Managing remote & central office fibre network connections!

B&B Electronics has developed a modular generation of its Carrier-grade, intelligent, four-port IE-iMcV-MultiWay Gigabit Ethernet Media Converter that can install in AC or DC internal-powered chassis. The modular version joins the company's existing DIN-Rail or wall-bracket-mountable standalone version for managing remote devices and central office network connections in the security, traffic and remote-monitoring markets. Both versions are designed for use as CPE (Customer Premises Equipment) devices at the network edge as well as in fibre infrastructures, and feature rugged temperature specs (-40 to +85 C). The modular converter, developed for customers who have invested in chassis-based infrastructure to help them maximize their cost per slot, can be installed in low or high-density-port chassis, including those offering extended temperature.

With two SFP (Small Form Pluggable) fibre uplink ports and two 10/100/1000 Mbps Base-T copper ports, Ethernet network administrators can connect various devices using both copper ports and one fibre port, while designating the other fibre port for the secure network connection. SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) and other troubleshooting capabilities provide functionality similar to that of a Layer 2/3 switch, offering a cost effective alternative to these traditional fibre switches.

The IE-iMcV-MultiWay is geared towards enterprise gigabit networking applications where there is a need to securely move large amounts of data over long distances of fibre with remote management, and to reduce onsite visits for troubleshooting network equipment. Such geographically dispersed enterprises and applications include ISPs, Telco’s, municipalities (traffic signals and digital signage), and all kinds of physical security (surveillance cameras, building access systems, alarms).

A Swiss-army-knife-type tool for network connectivity and management, the IE-iMcV-MultiWay can play multiple roles: managed fibre termination, fibre repeater, mode converter, multi-port switch, dual independent media converter and media converter with 1+1 redundant fibre uplink.

The IE-iMcV-MultiWay can mimic a traditional fibre switch and serve as a central office infrastructure connection with the troubleshooting functionality expected by today’s network administrators to avoid unnecessary truck rolls. It offers status monitoring (interface and RMON1 statistics, OAM status and control) with management on all ports via SNMP. Part of the IEEE 802.3ah and 802.1ag standard, OAM (Operations, Administration and Management) defines how to manage, monitor and test network equipment. Also included is port-based VLAN and VLAN trunks, IEEE 802.1ad (Q-in-Q) and a user definable EtherType.

Included is B&B’s free, GUI-based SNMP management software, iView2, which allows easy configuration and management of remote network nodes from a central management host. iView2 runs standalone on Windows NT/XP/2000/7 or as a Web Server running under IIS.

IE-iMcV-MultiWay in Action: A Brazilian city’s transportation department responsible for its subways, ships, boats and buses needed to add IP video surveillance equipment to its network to better monitor and manage people movement. Networking the remote IP surveillance cameras to the central office had requirements and challenges; the cameras would be outdoors, needed remote management capabilities and secure connectivity up to 30Km away. The customer had already invested in a chassis-based media converter infrastructure and preferred a DC power-based solution for high reliability. Additionally, the video collected at the copper-port-based cameras would have to be converted for long distance fibre optic transmission back to the copper-port-based servers at the central office. The solution: Install B&B Electronics’ iMcV-Gigabit copper-to-fibre media converters in the existing six-slot chassis to connect the two central office servers. At both camera locations, a four-port B&B IE-iMcV-MultiWay converter with SNMP and rugged temperature specs was installed in an extended-temperature, DC-powered chassis, and then housed in a NEMA enclosure at the base of a pole where the IP camera was mounted on top. One copper port on the MultiWay at each camera location connected the copper-port-based IP camera at the top of its pole. The fibre connection then emanated from the converter installed at the central office, connecting point-to-point through the two fibre ports on each MultiWay converter installed at each camera, and then continued back to the central office.