WiFi vs Ethernet Cable: Which One Should I Choose?

With the popularity of the mobile Internet in recent years, we’ve seen a large number of smart devices in our homes and offices connected to the Internet via WiFi. Then will WiFi outperform the capabilities of the traditional Ethernet cables? WiFi vs Ethernet cable, which one should I choose? What factors shall be taken into account before settling for one of these options? How does latency and interference affect the speed of WiFi and Ethernet? We’re gonna answer all these questions in this article.

What Is WiFi?

WiFi is a wireless technology that connects devices to the Internet without any physical wired connection. A WiFi connection is established using a wireless adapter to create hotspots in the vicinity of a wireless router that is connected to the network, allowing users to access Internet services. Once configured, WiFi provides wireless connectivity to your devices by emitting frequencies between 2.4GHz – 5GHz, based on the amount of data on the network.

What Is Ethernet Cable?

An Ethernet cable is a copper wire which connects devices like PCs, routers, and switches in wired networks. Given that these are physical cables, Ethernet cables have their limitations, both in the distance that they can stretch and in their durability over usage. There are different types of Ethernet cables such as Cat5e Ethernet cable, Cat6 Ethernet cable, Cat7 Ethernet cable or Cat8 Ethernet cable optimised to perform certain tasks in particular situations.

WiFi vs Ethernet Cable: Which One Is Better?

Both wired and wireless networks come with pros and cons in particular situations. When it comes to the WiFi vs Ethernet cable discussion, have you ever taken time to consider what sort of network best suits your needs? Let’s bring clarity through a comparison over WiFi vs Ethernet cable from the following aspects.

Speed & Reliability

WiFi vs Ethernet cable speed is the biggest concern that matters to network subscribers. Ethernet cabling connections tend to be faster and more robust than WiFi. If you have the right cabling solution with Cat5e Ethernet cable, Cat6 Ethernet cable or higher, it means you’ve had all the insulation you’ll need to prevent crosstalk, thus helping you to get more reliable signals. WiFi, on the other hand, is somewhat slower but has the convenience of being able to be used from your laptop or tablet anywhere within the range of a wireless access point. Therefore, WiFi is the first choice for anyone who intends to connect to the Internet and get online within reach. However, If you are someone who loves downloading torrents or watching online movies, then Ethernet is the technology you might want to consider.

Latency & Interference

Latency is the delay with which traffic travels from a device to its destination. Latency is vital when playing games, because the reaction time must be quick, and the same goes in the IoT (Internet of Things) data world. If you want to avoid irritating lags or delay while posting data, then an Ethernet connection is the right choice. Interference is another disadvantageous thing that WiFi faces. With the technology taking over the world, we have so much wireless interference in our house from WiFi router, TV, smart phone, setup box, game consoles, etc. The interference does not let your WiFi signal stay isolated from the other signals affecting your WiFi. However, there are no such effects in Ethernet cables. Thus, in the war of WiFi vs Ethernet cable, Ethernet connection offers the advantage of much lower latency and interference.

Cost

Using the Ethernet cable is much pricier than using WiFi because the wired network is often more expensive to install than a wireless network. The cost of wired networks comes in the form of installation charges and cabling. Since each workstation and device in the office that needs a connection requires a wire running to it, the size of your office space affects the cost of a wired network.

Conclusion

In the war of WiFi vs Ethernet cable, there are many plot elements which form the deciding factors in choosing one over the other. These factors mentioned above are perceived individually by the individual users. If you are someone who regularly download/upload large files and participate in gaming, then the Ethernet cable would be worth the connection. If you like to have mobility in your apartment and get online fast, then WiFi suits you better.

 

Hub vs Switch vs Router: Which One Is Right for You?

Among many of today’s optical networking devices, some of the terminologies like the switch, hub and router can be quite confusing. Are they the same thing or can they be used interchangeably? Actually, each term above refers to a single device that performs a single function. In this article, we’re gonna explain the concept behind each of these terms, and give a comparison over hub vs switch vs router.

What Are Hub, Switch and Router?

