Why Use A Patch Panel?

When we set up a network, we are accustomed to buying a patch panel as usual. And people always say they buy patch panels for cable management, as they are asked why use a patch panel. However, are there any other benefits of a patch panel? Yes, of course, here explains why use a patch panel in networking.

Figure 1: Patch panels in a rack for managing the fiber and copper cables.

Why Use A Patch Panel?
As shown in the picture above, patch panels are usually attached in the network racks. All the cables from the individual desktop, computer or printer go to the patch panel. Then the patch panel provides a protection and management for the cables, which contributes to ensure the cables’ performance in the whole network. This is the greatest benefit of using a patch panel. Whenever cables change direction, the bend of the cables is likely to change the electrical properties. If one cable bends too far, unfortunately, damages may occur inside where you can’t see it. So patch panels can help to protect the delicate cables.

Besides, using a patch panel improves working efficiency and workflow. How? For example, telecommunication and cable companies always use patch panels in strategic locations in their coverage areas. Therefore, the technicians can connect or disconnect services to the specific places without going to the actual locations just by managing the patch panels.

Finally, using a patch panel also improves the aesthetics of your work area. All cables are in place and accessible represent a well managed workstation, which also shows your professional quality.

Why Not Use A Switch Instead of Patch Panel?
When someone connects the cables, he may wonder why use a patch panel is a requirement and why they aren’t connected to network switches directly. The answer is that patch panel and switch play different roles in the cabling system. Patch panel acts just as a connector which will not make any influences on data transmission, but a network switch connects hardware within a network to enable them to access the Internet, share data etc. In a data center rack, there are many network switches with numbers of ports. Routing cables from one rack to another is a tough job. So you have to use patch panels to manage these cables.

Fiber and Copper Patch Panels Recommendation
Designed for specific cables like Cat5e, Cat6 copper cables and OS2, OM3 fiber cables, patch panels types are different.

Fiber Optic Patch Panel
This type of patch panel takes the simplex, duplex and quad model designs at FS.COM. There are 24 port patch panel and 48 port patch panel available for you to choose. All products are produced strictly in accordance with national standards. The following is a 24 port LC duplex fiber optic patch panel used to connect 48 OS2 single mode fibers. It uses the standardized jack that makes it easy to insert and remove fiber cables, so that to ensure the long-term and stable performance of the fiber cables.

Figure 2: 24 Port LC Duplex Fiber Patch Panel

Ethernet Patch Panel
FS.COM offers punch down and feed-through Ethernet patch panel. And the feed-through patch panel falls into unshielded and shielded types to wire the unshielded and shielded Ethernet cables. The following is a 24 port Cat6 unshielded feed-through patch panel. Design with SPCC and ABS plastics materials, the Ethernet patch panel is sturdy and durable that can work in the environment of -25°C to 70°C.

Figure 3: 24 Port Cat6 Unshielded Feed-Through Patch Panel

Blank Keystone Patch Panel
When you are unable to decide in advance which type of cables will be used to connect your hardware, you can use a blank keystone patch panel. The following is a 48 port blank keystone patch panel that provides flexibility in the type of jacks. As a result, you can make a mixed connection based on your actual demands.

Figure 4: Cables connected on 48 port blank keystone patch panel.

Conclusion
What is the purpose of patch panel in networking, or why use a patch panel? I think now you have a good understanding. Today’s fast changing technology makes more and more electrical and electronic devices connected to each other, so don’t hesitate to use a patch panel to simplify the cabling.

Things About Cisco SFP Compatibility Matrix That Wiki Can’t Tell You

Transceiver module is the essential device of a network architecture. As a famous manufacturer of optical products, Cisco published a set of copper SFP transceiver modules to support copper networking. Here focus on Cisco SFP compatibility matrix to present a comprehensive Cisco SFP datasheet for you.

