INTELLIGENT BRANDS // Cabling
Media converts help
customers transform networks
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T
he cloud, IoT and even
hyperconverged infrastructure require
a robust and solid network to relay
the information to and from the data centre
they are connected to. But an old, legacy
network can severely hamper this and lead
to downtime and sub-standard connections,
which is why Netshield South Africa is offering
businesses an alternative, to ripping and
replacing ageing and unstable networks at
enormous cost, with its media converter range.
Media converters are small and cost-
effective devices that, when installed in the
network, upgrade the existing (often copper)
network ports to SFP-based ports for fibre
connectivity. These fibre options increase the
available bandwidth and distance that higher
speed connections can reach. The Netshield
range is made up of a series of small form
factor devices with two media dependant
interfaces and are made up of both Multi-
Port and Power over Ethernet converters.
“In order for IoT installations and cloud
applications to perform at their best in
any environment, a stable, quality network
is required,” said Inus Dreckmeyr, CEO at
Netshield South Africa.
“While many businesses have already
transformed parts of their networks to fibre,
there are some areas, such as the factory
floor, old office buildings, warehouses or
www.intelligentcio.com
even gatehouses as an example, which still
play host to old copper infrastructure.
“Replacing these networks comes at
enormous cost, but without them IoT
sensors and cloud apps will simply not
function optimally. This leads to frustration
and the perception that the application itself
is sub-standard – where in fact the network is
letting you down.”
In IoT installations that require IP network
connectivity, the converters transparently
link copper to fibre that then link these
devices, that now behave as if they are on
a fibre network, to a control room or data
centre. The applications are vast and include
CCTV cameras, IoT sensors in industrial or
mining environments, VoIP phones and even
wireless access points.
MEDIA
CONVERTERS ARE
A FANTASTIC WAY
TO ENSURE YOUR
NETWORK IS CLOUD
AND IOT READY.
Notably the 10/100/1000M media
converters are available in a number
of options, which includes a range that
can be remotely managed and allow an
administrator to supervise real time incidents
on the network. With these specific devices,
you can improve the response times of
administrators and ensure fewer network
disruptions occur. If there is a fault on the
network these manageable devices will
relay where the fault is, which makes fault
discovery much easier and if the converter
itself is faulty, it can be swapped out
immediately without spending time and
money on trying to discover where the
problem on the network exists.
“Because they are as easy to install as a
patch lead and are inexpensive, media
converters are a fantastic way to ensure
your network is cloud and IoT ready,”
added Dreckmeyr.
“They provide network admins a safe
means to upgrade the network to increase
performance while buying time to decide
which parts of the network will ultimately
need to be replaced. In our experience, we
have a lot of industrial customers turning to
media converters for their IoT applications
in the field, because they have realised that
their current network is just not up to the
task of carrying the size and type of data
packets from these devices.” n
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