Modular chassis options for Gigabit Ethernet media converter

Both the modular and standalone versions are designed for use as customer premises equipment devices at the network edge as well as in fibre infrastructures. The IE-iMcV-MultiWay, developed for customers who have invested in chassis-based infrastructure to help them maximise their cost per slot, can be installed in low or high-density-port chassis, including those offering extended temperature.

With two small form pluggable fibre uplink ports and two 10/100/1000Mb/s Base-T copper ports, Ethernet network administrators can connect various devices using both copper ports and one fibre port, while designating the other fibre port for the secure network connection. Simple network management protocol and other troubleshooting capabilities provide functionality similar to that of a Layer 2/3 switch, offering a cost effective alternative to these traditional fibre switches.

The IE-iMcV-MultiWay is geared towards enterprise Gigabit networking applications where there is a need to securely move large amounts of data over long distances of fibre with remote management and to reduce onsite visits for troubleshooting network equipment. Such geographically dispersed enterprises and applications include ISPs, Telco’s, municipalities (traffic signals and digital signage) and all kinds of physical security (surveillance cameras, building access systems and alarms).

A Swiss-army-knife-type tool for network connectivity and management, the IE-iMcV-MultiWay can play multiple roles: managed fibre termination, fibre repeater, mode converter, multi-port switch, dual independent media converter and media converter with 1+1 redundant fibre uplink.

The IE-iMcV-MultiWay can mimic a traditional fibre switch and serve as a central office infrastructure connection with the troubleshooting functionality expected by today’s network administrators to avoid unnecessary truck rolls. It offers status monitoring (interface and RMON1 statistics, OAM (Operations, Administration and Management) status and control) with management on all ports via SNMP. Part of the IEEE 802.3ah and 802.1ag standard, OAM defines how to manage, monitor and test network equipment.

Included is B&B’s free, GUI-based SNMP management software, iView², which allows easy configuration and management of remote network nodes from a central management host. iView² runs standalone on Windows NT/XP/2000/7 or as a Web Server running under IIS. Also included is port-based VLAN and VLAN trunks, IEEE 802.1ad (Q-in-Q) and a user definable EtherType.

The IE-iMcV-MultiWay features a limited lifetime warranty and is available from B&B Electronics and its distribution partners.