Overview of Cisco Copper SFP Transceiver Module
SFP stands for small form factor pluggable. Copper SFP transceiver is a hot-pluggable transceiver with RJ45 port, so it’s also called SFP RJ45 transceiver. SFP RJ45 transceiver supports 10/100/1000 BASE rate over Cat5 cables. In addition, RJ45 copper transceiver is usually used for transmitting data in a short distance, due to its transmission distance ranging from 10 to 30 meters or from 80 to 100 meters. And Cisco 1G SFP, copper and RJ45 Ethernet cables are much cheaper than the fiber ones, so it’s wise to choose a copper SFP transceiver to make use of the existing cabling system to optimize your network instead of using the fiber cables.

How to Choose A Cisco Copper SFP Transceiver Module
When you decide to buy a copper SFP transceiver, the quality and price matter a lot. But the price between OEM and the third party suppliers varies greatly. If you have plenty of money, you can order one directly from Cisco. If you search for a cost-effective solution, then the third party is a good choice. As for the quality, there are not many differences between Cisco and the third party’s products, because all products must meet the strict standards or MSA (Multisource Agreement). So it’s a wise decision to buy a copper SFP transceiver from a third party. Here I recommend you some copper SFP transceivers from FS.COM, whose transceivers are all tested before shipping.



Figure: Choose a suitable copper SFP transceiver for your network

Cisco GLC-T Compatible 1000BASE-T SFP Transceiver
This GLC-T transceiver is a typical RJ45 transceiver, which is used for Cat5 wiring. The max data rate is 1000Mbps and the max cable distance is 100 meters, which is suitable to connect different switches or routers in a data center. It’s compatible with most Cisco switches and some FS switches like S5800-48F4S Gigabit SFP switch.

Cisco GLC-TA Compatible 10/100/1000BASE-T SFP Transceiver
Similar with GLC-T SFP, but this copper transceiver supports 10/100/1000 auto negotiation. And the operating temperature is different. It is an extended temperature range from -5 to 85°C, while GLC-T is from 0 to 70°C. Furthermore, it also operates on standard Cat5 unshielded twisted-pair copper cabling of link lengths up to 100 meters.

Cisco SFP Compatibility Matrix for GLC-T and GLC-TA
Both GLC-T and GLC-TA are supported on a wide range of Cisco equipment. Here lists some of Cisco network switches compatible with GLC-T and GLC-TA Cisco SFP compatibility matrix.


Besides Cisco switches, GLC-T and GLC-TA can also be used on FS.COM S5800-48F4S switch which is a 48 port SFP L2/L3 MPLS switch with 4 10G SFP+ ports. It is a very cost-effective solution for traditional or fully virtualized data center.

Conclusion
Knowing Cisco SFP compatibility matrix can help us to choose the suitable transceiver and switch quickly. Cisco copper SFP transceiver modules produced by FS.COM can work well with Cisco switches and FS switches. Besides, our Cisco compatible SFPs are the most reliable quality products without high price, and supported by a long time warranty to offer you a great after-sales service. Know more about Cisco copper SFP modules, please visit FS.COM.

Unicast vs Multicast vs Broadcast: What Are the Differences?

Unicast, multicast and broadcast are the three simple methods used to transmit packets over a network. However, do you really have a good understanding of these networking terms? Here focus on unicast vs multicast vs broadcast to tell you their differences.

What Is Unicast?
Unicast is defined as the connection that only between a server and a client, which means it’s a one to one transmission. In computing world, it’s the most common kind of traffic in TCP/IP networks. For example, when you send or receive the email, you have to connect to the email server. And here you use the unicast transmission. In this case, a unicast frame contains the unique unicast MAC address of the destination receiver. Therefore, only the specified destination can receive the unicast traffic, and all other destinations will ignore or can’t receive unicast traffic. Using this transfer method, the server can send personalized and accurate information to each client with different requests. However, when the same information needs to be sent to a large audience, multicast and broadcast methods will be more efficient.


Figure 1: Example of Unicast One to One transmission

What Is Multicast?
Multicast is a one to many technology that efficiently sends data from one source to many destinations simultaneously, generally within a Local Area Network. A multicast frame contains the unique multicast MAC address of an application, protocol or data stream. To implement IP multicast communication, equipment like data switch, router between the source and receivers is required to support IP multicast function. In multicast model, the network traffic will not increase since the data packet can be sent to different destinations of one multicast group by sending one copy of the data, which means the overall network load can be reduced. However, as we mentioned above, the operation of multicast requires the assistance of switches with IP multicast function, so no matter you choose a 10gb ethernet switch or Gigabit PoE switch, please make sure the switch has that function.


