[CS-FSLUG] Long Copper Run and Fiber Media Converters

[Timothy Butler]

Thanks, Josiah and Peter. Here are a few more questions:

> I concur with Josiah.  Fiber is a precise art, especially in the
> polishing of the ends.  My company has run many thousands of feet
> across our area, and even with the thick/tough stuff, we have had
> issues in some areas.  Also, unlike cat5/cat6 where you can use a pull
> string to get it through, you will need special equipment that 'blows'
> the fiber with a lot of force through the conduit to come out in the
> other side without breaking or kinking it (this only works if there is
> sufficient room, usually when the conduit is empty).

	Hmm... that might a problem. So, my idea of pulling it through the empty conduit is a no go, then, it sounds like?

> 
> GigE over cat5/cat6 is the way to go.  If you're able to dig another
> trench for the conduit and then use PVC to get it between the
> buildings, that would be the best option if you can't use the existing
> one.  I did this for my church a couple of months ago between
> buildings (about 200ft), and it was really worth it to get several
> cat6 lines in at once that we can expand to use in the future.  It's a
> lot of work, but if you can do it, it really is the best way.  Let me
> know if you need any additional information.  Thanks.


	Well, I have a brand new Cat 6 cable in an empty conduit. It works now that I took back the TRENDnet switches for Netgear ones. I can now achieve a Gig-E link (though I haven't tested the actual speed yet), but when I put the surge protectors on, packet loss gets really severe. So, I've been... stumped... on how to proceed. As I mentioned, I am using APC PNET1GB surge protectors for the ethernet. Perhaps there is something better I should be using? I want to make sure I don't accidentally blow out the network due to a surge.

	Maybe I need more expensive copper switches to get the job done?

	Thanks!

	Tim