Modem > Switch > Fiber > Switch > Ethernet?

[PCBrandon]

Hi all,

I setup a office for a little testing environment last night for where I'll be spending the next eight weeks practicing migration methods for Win2k3 and Exchange 2k3... and I've just now realized I don't think I'll be able to get a direct connection to our ISP's cable modem to the office. Originally I thought I could patch through the phone panels but I just now remembered that the hub room goes to a single pair of wires for those panels... not enough to carry ethernet.

If I were to plug a cable into the cable modem and the other end into the switch where our fiber feeds off to the other hub rooms, should I be able to plug into another switch on the network and then configure that server with the modem's IP address... etc since they are all connected through fiber?

Worst comes to worse I can always take four phones (four pairs) and terminate them into one port. I'd rather not do that, though.

[kstatefan40]

I'm not sure if it would be wise to terminate 4 phone lines into one port, if I remember right, the pairs are twisted in a particular series to avoid crosstalk, which wouldn't be possible with 4 pairs of two?

I'm not sure on the other networking stuff. HTH

[PCBrandon]

Yes, I thought about that. However, the phone pairs are fed into a single sleeve/cable with 48 pairs. The cable runs along a separate route from the cat5e, so I don't believe crosstalk would be an issue. Or less it can experience crosstalk from phone?

This would only be a temporary workaround. When everything is said and done I'll re-terminate the pairs back into their old phone ports.

[kstatefan40]

I'm finding in research that it is strongly not recommended to use data and voice on the same lines... and if you do - be very careful with the wiring.

[glc]

Is there any way that you can temporarily toss a CAT5 run up? I'd recommend that.

[PCBrandon]

Something better: It turns out I had a spare fiber pair not in use. I connected a spare fiber switch on one end with the cable modem and hopped over to the proper hub room and added another spare fiber switch to that end. I connected a patch cable directly from the first switch to the cable modem and then the two testing servers to the other switch.