Avoiding a common mistake in fibre network installation

Posted on: 25 May 2016

The network landscape has been subject to significant changes in the recent past, and companies need to install high-performance network installations to support a host of different operations. As a result, many businesses are investing in fibre-optic network infrastructure and this has generated a sense of urgency in terms of making the upgrade. Even though it may be alluring to move quickly to deploy fibre networks, careful planning helps avoid major problems along the way. This article looks at one such major problem when businesses rush into deploying fibre networks.

The assumption that fibre-optic is exclusive

One of the major problems that companies face when they hurry to deploy fibre networks is assuming that optical equipment is rather exclusive to other types of networking. Though a high-performance network can be set up through the installation of fibre cables and equipment, the truth is that the process doesn't come cheap. Fibre based switches, firewalls and routers are normally three times more costly compared to their copper based equivalents. Discarding miles of fitted copper is being wasteful. Rather than adopting a complete upgrade to fibre networks, companies should adopt a systematic approach by moving important sections of the network to a fibre-optic infrastructure, while maintaining other sections of the network connected to copper in the meantime.

Systematic approach to fibre network upgrade

To perform this, companies should scrutinize each of their departments and establish their respective network requirements. Sections that require data transmission over one hundred meters, better bandwidth and electromagnetic interference protection are typically first in line to be upgraded to fibre network. After evaluating each department in the organization, businesses can, upgrade to a fibre network infrastructure where required based on department by department. Copper based network and cabling can keep on functioning reliably in other departments until it is considered practicable in the upgrade timeline to re-evaluate those departments.

A while ago, linking copper based networks with optic networks was difficult to accomplish. Nevertheless, the introduction of fibre to Ethernet media technology has allowed the seamless connection of fibre-optic and copper infrastructures, making the process fairly easy. Consequently, companies that desire to enjoy the advantages of fibre network installation, without the high-cost of upgrading their existing copper devices and cabling all at a go, can make use of this technology for systematic transition.

In conclusion, this is just one of the many problems a company could face if they rush into fibre-optic migration. It may have financial and operational effect on network performance and ought to be deliberated upon when deploying fibre networks. For more information, contact companies like Insight Protection Solutions.

Share