I’m trying to link these two white Cisco Catalyst switches with a short stretch of fibre optic cable (say 1 metre):
WS-C2960C-8TC-L V01
WS-C2960CPD-8PT-L V01
The following page suggests that the SFP (small form factor pluggable?) modules that are compatible with the first of the two switches above is a GLC-FE-100FX.
I think this is a Fast Ethernet type of SFP module, which I guess would be compatible with the 272? And seems from the matrix table to have a relatively short range. But this is really just guesswork on my part.
From my initial search, the GLC-FE-100FX seem to cost about £160 per unit, which is too expensive for this experiment (unless I can return them).
So I’m probably going to need a Cisco-compatible SFP?
Does anyone know whether these SFPs are likely to work if I get 2 of them?
Also, what type of cable to get?
Also, does anyone know a good vendor who might be able to help me get compatible Cisco or good quality SFPs and cable?
The purpose of this is to see whether it lowers the noise floor in my 272 and hifi system.
You want GLC-SX-MM for a 2960. Get genuine Ciscos - like the switches, they are expensive, but can be found very cheaply on ebay.
You want OM1 cables with LC connectors. They are cheap and widely available, I use Cable Monkey.
I used a lot of Swiss-GBIC modules with CISCO devices, both at work and home.
If you choose well, they work fine with both 2960 and 3560 default config.
I’m not sure what that bit of metal is in the top switch. I guess just use the other one if you can’t remove it. You will need to remove the two Ethernet cables from the RJ45 ports below as they are dual purpose SFP/RJ45 ports, so you can use one or the other,
It’s a bit hard to see from the photo, but I guess it you only want one SFP port, you can use the other one.
The switch in the other photo doesn’t appear to have SFP ports, just RJ45s, so it looks like you will need another switch.
The SONORE opticalModule Deluxe
Could be an option.
It works now at both 100 and 1000 Mbits.
Unfortunately, I bought the ER before the SONORE opticalModule Deluxe was launched, otherwise I would have bought the SONORE Module and used it with my 3560 main switch.
The SONORE opticalModule Deluxe is a lot cheaper and I bet it those the same isolating job as the EtherRegen.
That piece of ‘metal’ in your photo could just be a reflection. There are 2 strips in the socket but they are right at the back behind the connector. If they are not right up against the beck of the socket then theres something wrong.
EDIT :
Ok, I get it.
The oM is 1000Mbits only.
The ND streamers are 100Mbits only.
The oM Deluxe is 100/1000 and therefore will work with Naim streamers.
The oM won’t work with Naim streamers.
I bought one too quickly, without RTFM… still have it, don’t use it
The optical cable will be communicating between the two switches here, so it makes no difference whether they run at 100 or 1000MB. With two Catalyst switches, they will be 1000, but that will not be a problem with a 100MB streamer as it will be runing from a different copper Ethernet port.
The SFPs you have chosen are fast Ethernet… these are twisted pair copper Ethernet connectors (RJ45) … so this is no different from the regular switch fast Ethernet ports. There is no difference in conducted noise. Fast Ethernet is 10/100 Mbps but not GigE. SFPs come in fibre and twisted pair (RJ45) variants.
If you want fibre, you need to chose multi mode [SX] (standard distance) or unlikely single mode [LX] for very long distances. I recommend Lucent connectors. Suggest GLC-SX-MM … these are supported and should contain the optical monitoring module. SX is good to 550m (be wary of cheap clones though) … as with all fibres they don’t tend to operate reliably over very short distances, but SX is the format to use if under 10 m.