A hub is a networking device that can work in conjunction with a switch or router for the whole network. A hub is a “dumb” device to broadcast whatever it hears on the input port to all the output ports. The good thing about “dumb” devices is that they don’t need a lot of configurations or maintenance. But this leads to collisions between data packets and a general degrading of network quality. If you have a hub set up between your router and the rest of your network, you’re setting yourself up for a huge headache.

A network switch is charged with the job of connecting smaller segments of a single network into a connected whole. It transfers data across a network segment using MAC addresses for reference. Data switches are extensively used in Ethernet local area networks. A data switch operates on the Data Link Layer of the OSI (Open Systems Interconnection) model. This means that data switches are fairly smarter than hubs, as they can route data on a dynamic level. If information is destined for a certain computer, the data switch will only send the data to this computer.

The router is the most complex network connection device among hub vs switch vs router. A router can direct network traffic between components on a local network and a separate network such as a wide area network or the Internet. A router also contains circuitry to determine the quickest paths for routing data. Routers use Ethernet cables to transmit and receive data and in some cases also has the capability for wireless connection to components.

Hub vs Switch

A hub looks just like a switch, but works differently. The hub is connected to other devices using Ethernet cables and any signal sent from a device to the hub is simply repeated out on all other ports connected to the hub. The method in which frames are being delivered differs between hub vs switch. For a hub, a frame is passed along or “broadcast” to every port of it. By contrast, a switch keeps a record of the MAC (Media Access Control) addresses of all the devices connected to it. Therefore, a switch can identify which system is sitting on which port. So when a frame is received, it knows exactly which port to send it to, without significantly increasing network response time.

Switch vs Router

A switch works at Layer 2 of the OSI model (there are also some Layer 3 switches that have routing capacities), which connects one point to another in a network temporarily by turning it on and off as necessary. However, a router works at Layer 3 of the OSI model, thereby it allows you to connect multiple computers to each other and also allows them to share a single Internet connection. Note that a switch only allows you to connect multiple computers into a local network.

Hub vs Router

Hubs are classified as Layer 1 devices per the OSI model, while a router is defined as Layer 3 device. The data that a hub transmits is electrical signal or bits, while a router is designed to receive data packets and determine the network point to which they should be sent in order to arrive at their appropriate destination. A hub has only one broadcast domain, while in router, every port has its own broadcast domain.

Hub vs Switch vs Router: Which One Is Right for You?

In one word, a hub glues together an Ethernet network segment; a switch connects multiple Ethernet segments more efficiently and a router can do those functions plus route TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) packets between multiple LANs and/or WANs as well as much more of course.

Hub vs switch vs router: which one is right for You? For small networks where there are fewer users or devices, a hub can easily cope with the network traffic and is a cheaper option for connecting devices on a network. If more users need to be connected to a network, switches can be used in such situations to extend the number of hubs. If two or more logical subnets need to be connect together, a router would be the first option.

Source: https://community.fs.com/blog/do-you-know-the-differences-between-hubs-switches-and-routers.html

 

How to Mount a Network Switch to a Rack?

A network switch has been recognized as one of the most important devices for today’s networking technology. It allows simultaneous transmission of multiple packets and partition a network more efficiently than bridges or routers. The rack mount switch can be installed in a standard 19-inch equipment rack or on a desktop or shelf. So how do you mount a network switch to a rack to establish network wiring connections? Here’s a step-by-step guide to teach you how to mount a network switch to a rack.

Preparations Before Mounting the Network Switch

Before rack mounting the switch, please pay attention to the following factors:

• Location: The site should be at the center of all the devices you want to link and near a power outlet, so that it is accessible for installing, cabling and maintaining the devices in the rack.
• Temperature: Since the temperature within a rack assembly may be higher than the ambient room temperature, check that the rack-environment temperature is within the specified operating temperature range (0 to 40 °C).
• Mechanical Loading: Do not place any equipment on top of a rack-mounted unit.
• Circuit Overloading: Be sure that the supply circuit to the rack assembly is not overloaded.
• Grounding: The switch rack should be properly grounded.

How to Mount a Network Switch to a Rack?

Step1. Attaching the Brackets to the Switch

Attach the brackets to the network switch using the screws provided in the mounting accessory.