Figure 2: Example of Multicast One to Many Transmission

What Is Broadcast?
Broadcast is a one to all technology. When a device sends a packet to the broadcast MAC address (FF:FF:FF:FF:FF:FF), it will be delivered to all receivers that connected on the LAN no matter the receiver needs it or not. Cable television network is the typical broadcast network example. However, broadcast is not the suitable choice for the public Internet, because it will generate unnecessary interference and tons of unwanted data.


Figure 3: Example of Broadcast One to All Transmission

Unicast vs Multicast vs Broadcast: What Are the Differences?
After knowing the definitions of unicast, multicast and broadcast, we’ll make a comparison of unicast vs multicast vs broadcast.

Multicast vs Unicast
The basic difference is that, in unicast, there is only one sender and one receiver, while there is a single sender but multiple receivers in multicast. When we want to send the message to a number of people, we’d better choose multicast transmission since it can utilize the bandwidth more efficiently.

Multicast vs Broadcast
In broadcast, the packet transmission is one to all, but in multicast the transmission is one to many. Besides, multicast requires group management, in order to ensure the message can be sent to those hosts which are interested in receiving the message. And the traffic on the multicast network is under control.

Unicast vs Broadcast
The process of data transmission is different. Unicast only sends the data to one receiver, but broadcast sends the same data to all receivers connected in one LAN. Moreover, if you want to share some private or unique information with another person, you must use unicast network but not the broadcast.

Here is a table to give you a clear comparison of unicast vs multicast vs broadcast.


From the table, we can see that multicast is the most efficient method for data transmitting. To meet the market demand, almost all FS network switches have multicast function.

Conclusion
As regard with unicast vs multicast vs broadcast, we know the key difference between them is the different transmission paths. So when you need to transmit some information, choose the suitable transmission method based on your actual needs.

What Is QSFP56 and QSFP56-DD Transceiver Module?

Optical transceiver is one of the most important elements in data centers. Currently, QSFP28 transceiver module is the leading product on the market that supports 40 and 100 Gigabit Ethernet application. However, the world is constantly changing and evolving, new applications such as 4K HD video, webcast, VR and cloud computing have driven a sharp growth of network traffic. Therefore, today, QSFP56 and QSFP56-DD are developed to provide 200G or 400G applications, in order to satisfy people’s higher transmission speed.

Introduction of QSFP
In order to have a good understanding of QSFP56 and QSFP56-DD, we’d better know what QSFP is first. QSFP means Quad Small Form-Factor Pluggable, which is a compact, hot-pluggable transceiver. It’s an industry format that is developed and supported by many network component vendors, and it’s widely used to connect network switch, computer, server, video and some other communication systems. QSFP, QSFP56 and QSFP56-DD transceivers share the same package form, but their transmitting rates are different. This has lead to some other differences such as functions and applications, which will be explained in the following parts.

What Is QSFP56 Transceiver Module?
QSFP56 optical transceiver is the solution for 200G applications. It’s a pluggable transceiver module that has the same size as QSFP. However, this 200G transceiver can provide the top data rate of 50Gb/s of each channel. In addition, products of the transceiver will be compatible with previous QSFP standards. Therefore, the data center are able to reuse and easily refresh their systems designs and cost in an effective way. Communication specialists forecast that QSFP56 transceivers may accelerate the upgrade of the next generation network switches that the density of their front panel would be doubled, which will create more network throughput. QSFP56 will be the most competitive product due to its powerful processing capacity.


