[vcf-midatlantic] SX GBIC fiber cable speed

[Neil Cherry]

I've posted this in the CDL list also. I don't know of a polite way to post once to both and
I'm not sure it's a good idea to try. :-)

It has been a while since I played with fiber (2010) and I'm trying to figure out if I
should go fiber or copper in my home. Here's what I know from my current switch:

- SX GBIC
- LC
- duplex
- MMF

I want to buy about 25M of fiber. I think the price is competitive with copper. I'm also
hoping that the fiber will age better than the copper. I'm seeing a few old copper drops
fail to lower settings. One went to 10/half (wow, that's bad).

The GBIC & switch I have handle 1G. So I can easily pop in a few 1000baseT, put them
into a LAG and get 4G (4 ports). So I'm covered for a while.

- Can the same piece of fiber handle 1G or 10G? (in case I upgrade in the future).
- Does anyone know the bend radius of this fiber?
- What color should I expect for SX fiber. ?
- What's a "mode-conditioning patch cord" ?

I'm seeing a $35 price for 25 Meter OM3 LC LC Fiber Patch Cable (Corning 50/125um core/cladding)
and it says 1G but with a "mode-conditioning patch cord" (an attenuator?).

Any pointers?

-- 
Linux Home Automation         Neil Cherry       ncherry at linuxha.com
http://www.linuxha.com/                         Main site
http://linuxha.blogspot.com/                    My HA Blog
Author of:    	Linux Smart Homes For Dummies