Step2. Installing the Switch in the Rack

Mount the switch in the rack with the optional rack mount kit, usually using the rack-mounting screws. Be sure to secure the lower rack-mounting screws first to prevent the brackets being bent by the weight of the switch.

Step3. Adding Other Switches into the Rack

If there is only one data switch to be installed in the rack, then you can make the connection to a power source now. If there are multiple switches to be mounted, you need to install the another switch on the top of the first one in the rack, and then attach the power cords.

Step4. Attaching the Power Cords

After you complete mounting all of the switches in the rack, it’s time to connect the switch rack to the power source. Remember to verify that you have the correct power supply (AC-input or DC-input and the correct wattage) for your configuration.

Caution: To prevent bodily injury when mounting or servicing the switches in a rack, you must take special precautions to ensure that the system remains stable. The following guidelines are provided to ensure your safety:

• This network switch should be mounted at the bottom of the rack if it is the only unit in the rack.
• When mounting the switch in a partially filled rack, load the rack from the bottom to the top with the heaviest component at the bottom of the rack.
• If the rack is provided with stabilizing devices, install the stabilizers before mounting or servicing the switches in the rack.

Establishing Network Wiring Connections

After mounting your network switches to a rack, you can establish the network wiring connections according to your requirements now. If you’re using a Gigabit Ethernet switch, it can be connected to 10, 100 or 1000Mbps network interface cards in PCs and servers, as well as to other switches and hubs. It may also be connected to remote devices using optional SFP transceivers. No matter which type of network switches you are using, make sure that they are securely mounted in the rack and connected to the corresponding networking wiring systems.

Source: http://www.fiber-optic-tutorial.com/mount-network-switch-to-rack.html

 

Proper Horizontal Cable Management for Rack

Cable management is a critical part of network cabling systems that require a large number of moves, adds and changes. The improper cable management may result in cable damage or cause transmission errors and performance issues as well as system downtime. In a horizontal manager system, the cable management for rack is important in telecommunications rooms for leased office space, brokerages and trading houses where the workstations will move or add additional ports frequently. This post will analyze why the horizontal rack cable management is important and offers FS horizontal cable management solutions for rack.

Why Is Proper Horizontal Rack Cable Management Important?

• Poorly routed cables can lead to an assortment of problems over time. Jumbled cables would increase the risk of cables to be tangled up, and a possibility of interruption when reconnecting the cables.
• The rack cable management is directly related to hardware safety. All equipment running on the server rack is going to generate heat, so organizing a rack with a conception involving space will help promote the airflow and hardware management.
• Cable labels in a proper horizontal rack cable management can save a lot of time on troubleshooting. Just imagine how difficult it would be to trace a cable through that mess.
• If rack cables were unorganized, a technician would spend hours tracing wires when something goes wrong. In most circumstances, we can’t afford to stay offline while a technician unravels a tangled nest of cables. Thus a proper horizontal cable management makes it easy for the technician to identify and access where goes wrong and fix it in far less time.

Horizontal Cable Management for Rack: Where to Start with?

Horizontal cable management system is often installed within racks or cabinets to manage cables on front racks and draw cables away from equipment neatly. The rack space of a horizontal cable management infrastructure is typically 1U or 2U high. The following part gives the FS plastic & metal horizontal fiber patch panel, cable managers, lacer panels to promote a proper cable management in your horizontal network cabling systems.

Horizontal Rackmount Fiber Patch Panel

Horizontal rackmount fiber patch panels help to organize cables and eliminate cable stress for your rack enclosure cabinet. FS offers 1U 19’’ blank rackmount fiber patch panels with plastic D-rings on the cable management panel and lacing bar. These rackmount fiber patch panels can be used to organize cables for fiber optic adapters, fiber enclosures, Ethernet switches, WDM chassis, etc.

Horizontal Cable Managers with Finger Duct & Brush Strip

Horizontal cable managers with finger duct and brush strip allow neat and proper routing of the patch cables from equipment in racks and protect cables from damage. Fixed inset fingers on the front and back allow easier access to the ports for moves, adds, and changes. And the brush strip horizontal cable manager is constructed of high-quality steel with high-density nylon bristles, which can promote proper airflow through the rack and meet the demand for front-to-back cable runs.

