10gbit fiber with wall plate run question

Notice: Page may contain affiliate links for which we may earn a small commission through services like Amazon Affiliates or Skimlinks.

Gene

Active Member
Jan 27, 2016
171
32
28
41
10g fiber SFP+ adapters:
mellanox connectx2 en - 2 of them
Chelsio T422-cr

Possible switches to be purchased in future:
Dell X1052 or D-Link DGS-1510-28X

To preface i'm just a hobbyist and this is my first foray into fiber. Hence the questions.

Server rack in basement wiring area
Distances:
Chelsio - in sophos utm in rack - cable length needed less than 1 meter
mellanox card 1 - supermicro 846 server - in rack - cable length needed less than 3 meter
mellanox card 2 - 1st floor office - my main pc - 10 feet with measuring tape directly measuring - will need wall plate - run would go through the floor joists and plaster wall (ethernet cable currently already in place this way)

To purchase:
direct connect dac twinax cable x 2 for cards in the rack.
transceivers x2
om4 fiber - 7 meters or more?
fiber wall plate
wall plate fiber adapters
more om4 fiber for wall plate to adapter connection

So for my upstairs pc, what do I need to get for a wall plate from say fiberstore? Also i believe it was mentioned to get double the length you measure due to low bending ability of the fiber?
I'm thinking OM4 fiber but not sure what connectors, transceivers or how to do the wall plate. Wall plates seem to be available as fc, sc, and st ( the LC plate doesn't appear to have adapters) - looked over this page: Wall Plates Tutorial | FS.COM

Any help is much appreciated
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jerry Renwick

Terry Kennedy

Well-Known Member
Jun 25, 2015
1,140
594
113
New York City
www.glaver.org
To purchase:
direct connect dac twinax cable x 2 for cards in the rack.
transceivers x2
om4 fiber - 7 meters or more?
fiber wall plate
wall plate fiber adapters
more om4 fiber for wall plate to adapter connection
Depending on what 10GbE switches you get, they may have 10GBASE-T ports. Despite the somewhat higher price for NICs and slightly higher power consumption, that may be the way you want to go. I'm using a Dell 8024T (definitely not consumer-grade) which has 24 10GBASE-T ports, 4 of which also support SFP+ for fiber. The non-T 8024 is the opposite - 24 SFP+ ports, 4 of which also support 10GBASE-T. If you go with -T, then you can use normal CAT 6 stuff and don't have to deal with fiber. Another advantage is that if the switch you get only has SFP+ ports (no copper) you can have a very difficult (or impossible) time finding optics that will let you connect to a Gigabit switch. It isn't simply a case of using an SFP instead of an SFP+ - the switch has to support dual-speed operation and the SFP has to be coded in a way that makes the switch happy.

If you go with fiber, you can use either OM3 or OM4 fiber (that's the pale blue - technically "aqua" - stuff) and multimode (-SR) SFP+ optics (which will probably have a black eject lever). Or you could use single-mode fiber (yellow) and -LR SFP+ optics (which will probably have a blue eject lever). You can't mix-and-match. If buying "branded" SFP+ (which almost nobody does any more), the -SR ones are a lot less expensive. If you buy "compatible" ones from Fiberstore or eBay, the price difference isn't worth worrying about. In your case, I'd suggest OM3/OM4 and -SR optics - they're less expensive, and you're not anywhere near the 300 M design limit for that fiber.

If you can, get LC wallplates - that will keep all of your connections as LC/LC cable. One thing to be aware of - LC is almost always "flipped" so one end's transmit is the other end's receive. You can (rarely) get into situations where a collection of patch cords and couplers gives you a straight-through connection. Some LC connectors let you separate the 2 halves of the connector and swap them, but many are unibody connectors where you can't do that. The SFP+ will usually have little arrows marked on the connector housing, and the fiber jumper connector halves are either color-coded (white and yellow "boots" on the fibers) or there will be (annoying) little slip-rings labeled "A" and "B". If all else fails, you can look for the manufacturer's printing, which will be on the casing of one of the fibers. Normally you won't have to deal with this - just plug both ends of the jumper in and things will usually be happy. I'm just mentioning it in case you have a "Oh no! It isn't working!" moment.

If you have to use some other connector type to get an economical wallplate, I'd suggest SC. They're a little larger, the connectors can always be separated to deal with any "flip" issues, etc.

In either case, if you use -SR optics your connectors will be beige, if you use -LR optics the connectors will be blue. Green connectors are something entirely different (APC) and you'll damage both pieces if you plug an APC connector into a non-APC jack.

Regarding length, any cable you can't make yourself only comes in two styles - one that is just a little too short, and one that is way too long. With the distances you're dealing with, go for the longer cable and coil the extra somewhere it won't get damaged. Bend radius issues are somewhat exaggerated - the coil I mentioned in the previous sentence can be as tight as if it was wrapped around a soda can. Just don't kink the fiber or yank on it too hard when you're installing it.
 

Pete L.

