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Technology Stocks : MRV Communications (MRVC) opinions? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Greg h2o who wrote (36070)	10/4/2001 12:01:05 PM
From: Greg h2o	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 42804

Upgrade to Gigabit Ethernet nbase.com Nbase-Xyplex's Gigabit Ethernet Extender provides an upgrade path for organisations that are currently running 100BaseFX or FDDI backbones over multi-mode fibre, reports Peter Judge The arrival of Gigabit Ethernet has been a mixed blessing to many users. On the one hand, it offers faster transmission over fibre backbones which may currently be running FDDI or 100Mbit/s Ethernet. On the other, it imposes much more severe distance limitations. Users currently running FDDI backbones across a campus who might be hoping for a straightforward upgrade to Gigabit Ethernet could well be disappointed. If they are running on the cheaper multi-mode fibre, Gigabit will not link buildings any further apart than 550 metres. For these users, it might appear that the only way to reach Gigabit speeds is to pay out for an upgrade that replaces the multi-mode with single-mode fibre, which can carry Gigabit for up to five kilometres. Nbase-Xyplex offers a different answer. Using a proprietary signalling technology, it has produced a new Extender module that carries Gigabit Ethernet over two kilometres of multi-mode fibre. This is part of its Fiber Driver NC316 range of media converters. Other Fiber Driver members provide an upgrade path for organisations that are currently running 100BaseFX or FDDI over single- or multi-mode cables. Green-field installations are advised to install single-mode fibre and use the 1000BaseLX signalling for standards compliance and futureproofing -- those with single-mode fibre can use a second flavour of Fiber Driver to extend their signals to 110 kilometres. The provision of redundant links and auto-failover switching means this technology is suited to mission-critical links and off-site mirroring. A range of modules is available for other protocols, which typically transmit data over a maximum 110 kilometres. First demonstrated in the UK at the Networks Telecom show last June, the module is ready for shipment to customers. For our evaluation, the Fiber Driver module was housed in a 16-slot rack-mountable chassis -- Nbase-Xyplex has similar units for two or four modules. The four- and 16-slot chassis include a management bus, and when used with the optional management card the unit can be man- aged via a serial interface or 100BaseT port. Options include using telnet and a command-line interface, or managing the unit via an SNMP management platform such as Nbase-Xyplex's MegaVision. We tested the unit in IT Week Labs and found the system remarkably easy to set up. Each Gigabit Fiber Driver module contains a 1000BaseSX port to link to the local LAN, plus a proprietary fibre interface for the long-haul link. We used a two-kilometre drum of multi-mode fibre to assist in our evaluation, and inserted the Fiber Driver system into an existing 1000BaseSX link between a server and network switch. There is no software configuration necessary, so with the cables connected we were immediately able to use the link without having to reconfigure any other components in our network. The hot pluggable architecture means that malfunctioning modules can be swapped or extra links added without affecting other modules in the chassis. Fault tolerance is improved by the unit's redundant link capability, which allows it to failover automatically between the fibre pairs.