NetVanta 3430 with 8 1524ST switchs wired with Ethernet vs SFP Modules and fiber

[kentt]

I have been given the task to upgrade our Condo Building network.  Currently there is a TimeWarner supplied Fiber circuit advertised at 50 Megs up and down. That is connected to a Adtran Netvanta 3430 which then is connected to 8 Adtran Netvanta 1524ST switches, one per floor with no more than 2 hops to each switch. From there, each condo has their own wireless router/modem.  There is also 2 Cisco Wireless units connected to this circuit. This traffic is Internet Only. I could not log in the 3430 with the ADMIN / password default credentials and have not been able to acquire.  That's another question.

My question for this.  Last summer the TimeWarner circuit was upgraded from 5 megs to 50 megs, due to the complaints of the owners.  The complaints are down, but still exists.  Does it make sense to replace the Ethernet cabling and purchase the SFP modules and run fiber between the 3430 and all the 1524STs?

[Anonymous]

1st issue is to get into the router and bypass the password in order to do this you will have to take down the router and enter into bootstrap mode. This will cause an outage but at least you will be able to create a new log in.

Password recovery method: [video] - Password Recovery in AOS

As far as Ethernet vs Fiber. I always choose Fiber it has been tested tried and true but if it is not an option the Netvanta switch does have an option to test Ethernet Cable to assist in troubleshooting.

Troubleshooting Ethernet with a Netvanta Switch: Cable Diagnostics Troubleshooting Guide

[stunorman]

Concerning replacing Ethernet Cable with fiber optic cable: Given the right conditions, copper Ethernet cable is good for speeds all the way to 1000Mbs. For your purposes, 100Mb (100BaseTx) is adequate. Your internet connection is a 50Mb connection, so going faster than 50Mb from your switch to the Netvanta 3430 is of no real benefit. You'd just be sending the packets to the Netvanta 3430 at a faster rate, but they would still be buffered whle getting onto the 50Mb link to T/W. I don't think you'd see any benefit from adding SFPs and fiber optic jumpers.