Figure 1: Example of QSFP56 Transceiver Connection

What Is QSFP56-DD Transceiver Module?
QSFP56-DD refers to a double-density QSFP optical transceiver that supports 200Gbps and 400Gbps Ethernet applications. It’s designed to employ eight lanes that operate up to 25Gb/s NRZ modulation or 50Gb/s PAM4 modulation. This means the new 400Gbps optical transceiver will increase the bandwidth and panel density by several times compared to the similarly sized QSFP transceivers. It’s based on the widely applied QSFP interconnection system, which is particularly suitable in data centers and HPC centers. In addition, this transceiver provides backward compatibility to lower-speed QSFP forms, so that when the technicians need to upgrade their networks to a higher speed, they could continue to use the other existing cabling infrastructure.



Figure 2: QSFP-DD vs QSFP

Conclusion
Traffic growth for data centers operators and service suppliers requires the adoption of 200G and 400G optical interfaces in the next generation of network devices. QSFP56 and QSFP56-DD transceiver modules are the best innovations to support customers with high speed and reliable connections. With these optical transceivers, technicians are able to achieve a breakthrough in network transmitting capability. We believe that the applications of QSFP56 and QSFP56-DD are the general trend in the future.

Related Article: Global Optical Transceiver Market: Striding to 200G and 400G

Will Cat6 Patch Panel Work with Cat6a Cable?

As information technology develops, we have to upgrade our network products such as the cables, patch panels, etc. Besides, to reduce our data center’s cost, we are tempted to use the old and new ones to make a mixed connection. For instance, run Cat6a cables on Cat6 patch panel. However, does it work? Is it a reliable connection? Here we’ll discuss it in this article.

Comparison of Cat6 and Cat6a Cabling
Cat6a and Cat6 are both designed for Gigabit Ethernet. They can handle 10BASE-T, 100BASE-TX, 1000BASE-TX, and 10GBASE-T rate. Cat6 and Cat6a sound almost the same, but a single lowercase “a” sets the two terms apart. The word “a” stands for augmented, which makes them behave differently in performance, size and so on.

Cat6 usually has 23 AWG wire conductors, and can support transmission speed of up to 10Gbps at 250MHz. But the theoretical top distance with 10Gbps speed is only 33-35 meters. While Cat6a also has 23 AWG wire conductors, but doubles the capability by delivering data at 500MHz. Moreover, it supports 10Gbps standard over the full 100 meter distance. Note that Cat6a is usually thicker than Cat6 cables, because Cat6a uses extra thick plastic. Therefore, Cat6a takes more space in a patch panel than Cat6.

Can I Use Cat6a Cables on Cat6 Patch Panel?
Ethernet patch panel is the easiest method currently for your networking needs by providing a reliable and neat Cat6 and Cat6a cabling. Usually, we use Cat6 patch panel to connect Cat6 cables, and Cat6a patch panel is for Cat6a cables. However, there isn’t much practical difference between Cat6 and Cat6a patch panel. Then how about installing Cat6a on cat6 patch panel, will it work? There are several things to consider before answering it.


Example of Cat6 Cabling

Do the Connectors Match?
Cat6a is the updated version of Cat6, they share the same RJ45 connectors. Therefore, it’s no doubt that Cat6a cables can be plugged into the Cat6 patch panel.

Is It Safety?
Cat6a cable’s size is bigger, so the corresponding minimum bend radius is larger, which will change installation requirements for routing and handling as well as design of pathways and spaces. For example, when we install Cat6a on a 48 port Cat6 patch panel, the larger wire may end up bending. So it’s not entirely safe to wire Cat6a on the 48 port patch panel, you have to manage it with much more patience and caution.

It Might Work
Commonly, conductors determine whether the connection works or not. Thus, in this respect, Cat6 patch panel will work with Cat6a cables, since they have the same RJ45 conductors. But from the above we know it’s not safe enough to do so.

Conclusion
To sum up, Cat6a cables are able to run on Cat6 patch panel. However, there are some disadvantages exist in this job. So I’d like to suggest that if you just want to make an experiment at home, it’s surely OK. But if you want to use Cat6 patch panel with Cat6a in your data center, that’s not inappropriate. Because the cables may be out of work, which will cause damages to your business. If you would like to know more about designing or choosing the right cabling infrastructure, please contact us via sales@fs.com.

Related Article: Does Cat6 on Cat5e Patch Panel or Cat5e on Cat6 Patch Panel Work?