Horizontal Lacer Panel with D-rings

Horizontal lacer panels are efficient tools for rack or enclosure cabling. These D-rings on the lacer panel are essential to avoid cable strain and prevent damage to the ports on your rack-mount equipment. The five rotating D-rings can be easily assembled or disassembled manually according to your needs.

Conclusion

This post provides users with a horizontal cable management solution that simplifies cable routing in a finished professional appearance. With proper and efficient horizontal cable management tools, cable spaghetti is not a problem anymore. You can just have a peace of mind and reap the great benefits of sound cable management. FS horizontal cable management tools provide an efficient way to manage high performance copper, fiber optic, or coaxial cables on any 1U or 2U rack. For more details, please kindly visit http://www.fs.com.

Originally published at http://www.fiber-optic-tutorial.com/proper-horizontal-cable-management-rack.html

 

Cloud Computing vs Big Data: What Is the Relationship?

Cloud computing and big data are two of the most trending terms in the ever-lasting IT sector nowadays. You may think that they both do the same thing but actually, both of them have their own ways to work to perform. Cloud computing vs big data, what are they? What is the relationship between them?

Cloud Computing Tutorial

Cloud computing is a technology used to store data and information on a remote server rather than on a physical hard drive. It uses the servers hosted on the Internet to store, manage, and process data, rather than a local server or a personal computer. It means accessing resources of organization from any remote location in the world. In simple term accessing RAM, HDD, Processor of organization’s server from laptop, desktop from any of the location where Internet is available.

As shown in the figure above, cloud computing is collection of different services, providing services to end user via the Internet. Services like storage, virtual desktop applications, Web/App hosting process power from servers. In the following architecture, the infrastructure built to provide services is called cloud computing. This infrastructure from where the services gets accessible is front end.

Big Data Wiki

The term big data is very popular nowadays, representing huge sets of data that can be further processed to extract information. Big data carries hidden patterns and algorithms which are unlocked by using various tools available in the market. These data sets are further analyzed to provide business insights. Big data is all about storing and processing of data that is exponentially growing these days. Giants like Google, Facebook are having their own data centers to keep track and to secure their users’ data. That’s also why many big companies are equipped with reliable network equipment (including the server, router or fiber switch) for data storage or traffic forwarding in their data centers. For high performance and cost-effective enterprise routers, Gigabit Ethernet switch and 10gbe switch, FS is a case in point.

Big data requires a large amount of storage space. While the price of storage continued to decline, the resources required to leverage big data can still pose financial difficulties for SMBs (small to medium sized businesses). A typical big data storage and analysis infrastructure will be based on clustered network-attached storage (NAS). Clustered NAS infrastructure requires configuration of several NAS pods with each NAS pod comprised of several storage devices connected to an NAS device. The series of NAS devices are then interconnected to allow massive sharing and searching of data.

Key Comparisons Over Cloud Computing vs Big Data

The cloud computing works in a consolidated manner, while the big data comes under the technology of cloud computing. The crucial difference between cloud computing vs big data is that cloud computing is used to handle the huge storage capacity to provide various flexible and techniques to tackle a magnificent amount of the data. While big data is the information processed with cloud computing platform. The following chart gives a more detailed comparison over cloud computing vs big data.

	Cloud Computing	Big Data
Basic	On-demand services are provided by using integrated computer resources and systems.	Extensive set of structured, unstructured, complex data forbidding the traditional processing technique to work on it.
Purpose	Enable the data to be stored and processed on the remote server and accessed from any place.	Organization of the large volume of data and information to the extract hidden valuable knowledge.
Working Mode	Distributed computing is used to analyse the data and produce more useful data.	Internet is used to provide the cloud-based services.
Benefits	Low maintenance expense, centralized platform, provision for backup and recovery.	Cost effective parallelism, scalable, robust.
Challenges	Availability, transformation, security, charging model.	Data variety, data storage, data integration, data processing, and resource management.

Cloud Computing vs Big Data: They Work Hand in Hand

Both cloud computing and big data are good at their marks. Cloud computing vs big data: they differ from each other but work hand in hand. They are the perfect combination for data storage and processing. The cloud computing has been a precursor and facilitator to the emergence of big data. If big data is the content, then cloud computing is the infrastructure.

