 Fibre optic switches
For businesses today, networks are the very lifeblood. If the network is down, the business is affected. This in turn affects the revenues. This is something that a business can ill-afford. In such a scenario, the fibre optic switch can make a positive difference. Switches as such go a long way in making a network function smoothly. What if you are enabled to harness greater bandwidth and avoid data collisions that otherwise take a lot of time? Yes, fibre optic switches can do that for you.
As more users/workstations are added to a network, the available bandwidth becomes less and the possibility of getting bogged down increases. As the fibre optic switches are capable of examining each packet of data and process it accordingly, it is possible to steer clear of signal collisions. It is also not necessary for the signal to be repeated to all ports, as is the case with hubs. In fact, the signal can be mapped or filtered and sent only to the spot where it needs to go. On the other hand, if there is a problem with the signal, it is not sent at all. Thus, the chance for collision is greatly reduced and the problems of an over-crowded network are eliminated.
There are other advantages with optical switches including ‘plug and play’ element. Switches are capable of determining Ethernet addresses in use on each segment and create a table as signal packets are moved through the switch. The switches are flexible enough to link different network types together as is the case with Ethernet and fast Ethernet and also networks of the same type. As a matter of fact, there are no issues of protocol with switches as they occupy the same hardware layer as a hub. The difference between a copper switch and a fibre switch is that the latter allows the user to exploit all the available bandwidth and fibre increases the bandwidth available for consumption.
Most of the commercial multimode switches are based on a well-proven and reliable incorporation of silicon micromachining with an electro-mechanical actuation system. These switches are available in On/Off and 2x2 versions, among others. They also incorporate a physical contact position sensor. The fibre optic switch modules are designed for high return loss, low insertion loss and excellent stability. They help the user in doubling the traffic flow and boost network speed. | 
01-05-2006, 08:04 AM
Linear Mode
