(Theoretical) Planning a 10GBE Network

[ProGearUk]

The place in which I work that host its data in a centralized location in the building is thinking of upgrading to a 10GBE system. I am one of the guys who has been asked to plan and implement it all. I was wondering seeing as I do not have much experience with 10GBE which is the best option. The traditional cat6a or the fiber sfp+ fiber solution. The system will be 1 main firewall server 4 72TB 24 drive each file servers with 10GBE card installed (type to be decided) and the various switches that are required. The 10GBE will go to some of the rendering pc computers that are soon going to run off 10GBE allowing for all work files to be stored on the central servers rather than on the individual workstations. Also there will be a 10GBE link to each of the switch cupboards/small rack mount cases so the link to the storage servers does not get bogged down at busy times. Any advice is welcome thanks guys.

[Ssoele]

If you're doing short distances, I would recommend just Cat6a, If there are long distances, go with fiber.

[Deviantsteam]

If you ask me use fiber for ALL of your trunk lines. cat6a has a "theoretical" maximum of 10g but I've never been able to get close to that, plus no EMI with fiber. Sure cat6 is a TON cheaper but fiber is well worth the cost. Just don't fry your eyes by looking at the end of a live cable. (no offence Ssoele)

[fataldog187]

I think it depends on a lot of things, distance, budget, number of runs and the conditions of your deployment. You may end up using a combination of both depending on where the runs are going. Someone probably needs more information about your network before giving a definite recommendation.

[Ssoele]

If you ask me use fiber for ALL of your trunk lines. cat6a has a "theoretical" maximum of 10g but I've never been able to get close to that, plus no EMI with fiber. Sure cat6 is a TON cheaper but fiber is well worth the cost. Just don't fry your eyes by looking at the end of a live cable. (no offence Ssoele)

No offence taken. My experiences is just that it is more durable to use Cat6a for shorter connections (server to server / server to switch) and fiber for the longer connections (room to room). As shorter connections do not suffer that much from EMI and RJ45 plugs are more rugged then most fiber plugs and are easier to route.

[rufee]

This really depends on your budget, how many workstations need to be wired up ? What is the distance from the workstation room to the servers ?

How big is your budget ? Because 10 gig switches, fiber or ethernet are very very expensive.

[ProGearUk]

There is 10 workstations that need to be wired up to the server room and in terms of cabling they are about 150m away. Also would having a 10gbe fiber cable to normal gigabit switches for the normal computers mean that they get saturated less easily

[rufee]

Yes, there are switches that have 2-4 10gig ports for uplink and the rest are 1gig ports for normal pc's.

You will most likely need to run optics from server to workstation room's and from there you can split it off to cat6 or keep with fiber if you are going to run 10gig.

To save on cost for a 10 gig switch, its probably possible to make "your own", but that would require double the NIC's and some good hardware. And i don't think daisy chaining is an option for you.

[ProGearUk]

no the business is willing to invest a lot of cash into this because it will increase productivity a lot for the business because in theory it will be 10 times harder to saturate the connection between the storage servers and the internet as well.

[fataldog187]

Cat6A has a distance limitation of 100m on 10G so it depends on where you place the switch whether or not you'll need fiber. It's possible to do it all with copper if you place the switch somewhere in the middle and your workstations are all within 100m of that switch. You can then have an almost 200m run (between server and workstation) factoring 100m off of each side of the switch. This can be less than ideal but it may save some money.

[Scheer]

I went to a meeting for information on fiber installations, and half of it was spent talking about how easy it is to damage fiber connectors... so I'd go with Cat6a.

 

We had a JDSU rep there who showed you only had to plug it in 2-3 times without scope/cleaning it and the dust particles would break up small enough to completely destroy the tip of the fiber. Plugging it in once with a tiny bit of dust was enough to damage it to the point it did not pass specifications, even after cleaning.