Originally published at http://www.fiber-optic-tutorial.com/cloud-computing-vs-big-data-relationship.html

 

VLAN Configuration Guidelines on Layer 3 Switch

As networks grow larger and larger, scalability becomes an issue. Every device in the network needs to send broadcasts to communicate in a broadcast domain . As more devices are added to the broadcast domain, more broadcasts start to saturate the network. In this case, VLAN (Virtual LAN) is needed to separate broadcast domains virtually, eliminating the need to create completely separate hardware LANs to overcome this large-broadcast-domain issue. In this post, we’re gonna expound the motivators to deploy VLAN and how to set up VLAN configuration step by step.

Motivators to Implement VLAN

VLAN is a way of creating multiple virtual switches inside one physical data switch. There are a lot of reasons to implement VLAN, some of which are listed as follows.

• Link Utilization: Link utilization is another big reason to use VLANs. Spanning tree by function builds a single path through your layer 2 network to prevent loops. If you have multiple redundant links to your aggregating devices then some of these links will go unused. To get around this you can build multiple STP topology with different VLANs.
• Service Separation: If you have IP security cameras, IP Phones, and Desktops all connecting into the same switch it might be easier to separate these services out into their own subnet. This would also allow you to apply QoS markings to these services based on VLAN instead of some higher layer service. You can also apply ACLs on the device performing Layer 3 routing to prevent communication between VLANs that might not be desired.
• Subnet Size: If a single site becomes too large you can break that site down into different VLANs which will reduce the number of hosts that see need to process each broadcast.

VLAN Configuration Guidelines on Layer 3 Switch

Configuring two or more VLANs to communicate with each other requires the use of either a VLAN-aware router or a Layer 3 switch. VLAN configuration can be accomplished either in CLI interface or in Web interface. The following video is a VLAN configuration example on FS S5800/S5850 10 gigabit switch.

Configure VLAN in CLI (command-line interface)

Here we take FS S5850-32S2Q Layer 3 switch as an example to configure VLAN. To create a VLAN via CLI interface, SecureCRT software is required to enter CLI interface, then perform the VLAN configuration command in the chart below:

Procedure	Command	Purpose
Step 1	Set the parameters of COM2 port	Quick connect on startup
Step 2	#enter	Enter CLI interface
Step 3	#configure terminal	Enter the global configure mode
Step 4	#vlan database	Enter VLAN configure mode
Step 5	#show vlan all	Check the details of all VLANs on the switch

Configure VLAN in Web Interface

Configuring VLAN in Web Interface is quite simple. Just perform the following two steps and you would see the basic info of the VLAN that is created.

Step 1: Log in the Web user interface using the account and password

Step 2: Find the service management and create a new VLAN, and set its ID as 10 or 20.

Note: Ports configured to use VLAN 10 act as if they’re connected to the exact same switch. Ports in VLAN 20 can not directly talk to ports in VLAN 10. They must be routed between the two or have a link that bridges the two VLANs

Summary

VLAN deployments make it easy for network engineers to partition a single switched network to match the functional and security requirements of their systems without having to run new cables or make major changes in their current network infrastructure. The proper VLAN configuration on Layer 3 switches ensures reliable and secure data link access to all hosts connected to switch ports. Knowing more about VLAN configuration would allow you to use them when you need them and to use them correctly when you do.

Source: http://www.fiber-optic-tutorial.com/vlan-configuration-guidelines-layer-3-switch.html

LAN vs WAN vs MAN: Which One to Choose?

Network is essential for establishing communications among devices such as computers, routers, or fiber switches to operate over the area they cover. LAN ((Local Area Network), WAN (Wide Area Network) and MAN (Metropolitan Area Network) are the three most prevalent types of networks that are utilized today. There are some similarities and differences between them. LAN vs WAN vs MAN, which one should you choose?

What Is LAN?

LAN is an interconnection of a group of related networking devices within a small geographical area where the distance between these devices is small. Some of the LANs also cover the networks in office , school, and home. Most of the LANs are built for the purpose of sharing vital resources such as printers and exchanging files.

