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Does someone make, well, low speed fiber? Something to carry Fast Ethernet but that can't be susceptible to EMI and doesn't require the expensive and power hung

Does someone make, well, low speed fiber? Something to carry Fast Ethernet but that can't be susceptible to EMI and doesn't require the expensive and power hungry stuff that the real deal does?

toast0 2y ago
You're not looking for different fiber really. You're looking for different transceivers. There are fiber ethernet transceivers for all the ethernet speeds, I've seem them for 10M, 100M, 1G, 10G, all the Gs. I feel like SFP (1G) is the sweet spot for cost and applicability right now, you can pick up a media coverter with one port rj45 and one port sfp for $20 from a reputable (consumer) brand, and SFP transcievers aren't too expensive. Switched with a bunch of 1g rj45 and one or two sfp are also inexpensive new and lots of inexpensive old enterprise gear at those speeds too. For 100M (fast ethernet), I don't know if you'll have many options other than old old used enterprise equipment.
- bgnn 2y ago
  This! The biggest cost is in the opto-electric transition parts. The mechanical alignment needs to be precise, it needs to have a laser, a laser driver (most likely VCSEL), and a photodiode with a transimpedance amplifier. It's expensive because these parts cannot be integrated with the electronic chips easily. They are also bulky. There are initatives to use crappy alignment optics and plastic optical fiber (POF) for short reach Ethernet [1] though these aren't commercially available. They don't aim for data center or consumer market but automotive and aerospace . [1] https://kd.tech/product/evb9315-sfp-optical-demo/ https://kd.tech/product/evb9315-sfp-optical-demo/
- duskwuff 2y ago
  > For 100M (fast ethernet), I don't know if you'll have many options other than old old used enterprise equipment. You can still buy 100M SFPs [1], but they're about the same price as 1Gbps modules, so I'm not sure why you would. [1]: https://www.fs.com/c/100base-sfp-1668 https://www.fs.com/c/100base-sfp-1668
  - toast0 2y ago
    Probably useful if one end is 100m and not simple to upgrade. Optical transceivers don't usually negotiate on the fiber side, so you'd need a 100m transceiver on the other end.
LgWoodenBadger 2y ago
You might want to look at media converters. e.g. https://www.fs.com/products/96396.html?now_cid=1037 https://www.fs.com/products/96396.html?now_cid=1037 I use a pair to isolate my cable-modem from the rest of my network, to the extent possible. I once lost a modem and a Unifi USG (thankfully only that) to a lightning strike. Now with the media converters, hopefully it's only a modem and a converter.

Does someone make, well, low speed fiber? Something to carry Fast Ethernet but that can't be susceptible to EMI and doesn't require the expensive and power hungry stuff that the real deal does?

toast0 2y ago

You're not looking for different fiber really. You're looking for different transceivers. There are fiber ethernet transceivers for all the ethernet speeds, I've seem them for 10M, 100M, 1G, 10G, all the Gs. I feel like SFP (1G) is the sweet spot for cost and applicability right now, you can pick up a media coverter with one port rj45 and one port sfp for $20 from a reputable (consumer) brand, and SFP transcievers aren't too expensive. Switched with a bunch of 1g rj45 and one or two sfp are also inexpensive new and lots of inexpensive old enterprise gear at those speeds too. For 100M (fast ethernet), I don't know if you'll have many options other than old old used enterprise equipment.

bgnn 2y ago
This! The biggest cost is in the opto-electric transition parts. The mechanical alignment needs to be precise, it needs to have a laser, a laser driver (most likely VCSEL), and a photodiode with a transimpedance amplifier. It's expensive because these parts cannot be integrated with the electronic chips easily. They are also bulky. There are initatives to use crappy alignment optics and plastic optical fiber (POF) for short reach Ethernet [1] though these aren't commercially available. They don't aim for data center or consumer market but automotive and aerospace . [1] https://kd.tech/product/evb9315-sfp-optical-demo/ https://kd.tech/product/evb9315-sfp-optical-demo/
duskwuff 2y ago
> For 100M (fast ethernet), I don't know if you'll have many options other than old old used enterprise equipment. You can still buy 100M SFPs [1], but they're about the same price as 1Gbps modules, so I'm not sure why you would. [1]: https://www.fs.com/c/100base-sfp-1668 https://www.fs.com/c/100base-sfp-1668
- toast0 2y ago
  Probably useful if one end is 100m and not simple to upgrade. Optical transceivers don't usually negotiate on the fiber side, so you'd need a 100m transceiver on the other end.

LgWoodenBadger 2y ago

You might want to look at media converters. e.g. https://www.fs.com/products/96396.html?now_cid=1037 https://www.fs.com/products/96396.html?now_cid=1037 I use a pair to isolate my cable-modem from the rest of my network, to the extent possible. I once lost a modem and a Unifi USG (thankfully only that) to a lightning strike. Now with the media converters, hopefully it's only a modem and a converter.