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I need a fiber converter that takes single mode LC fiber from the patch to a gigabit port on the switch. I've been investigating the Canary GFT-1036, but am having a difficult time finding a vendor my university can purchase from. Are there any alternative products that anyone has/is using to offer up some ideas?

sysadmin1138
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erimar77
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  • If you have to purchase from a list of approved vendors, have you tried asking the vendors yet? – Chris S Dec 06 '10 at 20:10
  • Yeah, they don't know what the product is, so they can't really recommend any alternatives. I did stumble across the Startech ET1000SM40LC just a few moments ago, it might be what I'm looking for. – erimar77 Dec 06 '10 at 23:59
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    If your vendors don't know what a 1GBase-T to 1GBase-SX (LC) is, you need to find a new vendors. A quick visit to CDW pulls up this: http://www.cdw.com/shop/products/default.aspx?EDC=1396803 – Chris S Dec 07 '10 at 03:13
  • As others mention, SX fiber to 1G copper is fairly common and available from many vendors. – Sean Reifschneider Dec 07 '10 at 04:12

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Copper to LC single-mode is a pretty common combination. Easiest approach, particularly if you're limited in vendors, would be to get a switch with SFP ports and a suitable single-mode SFP module. (There are applications where you want a more transparent solution; adding more switches can sometimes be a problem. In that case, then you'll want a media converter -- I'd recommend one that takes SFPs, as you get more flexibility to switch or replace optics.)

techieb0y
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    One benefit of using a switch with SFP and an SX fiber module: The switch can often provide additional diagnostics that a simple media converter cannot. Additionally, a switch can provide redundant power in many cases, and at least probably has a better power supply than many media converters. We had an external convert box provided by our ISP, and over 2 years we had failures of both. We eventually got a high quality, high price Allied Telesyn converter that worked great, but eventually converted to a switch module for better diagnostics. The switch modules were $5 on ebay. – Sean Reifschneider Dec 07 '10 at 04:10
  • +100 for Allied Telesis media converters. We've got one that's been in use for about 6 years, and before that we had a couple AUI-BNC converters that ran for about 10 years w/out any problem. – Ward - Trying Codidact Dec 07 '10 at 07:51