Media
Converter best for Surveillance Network
Over the years, there
has been a growing popularity of Video based Ethernet networks, resulting in
the increasing use of Ethernet switches in the video network infrastructure.
Many types of video
security and surveillance networks that are designed for applications in
different environments. Analog video network and IP video network are the two
most commonly used types for security and surveillance video transmission.
While IP video is more
advance and can provide better image quality and network performance in large
scale. The biggest character of IP video surveillance network is that every
camera has its own IP address to tell itself from the others in the whole video
network. Currently, with the demand for higher transmission speed, image
quality and longer transmission distances, fiber optic cables are widely used
in the video network. Thus, in both of the two surveillance networks, media
conversion are necessary, like conversions between fiber and copper or video to
fiber. The following will offer the cabling solutions that using media
converters.
Video Media converter
is a simple networking device that enables you to interconnect networks or
network devices with different speeds, operation types, modes and media types.
And the most common type usually works as a transceiver, converting the
electrical signals in copper unshielded twisted pair (UTP) network cabling to
light waves used for fiber optic cabling. It is essential to have the fiber
optic connectivity if the distance between two network devices is greater than
the copper cabling's transmission distance. Since media converters are IEEE
compliant devices, they implement IEEE data encoding rules.
SFP module?
The small form-factor
pluggable (SFP) is a compact, hot-pluggable transceiver used
for both telecommunication and data communications applications. The form
factor and electrical interface are specified by a multi-source agreement
(MSA).
Media converter?
A fiber media
converter is a simple networking device that make it possible to
connect two dissimilar media types such as twisted pair with
fiber optic cabling. Twisted pair cable, coaxial cable and other copper cabling
can only support limited length before signal becomes too weak. Main
application area is in security surveillance.
Why Best:
Ease of Use and High
Availability
The SFP ports are
widely used in the Gigabit Ethernet and the Fiber channel to provide a flexible
and cost-saving solution for the enterprise networks and data centers. SFP port
available in Enterprise Gigabit Ethernet Switcher. During the troubleshooting entire
network will be down for time being.
Configuring and
installing redundant solution of media converter is much easier to handle and
to manage than higher-layer devices. And it will makes the troubleshooting
easier if you add management functions to the media converter.
Proprietary
SFP modules are vendor dependent and switch is not available or
that part number switch manufacture is stopped. In that case whole network
switches needs to be stopped.
Media Converter is available, it can change any time. Its biggest
advantage of this product.
EMI Emissions
The heat and EMI
emissions are one of the biggest problems related to SFP devices.
No Such pain with
media Converter.
Flexibility and
Simplification
Wonderfull performance
with LAN without protocol transparency with 850 nm and 1300 nm multimode fiber
and 1310 nm and 1550 nm single-mode fiber.
It is of much
flexibility for media converter to combine copper with 850 nm and 1300 nm
multimode fiber and 1310 nm and 1550 nm single-mode fiber. With protocol
transparency, it can be applied in anywhere in the local network or remote
network whether it's a LAN, WAN or the MAN environment.
Handling Warning
Copper SFP are static
sensitive. To prevent damage from electrostatic discharge (ESD), it is recommended
to attach an ESD preventative wrist strap to your wrist and to a bare metal
surface whenever you install or remove a Copper SFP module.
No such warning with
media converter.
Safety Warning
Only trained and
qualified personnel should be permitted to install or replace.
No such personnel
required.
Spaceing
SFP Module takes up
less space at Network Switch port.
Media converter
takes Little more space.
Powering
SFP Module Take power
from Enterprise Ethernet Switch.
Media converter derives
power from the switch it's plugged into. (Media converter requires a separate
AC power outlet.)
Cost Reduction
Compared with the
hybrid media switches, the cost of media converters with cost-effective
Ethernet switches is much lower. This type of media converter solution can cost
significantly less than that relies on higher-layer devices such as routers or
switches.
Biggest advantage in
this type of topology is where network consist of more than hundred nodes
network. Fault point is reducing to switch only.
Analog Video Network
Cabling Infrastructure
In a typical analog
video network (shown in the above picture), analog CCTV cameras are connected
to a central management room or devices (VCR—video cassette recorder or
DVR—digital video recorder) via coaxial cables. If the camera has PTZ
(Pan-Tilt-Zoom) function, an additional controller is added.
As mentioned, the
performance and the transmission distance are limited by using copper cables.
To connector more fixed analog cameras and PTZ analog cameras, fiber optic
cable should be introduced to this typical network. Then fiber media converters
are the best solutions. The following picture shows the basic structure or an
upgraded version of a typical analog video structure which using fiber optic
cable in this network.
To connect the fixed
analog cameras to the server room, a pair of fiber media converters should be
added between the server room and cameras. Video signals will be transmitted
into fiber optic signals. For analog PTZ cameras, there are two types of
signals should be converted into fiber optic signals, one for video and one for
data. Thus, two different media converters or a fiber media converter that
covers the two functions should be installed.
It is known that fiber
media converters should be used in pairs. As one of the media converters is in
deploy on the fiber end that near the camera, the other one should be deploy on
the other fiber ends that near the server room. For better management, all the
fiber media converters at the fiber end near the server room could be installed
in a managed fiber media converter rack chassis.
IP Video Network
Cabling Infrastructure
In a typical IP video
surveillance network (shown in the above picture), IP cameras are connected
directly to the local area network and transport video across the IP network
via UTP cabling and switches. PoE IP cameras are also time-save and cost-effect
solutions. Video can be recorded to any PC or server on the network. To
introduce fiber optic cabling in to this typical IP video network, the method
is similar to introducing fiber optic into an analog video network as described
in the above paragraph.
In the following case
(shown in the following picture), PoE IP cameras are used. A pair of PoE media
converters should be installed on both ends of a length of fiber optic cable to
achieve the conversion between video and fiber. At the computer side where the
videos are recorded, a pair of Ethernet media converters should be installed.
All of the media converters near the network switches can be set at a managed
media converter chassis before the connected to the switches.
Biography:
Arindam Bhadra is an
eSecurity professional 11yr + in this industry. He is a good freelance blogger.
His blog is now No 1. Blog in India. 2.8L page viewer globally. Mr. Bhadra is an
Electronics & telecommunication Engineer from IETE, New Delhi. He is a
member of FSAI from 2011 & Go Beyond security from 2008. His blog arindamcctvaccesscontrol.blogspot.com focuses on security & Safety bloggers.
Apart from his job, he loved to spend all his time with eSecurity & Safety
technology and loves to help people. He is a Tech enthusiast and has written
articles over the period on this blog. You can follow him on Facebook, Twitter,
LinkedIn & Google+ etc.