LAN is also widely used to provide services such as sharing computer applications, gaming and accessing the internet. This type of network is under the control of one administrator who is in charge of the configurations and settings and other devices connected through Ethernet cables and wireless routers.

What Is WAN?

WAN is a kind of network connection between multiple networking devices over a large geographical area. The connection can be between different cities or even countries. A WAN network can be a collection of small networks that have been combined, or it can be as a result of various private business entities. One good example of WAN is the internet, since it connects computers from different corners of the world.

The WAN network is too complex to be managed by private administrators. Therefore, WANs usually have a public ownership, where network devices in this network can be connected either by cables or through a wireless connection.

What Is MAN?

As the name suggests, MAN is a type of network that connects network devices within a specific geographical area. MAN lies in between LAN and WAN. The area covered by MAN network is larger than that in LAN but smaller than that in WAN. MANs are mostly used to provide fast connections to cities and large institutions.

MAN experiences comparatively high speeds to facilitate fast sharing of resources such as files within a city. One main disadvantage of the MAN is the high cost. The technology deployed for MAN network is pricier than that of LAN and WAN.

Key Comparison Between LAN vs WAN vs MAN

LAN vs WAN vs MAN, there are similarities and differences between them as listed in the chart below.

Parameter	LAN	MAN	WAN
Ownership of Network	Private	Private or Public	Private or Public
Design and Maintenance	Easy	Difficult	Difficult
Propagation Delay	Short	Moderate	Long
Speed	High	Moderate	Low
Congestion	Less	More	More
Application	College, School, Hospital	Small towns, City	Country/Continent

Conclusion

Generally speaking, there are many advantages of LAN over MAN and WAN. LAN provides excellent reliability, high data transmission rate, and they can easily be managed. However, LAN cannot cover cities or towns and for that MAN is needed, which can connect city or a group of cities together. WAN is not restricted to a geographical location, although it might be confined within the bounds of a state or country. No matter which kind of network you choose, the routers or network switches you choose should be eligible to better satisfy your demand for network architecture. FS provides high performance gigabit PoE switch, 10 gigabit switch, 40 gigabit switch,etc. If you have any requirement, you can kindly visit http://www.fs.com.

 

Source: http://www.fiber-optic-tutorial.com/lan-vs-wan-vs-man-comparison.html

VPLS vs MPLS: What’s the Difference?

The Internet has undergone tremendous changes and broken the barriers from the impossibilities to the possibilities. To seamlessly and securely get access to the Internet or Web is what we’re seeking along the way. VPLS and MPLS are two competing technologies to direct network traffic, letting you have speedy data transfer and communication. What is a VPLS or MPLS network? What’s the difference between VPLS vs MPLS? We’re gonna to elaborate them one by one.

What Is MPLS?

MPLS (Multiprotocol Label Switching) is a type of communication that enables a service provider to provision cost effective and flexible “Virtual Private Networks” across a shared core network infrastructure. MPLS is used to send data and network traffic along the most efficient routes, which may be predetermined and are communicated using labels. Packets are carried on predetermined routes along point-to-point connections through label switch routers (LSRs) until they arrive at their destination. In MPLS network, the MPLS switch (eg. FS S5800-48F4S SFP switch) transfers data by popping off its label and sending the packet to the next switch label in the sequence. MPLS perfectly integrates the performance and traffic management capabilities of Layer 2 switching with the scalability and flexibility of Layer 3 routing.

What Is VPLS?

VPLS (Virtual Private LAN Service) is a service that uses MPLS and VPN (Virtual Private Networking) to securely and seamlessly connect multiple LANs over the Internet, making them appear as if they were all on the same LAN. VPLS enables a service provider to extend a Layer 2 network across geographically dispersed sites using a shared core network infrastructure. VPLS works by creating a virtualized Ethernet switch at the provider’s edge to link remote sites. VPLS happens at Layer 2, and the carrier builds out the network, but the customer can do their own routing if they wish. This approach is ideal for corporations that have multiple data center footprints and office or remote locations that require low-latency connections between sites.

