Fiber vs Cable (2 x 2960)

[marcinwojcik]

Hi

I've been wandering recently if there is any advantage of connecting 2 x 2960 with the fiber rather than Cat 6 short patch cable (let's say 15cm - the switches are adjacent two each other so the patch cable will be very short).

Speed is the same, no problems with the length of connection and we cannot talk about any interference here; no money spend on the SFPs. I think in such case I shall use Cat 6 patch cables. Is this correct?

What do you think?

Thanks.

[icewolf101]

I'd personally stick with the cat6 in this scenario - I might use fibre if it was avaliable already and the switches were part of the core infrastructure though.

[Joseph W. Doherty]

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Posting

I'm not an expert with media, but I believe the fiber also offers faster media failure detection.  Even if true, I too would lean toward copper because of the cost savings.

[Latchum Naidu · Accepted solution]

Hi,

In your case I would suggest to go with Cat6 cable as it is easy to configure and manage.
Of course there are advantages by using Fiber but still for your scenario it is not recommended.

Below are the pros and cons of both Fiber and Cat6 for your reference.

Fiber Advantages:
Higher bandwidth
Longer distances
No sensitivity to electromagnetic interference (EMI)
Better security (hard to tap and no emanations)

Fiber Disadvantages:
More expensive
More difficult to install

Cat6 Advantages:
Cheaper
Easier to install

Cat Disadvantages:
Lower bandwidth (versus fiber)
Shorter distances
Susceptible to EMI
Not as secure

HTH
Please click on the correct answer if this answered your question.
Regards,
Naidu.

[marcinwojcik]

Thanks for all responses.

Everyone agrees that Cat6 should be used in this scenario. The other question is when (if ever) you would use fiber - we are considering the scenario when both switches are in the same cabinet, and the distance between them is no more than 5U-10U. Would you consider using a fiber connection in such case or stick to a cat6 cable?

Regards,

Marcin.

[Joseph W. Doherty]

Disclaimer

The     Author of this posting offers the information contained within this     posting without consideration and with the reader's understanding  that    there's no implied or expressed suitability or fitness for any   purpose.   Information provided is for informational purposes only and   should not   be construed as rendering professional advice of any kind.   Usage of  this  posting's information is solely at reader's own risk.

Liability Disclaimer

In     no event shall Author be liable for any damages whatsoever   (including,   without limitation, damages for loss of use, data or   profit) arising  out  of the use or inability to use the posting's   information even if  Author  has been advised of the possibility of such   damage.

Posting

marcinwojcik wrote:
Thanks for all responses.
Everyone agrees that Cat6 should be used in this scenario. The question is when you would use fiber - we are considering the scenario when both switches are in the same cabinet, and the distance between them is no more than 5U.
Regards,
Marcin.

When you really need one or more of fibers advantages, faster failure detection or the other advantages that Naidu posted.  I've even seen a large datacenter run gig copper that just met the 100 m, from the center of the datacenter, for switch-to-switch links; worked fine.

[Latchum Naidu]

Hi Marcin,

As long as the both switches are in same cabin and just need to back to back connect the I would say just go with Cat6.

But considering your scenario when we can use fiber just for back to back connect in the same cabinet. Yes we have the same setup where the switches carry lots of data as the high end servers are connected like File server, FTP and etc ., where the switches do lots of data tranmissions.

And we know fiber provider Higher bandwidth.

HTH
Please click on the correct answer if this answered your question.
Regards,
Naidu.