IN A NUTSHELL:
MEDIA CONVERTER
WHAT IS A MEDIA CONVERTER?
A MEDIA CONVERTER IS NETWORK DEVICE THAT CAN CONVERT ONE TYPE OF DATA TRANSMISSION MEDIUM INTO ANOTHER.
SUCH AS FIBER OPTIC, TWISTED PAIR, RJ11, DSL,POE, AND MUCH MORE. ALL OF THESE CAN BE CONVERTED AND CONNECTED INTERCHANGEABLY WITH A MEDIA CONVERTER.
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RJ-45
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FIBER OPTIC
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RJ-11
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TWISTED PAIR
THIS EVEN INCLUDES DISSIMILAR OPERATION TYPES SUCH AS SINGLE MODE AND MULTIMODE.
WHEN YOU RUN OUT OF PORTS FOR A CONNECTOR TYPE, AND ONLY HAVE PORTS OF A DIFFERENT CONNECTOR TYPE AVAILABLE,WHAT CAN YOU DO?
YOU CAN BUY ANOTHER SWITCH. BUT THAT CAN BE EXPENSIVE AND YOU MAY NOT END UP USING ALL THE EXTRA PORTS.
SO WHAT'S THE SOLUTION?
IT IS MORE COST EFFECTIVE TO USE A MEDIA CONVERTER. ALSO, FOR SOME TYPES OF MEDIA CONVERTERS, IT IS FASTER (LESS LATENCY) THAN USING ANOTHER SWITCH.
WHAT IF I NEED TO CONNECT TWO NETWORKS THAT ARE FAR APART? COULD I USE TRADITIONAL COPPER TO CONNECT THEM?
TRADITIONAL COPPER DISTANCE IS 328FT (100 METERS). IF YOU WANT TO CONNECT NETWORKS FARTHER APART THAN THAT, IT MIGHT BE AN ISSUE.
YOU CAN CONNECT THE NETWORKS USING ETHERNET EXTENDERS, BUT IT CAN BE COSTLY.
SO WHAT'S THE SOLUTION?
WE CAN USE FIBER SINCE IT IS DESIGNED FOR LONG DISTANCE. BUT EACH END TAKES COPPER ETHERNET (RJ45)
THAT'S NO PROBLEM. YOU CAN JUST CONVERT THE ENDS OF THE FIBER USING A MEDIA CONVERTER TO CONNECT YOUR PREFERRED DATA TRANSMISSION MEDIUMS TOGETHER.