VPLS vs MPLS: Factors to Consider When Choosing Them

When deciding over VPLS vs MPLS for connectivity between remote locations, there are multiple factors to consider. We’ll look into them one by one.

Switching Layer

One of the main benefits of VPLS over MPLS are the levels of security offered. As aforementioned, VPLS extend a Layer 2 network across geographically dispersed sites using a shared core network infrastructure. While MPLS perfectly integrates the performance and traffic management capabilities of Layer 2 switching with the scalability and flexibility of Layer 3 routing. VPLS does not share layer 3 routing tables with the service provider, while MPLS may do so, means that VPLS is generally the better solution for highly-sensitive data.

Network Size & Traffic

Generally, MPLS can deliver a wider type of network traffic than VPLS. VPLS is typically used for fewer locations that need very high speeds, very simple networks with high performance and high security. Thus, if you desire to connect entities such as data centers across the long-haul network backbone, VPLS is preferable as an Ethernet-based connection strategy. If a customer had hundreds of locations across the country who needs voice, data and video traffic to be carried to all locations, MPLS might make more sense because it is protocol-agnostic and can handle multiple types of traffic. MPLS may be an even clearer choice where large numbers of branches are involved.

Levels of Scalability

Another key difference between MPLS and VPLS is the inherent level of scalability. Due to the manner in which these two technologies interact with your network, MPLS is considered to be far more scalable. Using a backbone of MPLS for maximum network access and scalability, together with VPLS connections for more sensitive data often represents the best possible compromise, you would make the most of both protocols and substantially increase network efficiency.

Conclusion

Although MPLS and VPLS are different technologies, they are not mutually exclusive. Many businesses deploy both MPLS and VPLS protocols within their network in order to get the best of both worlds. FS provides gigabit ethernet switch and 10gbe switch which support both MPLS and VPLS. All these switches comes with rich L2/L3 business processing ability for core switching networks.

Originally published at http://www.fiber-optic-tutorial.com/vpls-vs-mpls-whats-difference.html

 

VPN vs VLAN: What’s the Difference?

As the popularity of the Internet has grown, many businesses are seeking for approaches to extend their own networks. First came Intranets, which are sites designed for use only by company employees. Nowadays, many of them are creating their own VPN (Virtual Private Network) or VLAN (Virtual Local Area Network) to accommodate the needs of remote employees and distant offices. What is a VPN and what is VLAN? This post will explain these two terms and the differences between VPN vs VLAN.

What Is a VPN?

A VPN is a virtual private network that utilizes a public network (usually the Internet) to connect remote sites or users together. A typical VPN network has a main local area network (LAN) at the corporate headquarters of a company, other LANs at remote offices or facilities, and individual users that connect from out in the field. Instead of using a dedicated leased line, a VPN uses “virtual” connections routed over a public or shared infrastructure such as the Internet or service provider backbone network. Therefore subscribers who are physically isolated from the main LAN can get access to the company’s private network and remotely.

VPN Applicable Network Scenario

Here is a typical example of using the VPN network. As illustrated in the figure below, Network “A” sites have established a VPN (depicted by the red lines) across the service provider’s backbone network, where Network “B” is completely unaware of it’s existence. Both Network “A” and Network “B” can harmoniously coexist on the same backbone infrastructure without interrupting each other.

What Is a VLAN–the Subcategory of VPN

A VLAN is a group of networking devices configured to communicate on one or more LANs as if they were attached to the same wire, but actually they are located on a number of different LAN segments. VLAN networks are based on logical instead of physical connections with great flexibility. A VLAN network defines broadcast domains in a Layer 2 network. A broadcast domain is the set of all devices performed to receive broadcast frames originating from any other device within the set. Broadcast domains are usually bounded by routers since routers do not forward broadcast frames.

VLAN Applicable Network Scenario

As shown in the figure below, Layer 2 network switches are used to create multiple broadcast domains based on the configuration of these switches. Each broadcast domain is just like a distinct virtual bridge within a switch. By adding a Layer 3 router, it possible to send traffic between VLANs while still containing broadcast traffic within VLAN boundaries. The router uses IP subnets to deliver traffic between VLANs. Each VLAN has a distinct IP subnet, and there is a one-to-one correspondence of VLAN and IP subnet boundaries.

