Re: fiber

[Gerard MacNeil <macneil@supercity.ns.ca>]

On Tue, 25 Jul 100, Allen Ahoffman wrote:

> Can someone comment here on reasons to use fiber for network cable now
> instead of old style standard cat5 cable?
> I see lots of fiber equipment out there but 100mbps is 100mbps right?
> Is fiber economical when you get into over 100mbps situations?
> thanks.

I have read that you must ensure that the wires in the cat5 must be
twisted all the way to the termination points to ensure reliabilty.  You
are dependent on the manufacturing quality of the wire.  In many
environments, the wires themselves are subjected to hazards, increasing
risk.

I would expect that fiber (I know nothing about ... would like to know) 
lowers this risk. Capacity for the future would also be an issue. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gerard MacNeil, P. Eng                          macneil@supercity.ns.ca
System Administrator
Supercity Internet Services                     http://www.supercity.ns.ca