Fiber cabling question

JSK

I want to connect my 2 switches together using fiber. One switch is a 3550 and the other is a 3550-FX. If I understand correctly, I can connect them 2 different ways.

I could install a WS-G5484 GBIC in each switch and connect them using multimode fiber w/SC-SC connections. Or I could connect the GBIC on the 3550 to one of the 100FX ports on the 3550-FX using multimode fiber w/SC-MRTJ connection.

Does that sound about right?

Kaminsky

The switches are both using the same GBIC based Gigabit module slots. If you want to form a trunk using these slots on either fibre or copper, it's simple and very cheap to pick a pair of 5484 (fibre) or 5483 (copper) and connect them with the relevent cables and bingo, you have a 1gb trunk. Configure it as a trunk port and away you go.

The 3550 normal ports are 10/100 so if you go from a 1gb trunk to a normal 100 switchport, the link will only go at 100. Also, you could use gbics with different connectors, say sc on one end to mtrj on the other. You just need to get the correct gbics to fit in the slots and the correct cable to go between them. The interface itself doesn't care about connectors or whether it is fibre or copper medium. That's the job of the gbic itself.

tiersten

Make sure that you get the right GBIC. Not all of them are supported in every device. If it isn't a Cisco branded GBIC then it may not like it as well. You can usually work around it with a special option but that doesn't exist for everything as well.

JSK

Kaminsky wrote: »

The switches are both using the same GBIC based Gigabit module slots. If you want to form a trunk using these slots on either fibre or copper, it's simple and very cheap to pick a pair of 5484 (fibre) or 5483 (copper) and connect them with the relevent cables and bingo, you have a 1gb trunk. Configure it as a trunk port and away you go.

That is basically what I want to accomplish. I was just trying to figure out how to best use a 3550-FX in my lab topology. Right now I am thinking that I would run 1gb trunks from the 3550 to the 3550-FX. Then I could connect my 3512XL to the 100FX ports on the 3550-FX.

To do that all with fiber I'm estimating I'd want 6 GBICs and 4 fiber patch cables. At current ebay pricing it comes out to around $60-70.

Or I could get the 5483 GBICs and connect the 3550's with CAT6. But I'd still need 5484 GBICs with fiber cables if I want to connect my 3512XL to the 3550-FX.

Kaminsky

You've got to remember though. You're only labbing. I know it sounds odd but in a lab, whether the switch is 100 or 1000, it only really makes a difference to finding the optimum link. It is interesting to set upo say a 10mb or 100mb trunk and then watch the topology change when you upgrade it to 1gb.

JSK

Kaminsky wrote: »

You've got to remember though. You're only labbing. I know it sounds odd but in a lab, whether the switch is 100 or 1000, it only really makes a difference to finding the optimum link. It is interesting to set upo say a 10mb or 100mb trunk and then watch the topology change when you upgrade it to 1gb.

Yeah, I came to the same conclusion after my last post. I ended up finding 5 GBICs on eBay for $22 so I bought them. Only need 3 right now so I might resell the other 2.

Also picked up a SC-SC MMF cable to connect the 2 3550s and a SC-MTRJ to connect the 3512XL. Plus a few crossover and straight-through cables for the rest of the lab. Altogether $51 total.

Now I can start hunting for WIC 2t modules and cables for the routers. The fun never ends.

Stotic

tiersten wrote: »

Make sure that you get the right GBIC. Not all of them are supported in every device. If it isn't a Cisco branded GBIC then it may not like it as well. You can usually work around it with a special option but that doesn't exist for everything as well.

Yes, Cisco doesn't like other vendor GBICs.