Member
Nov 8, 2015
133
23
18
56
Beantown, MA
ok so based on everyone's replies, here is what I think i need:
(pic attached)
View attachment 2157
Then also two LC to LC keystone couplers (dual port sfp+ card so might as well get two): Fiber Optic Keystone Coupler - LC to LC Multimode Duplex - White
Personally I wouldn't order anything until you know what switch you are going to go with. I had both the Dell x1052p as well as the Dell x4012. The 1052p arrived Defective (not POE) so it was swapped out, I then realized that I wanted / needed more than 4 - 10G Ports so I sold the x1052p and got the Dell x4012 and trust me when I say that this switch will work but it is very buggy and the CLI is crippled on purpose as they are trying to make you do everything through their new and (as mentioned) very buggy GUI. Thankfully that switch also died on me so I just bit the bullet and went with a Cisco SG350XG-24F. I am loving this switch but sadly it is also defective as I have no link lights whatsoever except on the management port so I have to get that replaced as well.

Anyway back to waiting on ordering - You NEED to decide what you are going to get for a switch first and foremost as the SFP Modules will need to be compatible with your devices. I can say that the dell switches worked with pretty much everything I got from Fiber Store which includes Dell Coded SFP+ Modules as well as DAC Cables. I will say however that the Dell DAC Coded DAC Cables did NOT show up as legitimate DAC Cables in the Dell Switch but their own Dell Force 10 DAC Cables do. They did however still work.

I can't look back and see what other switch you mentioned but if it is the D-Link I have heard that they are VERY picky on which SFP / SFP+ / DAC Cables will work (so more "Vendor Locked").

That said I am shocked that my Cisco is working with all of my Dell Coded SFP+ and DAC Cables without any issues.

As for Wall Plates I did exactly as you said and ran fiber up to my second floor and I am using a 2 Port Keystone Plate with Mono Price LC / LC Adapters shown here which are working perfectly.

Search result for lc keyston - Monoprice.com

I can't speak highly enough about Fiber Store, they have been extremely responsive to my needs and they will ask you for specifics as to what devices you will be using their SFP Modules in and they will code them accordingly and test them before shipping in the exact switch or something similar from the vendor.

The only part I can't comment on is their fiber as I ordered some a few weeks ago and it has yet to ship for some reason. Thankfully I got some off e-bay and haven't had any issues with it.
 

Jon Massey

Active Member
Nov 11, 2015
339
82
28
37
Fibre's so cheap that if you're going to do that cable run you may as well run 2x duplex OM3 (as your faceplate has 2x duplex connectors anyway). Future you will thank you!
 

bds1904

Active Member
Aug 30, 2013
271
76
28
If you aren't using conduit in the wall use armored patch cords. You will run into bend radius issues on the back of the wall plate with standard fiber patch cords, they will not support themselves. On top of that pulling armored cable through a wall is much more forgiving. I prefer the armored patch cables that are round and can't be split, they seem to be more durable. I'm talking about the ones that are a little thicker and don't have 2 distinct parts to the main run of the patch cord, just one round cord.

Use bend-insensitve patch cords from the wall plate to your workstations if they don't move often. Use armored patch cords if they do.

I run fiber just about everyday in houses and businesses with and without conduit. Bend insensitive fiber with Kevlar support strands is my go-to choice for most non-conduit applications. To use that stuff you need to be able to terminate fiber, which I'm 99.99% sure that's not an option for you. That's the reason I suggest armored patch cords. Most have a decent coating (metal or some kind of harder plastic) and Kevlar or fiberglass support strands that make it much more durable during install.
 
Last edited:

Gene

Active Member
Jan 27, 2016
171
32
28
41
Thanks guys. Ordered the armored lc to lc om3 multimode versions and got the lc keystone couplers and face plate from monoprice (along with some other stuff). Appreciate all the input
 
  • Like
Reactions: Pete L.

epicurean

Active Member
Sep 29, 2014
785
80
28
Hi Gene,
Can you show me the links in monoprice where you go the keystone couplers and face plate?
 

Drewy

Active Member
Apr 23, 2016
208
56
28
54
I too have similar armoured fiber on order from Fiber Store. The specs mention a 12.7~17.7cm bend radius. How critical is this? When you folks run this through plastic conduit what do you use for bends? Do you bend your own tube?
 

bds1904

Active Member
Aug 30, 2013
271
76
28
I too have similar armoured fiber on order from Fiber Store. The specs mention a 12.7~17.7cm bend radius. How critical is this? When you folks run this through plastic conduit what do you use for bends? Do you bend your own tube?
Running through corrugated conduit (smurf tube) it's almost impossible to exceed a 13cm bend radius. If the job requires the use of existing rigid conduit without sweeping turns I use bend insensitive fiber. Keep in mind almost all the fiber I run is single-mode. While bend insensitive multi-mode is available it is kind of pricey compared to SM. The bend radius of the SM I use is 1cm IIRC.

If you are running new rigid conduit (non-continuous, think PVC) you can use long sweeping turns. My conduit of choice is 2" flexible continuous conduit, the real thick walled stuff. It's almost impossible to crush, rated for direct burial, rated for indoor use, almost impossible to "bend too much", rated for penitrations and comes with pull string in it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Gene