What are the classifications of common fiber optic switches? What are the characteristics?

Fiber optic switches are high-speed data transmission relay devices, also known as fiber channel switches and SAN switches. Compared to regular switches, it uses fiber optic cables as the transmission method. The advantages of fiber optic transmission are fast speed and strong anti-interference. There are two main types of fiber optic switches, one is an FC switch used to connect storage. The other type is an Ethernet switch, with a fiber optic interface as the port, which has the same appearance as a general electrical interface but different interface types. Let's provide a detailed introduction to the types of fiber optic switches. Interested friends come and take a look!

Fiber optic switches are divided into three categories: entry-level switches, workgroup level fiber optic switches, and critical level fiber optic switches. Then start with the first critical level fiber switch!

Firstly, critical level fiber optic switches

The so-called critical switches (also known as directors) are typically located at the core of large SANs, connecting multiple edge switches to form a SAN network with hundreds of ports. Core switches can also be used as standalone or edge switches, but their improved functionality and internal structure make them work better under critical storage conditions. Other functions of the core switch include protocols other than fiber optic (such as InfiniBand), suitable for 2Gbps fiber channel, and advanced fiber optic services (such as security, trunk, frame transition, etc.).

Critical level fiber optic switches typically offer a wide range of ports from 64 to 128. It uses a very wide internal connection to route data frames with maximum bandwidth. The purpose of this switch is to create a network with larger coverage area and provide more bandwidth, and they are designed to route frame signals with the shortest delay between multiple ports.

In addition, key fiber optic switches typically choose hot plug circuit boards based on "blades": as long as the switch socket is inserted into the cabinet, necessary new functions can be added, online maintenance can be performed, and online phased on-demand expansion can be achieved. Many critical switches are not compatible with litigation loops or other directly connected bad devices, and they only care about the ability of critical switches.

Since ease of use is the most critical factor in the entire environment, everyone is willing to spend more money on redundancy. All components of highly redundant switches are redundant, completely eliminating single point of failure, and ensuring a very long uptime. These redundancy costs are typically spent on scalability side panels, power supplies, redundant circuits, and maintenance availability software. This type of switch has many built-in logic circuits to solve internal hardware failures of the switch.

The core switch in fiber optic switches provides maximum stability and port density. This product is an almost unbeatable centralized storage switch, located in data centers with extensive fiber channel infrastructure. Therefore, for most scalable networks, a dual channel network constructed from critical fiber switches should be chosen.

The second is the workgroup level fiber optic switch

Fiber optic switches provide the ability to connect many switches into large-scale fabrics. Based on one or more ports connecting two switches, all ports connected to the switch can see a unique impression of the network, and any node on the Fabric can communicate with other nodes.

Fundamentally, based on cascaded switches, a large, virtual, and switch with distributed advantages can be established, which can span particularly large distances. A Fabric established by multiple switches looks like a Fabric composed of independent switches. All ports on the switch can be queried and browsed like local switches for all other ports on the Fabric. The unified name server and management service are allowed to query and adjust all Fabric information according to the independent interface.

An important factor in establishing a distributed fabric is to obtain the connection bandwidth between switches. The effective speed between any two ports is affected by the effective bandwidth of the connection between switches, and it may require connections between multiple switches to maintain the necessary bandwidth. The working group has a large number of fiber channel switches that are more versatile.

Users can use workgroup switches in multiple ways, but the most commonly used area is small SANs. This type of switch can be connected through interconnections between switches, providing a better number of ports. Interconnection lines between switches can be established on random ports on fiber channel switches. However, if you plan to apply products from multiple manufacturers, you must ensure that the devices can interoperate.

3、 Entry level switch

The application of entry-level switches in fiber optic switches is mainly concentrated in small workgroups with 8 to 16 ports, suitable for low-cost locations that must be expanded and managed. They are usually used to replace hubs, providing higher bandwidth and more reliable connections than hubs. People usually do not purchase entry-level switches independently, but often purchase them together with other levels of switches to form a complete storage solution. The entry-level fiber optic switch provides a limited level of port cascading capability. If customers use this low-end product alone, they may encounter some management issues.

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