VPN vs VLAN: How They Differ From Each Other?

VPN vs VLAN, they are two different concepts but related to each other. A VLAN is a subcategory of VPN, but they are designed for different hierarchies. VPN constructs range from Layer 1 to Layer 3, while VLAN is purely a layer 2 construct. A VLAN is used to group multiple computers that are not usually within the same geographical areas into the same broadcast domain. A VLAN can also segregate computers in a larger local network into smaller networks for each office or department and shielding the data so that they do not act as if they are on same network even if they are in the same switch. However, a VPN is more often related to remote access to a company’s network resources. It’s a method of creating a smaller sub network on top of an existing bigger network compared with VLAN.

Summary

No matter which one you choose over VPN vs VLAN, the foremost thing is to get reliable network switches or routers implemented in VPN or VLAN networks. FS can always fulfill your requirements by offering gigabit ethernet switch, 10gbe switch, 40gbe switches, as well as new gigabit VPN routers. They’re with powerful data-handling capacity and high compatibility for applications in data centers and enterprises.

Originally published at http://www.fiber-optic-tutorial.com/vpn-vs-vlan-whats-difference.html

 

UTP Cat5e vs. STP Cat5e Cable

Why use shielded CAT5e cable (STP CAT5e)?

Shielded CAT5e cable is generally referred to as STP CAT5e or Shielded Twisted Pair CAT5e. It is designed to defend against electromagnetic interference or EMI. EMI is also sometimes called radio frequency interference or RFI. EMI is simply the enemy of electrical communication. This interference radiates from electrical components and prevents electrical current from flowing properly. In the case of CAT5e cable this can often result in a partial or complete loss in communication. A partial loss will often be seen by a user as a very slow connection. This is because if some of the data is not transmitted properly the sending equipment must resend it until it is correct, making the time required to transfer data increased. The equipment may not be able to establish a connection or if they do, it may get dropped part way through the data transfer.

Other times the interference may be too much, resulting in a near complete loss of signal where no data can be transmitted correctly. In this case the equipment generally will not be able to even establish a connection to begin communication.

What type of things can cause EMI?

There are a lot of things around us all the time that can and do cause varying degrees of EMI like power lines, electric motors, fluorescent lights, thermostats, and electrical circuits which are found in just about everything these days. Even things as common as elevators, air conditioners, and microwaves cause electromagnetic interference. These days so many appliances, motors, common devices found around the house, and much more in the office or industrial setting cause EMI, that it is often very difficult to narrow down what could slow down your network.The amount of EMI from these devices can vary due to many factors, but they can be a problem for your ethernet connections if not properly protected.

An installation of unshielded CAT5e cable run over fluorescent lights can result in a complete loss of signal in your cable. Running it past electric motors or near high power equipment can result in problems whenever those things are being used.

When use shielded CAT5e cable?

If you’re in any situation where you want to make sure that you get the most speed and efficiency out of your network, you’ll probably want to use shielded CAT5e cable. It’s hard to know when and where you’ll run into enough EMI to cause a problem, but if you use shielded CAT5e cable in the first place you won’t have to worry about tearing the cable from the wall to replace it if you do run into that problem.

Making sure your network operates properly is especially important in your business or office building, but can also be just as important to you on your home network.

What type of shielded CAT5e cable should I use?

Shielded CAT5e cable is generally referred to as STP CAT5e or Shielded Twisted Pair CAT5e. This term, however, is used to refer to many different styles of shielding. The most common type of shielding uses what is called a screen. This screen is a metal covering that goes around the entire set of 8 wires found in CAT5e cable. This can be done by a single solid foil wrap around the wires, braided strands of cable wrapped around all the wires, or a combination of the two. This type of cabling is very effective at blocking any EMI that could cause problems in most installations.

If you want to ensure the proper operation of your network, we would recommend using STP cable like this for all in wall and other critical runs of cable. This way you can rest easy knowing you’re getting the most speed that you can out of your network.

Do My RJ45 Heads Also Need Shielding?

You do, in fact, need to use shielded RJ45 connectors to get the full benefit of STP cable since EMI can effect any and every square millimeter of your cable.