Okay, I have a two part question

[G+_Jason Perry]

Okay, I have a two part question.

This stems from the the fiber tap segment on the last show

 

First, is there a standard for fiber optic networks? and

Second, the only reason I would be interested in fiber optic is speed, but every card I have seen isn't faster than GigE, what speeds can your standard fiber home network reach?

[G+_Taylor Graham]

I'm not sure on the standard. I believe its all about the connector really, and whether you're using single or multi-mode fiber. It depends what kind of switch youre connecting it to. 

You could get 10 gigabit on any type of fiber i believe. You can actually get 10 gigabit with copper too, provided a short enough run and the switches/network cards to support that kind of throughput. 10 gigabit equipment is EXPENSIVE. Fiber equipment is even more expensive.

[G+_Travis Hershberger]

Well, for starters, fiber generally isn't used in single-family homes (PadreSJ's home would rule out the isn't used at home statement.)

 

1.  Yes, but talking fiber optics is like talking ethernet.  Many standards exists within the space.  I haven't used fiber in years so I'm not up to date with currently used standards.

 

2.  You can get fiber optic equipment that will do 100mbit, 1gbit, 10gbit, 40gbit, 100gbit, and probably a bunch of others.  Generally the equipment is more expensive than copper, which is why people prefer to use copper in general and fiber only when needed.

[G+_David H]

Travis Hershberger is correct. Fiber is used typically for long haul, last mile, or from switch to switch within a network (building). It is expensive and there are installation requirements when it is deployed. Speeds on fiber are limited only by the speed of converting light to electrical signals, which costs more that faster you go. In the home, fiber is overkill unless you have a very large home with multiple wiring closets that are further than the copper Ethernet standard distance.

[G+_Jason Perry]

Right now I am just thinking about the future, I am building a VM host and am thinking about possibilities for linking it to my NAS. I was looking at Infiniband but have an open mind to any option that doesn't carry a sky high price tag.

[G+_Travis Hershberger]

Infiniband is really cool tech, but also more expensive than fiber.

 

For storage it's always better to have it running inside the box than across an external wire.  Talking to vendors the first time you mention VM they want to sell you a NAS.  Just say no!

 

A NAS is great to put backups on, but not all that great for primary storage.

 

Now if you just want some experience running things in a SAN environment, then go a head and just do it.

[G+_Jason Perry]

The infiniband I was looking at is second hand. Not as fast as current versions. But 10Gb is more than good enough for me.

[G+_Travis Hershberger]

Just remember that Infiniband, for all it's coolness, isn't something that everything is going to be able to communicate over.

 

For those that don't know much about Infiniband, it works differently than a standard ethernet network.  The adapters communicate via DMI (Direct Memory Interface), so the CPU can be doing other work while Infiniband transfers things in and out of memory.  Where Infiniband sees a lot of use currently are in the supercomputers based on clusters of normal server boxes.  Of course, you also better know who's plugging things into your Infiniband connections!

 

Also, Jason Perry would make a bunch of the other geeks around here jealous.  Playing with Infiniband at home, lucky!