Apcon IntellaPatch 100/1000 Mb/s Ethernet Fiber Optic Blade Introduced
Portland, OR - Apcon, Inc., a manufacturer of physical layer matrix switch hardware and management software, introduced its 100/1000 Mb/s Ethernet fiber optic blade for its IntellaPatch line of physical layer matrix switches. The blade is a critical hardware component that expands the scope of media conversion in the physical layer matrix switch industry.
The blade is specifically designed for layer-1 switching of fiber-based Fast Ethernet and Gigabit Ethernet traffic. Used in conjunction with Apcon 100/1000 Mb/s Ethernet copper blades, the blade advances the state of physical layer switching by enabling non-blocking, any-to-any media conversion between fiber and copper, and vice versa, as well as between single-mode and multimode fiber, among multiple ports in an IntellaPatch physical layer matrix switch chassis.
Until now, media conversion has been limited to small, stand-alone media-conversion switches or modular, media-conversion switches that could be placed in a larger equipment rack. In either case, these switches have only been able to enable media conversion via a single input-output pathway in an individual switch.
In comparison, the Apcon solution provides cross-connected media conversion from any port to any other port in the IntellaPatch physical layer switch. Any 100 or 1000 Mb/s fiber or copper Ethernet signal can be automatically converted to copper or fiber Ethernet, respectively, or between single-mode and multimode, and then switched to any other port for output. Thus, in the Apcon IntellaPatch, media conversion is not limited to a single switched pathway. The only port-to-port switching limitation is the number of ports configured into the IntellaPatch chassis. With the IntellaPatch 288, an incoming signal could undergo media conversion and be output at any of the other 287 cross-connected ports.
The 100/1000 Mb/s Ethernet fiber optic blades simplify interconnection of an enterprise fiber-based backbone to copper-based Ethernet components, such as layer-2 switches or servers. These interconnections lower costs and simplify the challenge that network infrastructure designers face in designing, configuring, and reconfiguring enterprise networks.
"Never before has the capability for media conversion been made as flexible, simple, and efficient for network infrastructure designers,' said Richard Rauch, president and CEO of Apcon. "Large scale media conversion in the enterprise network is now freed of inherent limitations to interconnections. This provides significant value to the industry and ranks as a true technological improvement."
The Apcon 100/1000 Mb/s Ethernet fiber optic blade can be configured with Apcon IntellaPatch 16-, 64-, 144-, or 288-port physical layer switch chassis. This 16-port blade simultaneously supports Fast Ethernet and Gigabit Ethernet over fiber using SFP (small format pluggable) transceivers. As with all IntellaPatch blades, the blade provides non-blocking connectivity from any port to any port, for point-to-point and multicast configurations.
SOURCE: APCON, Inc.