAN, WAN) are called Ethernet cable. Ethernet cable usually exclusively refers to a copper or aluminium cable. However, network cable refers to a large range of cable types such as patch cable and glass optical fiber. In fact, any cables that applied to networks are network cables.

·Classification

Modern Ethernet usually operates on twisted pair cables with 8P8C modular RJ45 connectors. An unshield one – UTP is the most identified type and thus be called as Ethernet cable. Ethernet cable is also commonly classified by standard categories. For example, Cat5e Ethernet cable and Cat6 cable are two most popular used Ethernet cables in the current market. Other updated Ethernet cables are Cat6a, Cat7a for higher performance. All the above specially mentioned as Ethernet cables are also network cables. However, modern technology has developed Ethernet, allowing it to run on coaxial and fiber optics cables, which is beyond the early Ethernet technology. This evolution makes the concept of Ethernet cable and network cable more close to each other.

Cat5e vs Cat6

Figure 2: This photo shows the most popular used Cat5e and Cat6 cables.

·Application

Opposite to WLAN (WiFi, wireless local area network), Ethernet is a wired LAN access technology. Any cable attached to this access of network is called especially as “Ethernet cable” and generally as “network cable”. As for network, it defines both wired network and WLAN. As we know, WiFi has become more and more popular in the modern world. Will there be a special “wireless network cable” in the future to replace standard cable? Maybe change in structure and function is foreseeable, but the need for a wire to connect the server with a hub is always dispensable.

Conclusion

This article explained the concept of Ethernet cable vs network cable and made a contrast of them. Ethernet cable belongs to the category of network cable. Ethernet cable is exclusively pointed to an Ethernet environment, while network cable is a general concept of all cable types used in different network conditions.

Related Articles:
Running 10GBASE-T Over Cat6 vs Cat6a vs Cat7 Cabling?
Home Ethernet Wiring Guide: How to Get a Wired Home Network?
Patch Cable vs. Crossover Cable: What Is the Difference?
Ethernet Cable vs Patch Cable

C13 vs C15 Power Cord: What’s the Difference?

Throughout the world, power cord is widely used in our daily life, data centers and other professional fields. There are various power cords equipped with different types of connectors in different countries, from type A to type N. Among all these types, C13 and C15 power cords are two most commonly used plug type C power cords. People may easily get confused by C13 vs C15 power cord. What’s the difference between them? The answer is here.

What Is Power Cord?

C13 and C15 power cords are two types of power cords defined by different connectors. So before we touch the question, let’s understand the concept of power cord. Power cord is an electrical flexible cord with connectors at each end. One is a male plug and the other is a female receptacle. In actual application, the male inlet is attached to a power supply such as PDU power strips while the female connector attached to an electrical appliance or equipment. IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) uses odd numbers to stand for female outlets, and 1 bigger even numbers to stand for the matching male inlets. Each power cord has been standardized by IEC before introduced in the market. Different types of connectors are specified for different combination of rated current, voltage and temperature.

power cordThis figure is a display of power cord application.

What Is C13 Power Cord?

C13 power cord consists of a supple cable, a female C13 connector at one end and a male C14 appliance inlet at the other end. In this way, the combined unit of C13 power cord is shown as C13 to C14. C13 power cord is called as “kettle cord” in our life, however, the rated temperature of C13 is 70℃, not high enough to support a electric kettle. C13 is commonly used in PCs, printers, monitors and instrument amplifiers.

What Is C15 Power Cord?

At the first sight of C15 power cords, one can see nothing different from C13 but a notch opposite the earth. This slight difference is designed for figuring C15 from C13, forbidding misuse of different rated temperature connectors. C15 power cord is matched with C16 appliance inlet, shown as C15 to C16. It is noted that C15 connector also fits into C14 inlets while C13 cannot fit into C16 inlets. Because higher rated voltage power cord can be used in lower voltage equipment, not vice versa. C15 is designed for high temperature conditions with a rated voltage up to 120℃. For instance, it can be used for devices like electric kettles and computing networking closets.

C13 vs C15 Power Cord: What’s the Difference?

The following table shows a comparison between C13 vs C15 power cord.

Connector Type C13 C15
Ground Post Yes Yes
Rated Current/Voltage 10A/250V 10A/250V
Shape Characteristic No notch

C13 connector

 A notch opposite the earth

a notch on C15 connector
Appliance Inlet Type C14 C16
Temperature Rating 70℃ 120℃
Applications PCs, printers, monitors, instrument amplifiers to fixed-configuration switches. Electric kettles, computing networking closets, sever rooms, PoE switches with high wattage power equipment.

As the table shown, C13 and C15 both are 3-hole power cords with earth touch, and defined with same rated current and voltage. However, they have distinct features in shape characteristic, appliance inlet type, temperature rating and applications. C15 is a better choice in high temperature surroundings.

Conclusion

This article introduced the concept of power cord, C13 and C15, then focused on one question-C13 vs C15 power cord: What’s the difference? It made a contrast from four aspects: shape characteristic, appliance inlet type, temperature rating and applications. At last a conclusion is made that C13 and C15 are totally different power cords. Comparing with C13, C15 is a natural fit for high temperature application, so next time you need a power cord applied to high temperature condition, take C15 rather than C13.