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    Optical Fiber, Splitter & Pfsense

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved General pfSense Questions
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    • P
      PHILOX24
      last edited by

      I have no idea if it's a single mode or not... I don't have this info.
      It's a 4 single core fibres between the buildings.

      Sadly i don't think it's possible to query the FSPs directly from the Pfsense.
      I'll wait for the people to leave, then i'll check the specs of the SFPs to let you know !

      Thank you so much for yor help.

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      • dotdashD
        dotdash
        last edited by

        Maybe you could terminate the fiber on a switch with several sfp slots.

        P NogBadTheBadN 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 1
        • P
          PHILOX24 @dotdash
          last edited by

          @dotdash Yes, i can maybe do that. But i didn't wanted to add this kind of equipment. I'm looking for an other way to do it.

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          • JKnottJ
            JKnott @NogBadTheBad
            last edited by

            @NogBadTheBad said in Optical Fiber, Splitter & Pfsense:

            I wonder if there is any way to query the SFPs from pfSense to find the type then work out what the fibre is from that.

            Just look at the sheath. The colour indicates the type. Also, there's the matter of wavelength. You need to use different wavelengths for each system. With a single fibre "simplex" connection you will need 2 wavelengths for each system. The splitters will have ports for each supported wavelength.

            PfSense running on Qotom mini PC
            i5 CPU, 4 GB memory, 32 GB SSD & 4 Intel Gb Ethernet ports.
            UniFi AC-Lite access point

            I haven't lost my mind. It's around here...somewhere...

            P NogBadTheBadN 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • JKnottJ
              JKnott @NogBadTheBad
              last edited by

              @NogBadTheBad said in Optical Fiber, Splitter & Pfsense:

              At 500 ~ 600 M I'd guess its single mode.

              Not necessarily.

              PfSense running on Qotom mini PC
              i5 CPU, 4 GB memory, 32 GB SSD & 4 Intel Gb Ethernet ports.
              UniFi AC-Lite access point

              I haven't lost my mind. It's around here...somewhere...

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              • P
                PHILOX24 @JKnott
                last edited by PHILOX24

                @JKnott Thank you for your answer.

                Here, a picture of the cable, and the sheath : https://www.noelshack.com/2019-41-2-1570545356-capture.png
                So i guess it's a single mode.

                What about the wavelength. it's mean i need 2 SPF with the same wavelength for one system, and 2 SPF with the wavelength, but different at the 2 first SPF ?
                Sorry, i'm new in optical.

                Thank you for your help.

                JKnottJ NogBadTheBadN 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • NogBadTheBadN
                  NogBadTheBad @dotdash
                  last edited by

                  @dotdash said in Optical Fiber, Splitter & Pfsense:

                  Maybe you could terminate the fiber on a switch with several sfp slots.

                  I'm with you on this.

                  Andy

                  1 x Netgate SG-4860 - 3 x Linksys LGS308P - 1 x Aruba InstantOn AP22

                  JKnottJ 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • JKnottJ
                    JKnott @PHILOX24
                    last edited by

                    @PHILOX24 said in Optical Fiber, Splitter & Pfsense:

                    @JKnott Thank you for your answer.

                    Here, a picture of the cable, and the sheath : https://www.noelshack.com/2019-41-2-1570545356-capture.png
                    So i guess it's a single mode.

                    It's hard to tell from that picture what it is. That looks like white or cream to me. Also, it appears a bit thick for fibre. That might be an out sheath, with individual fibres inside.

                    What about the wavelength. it's mean i need 2 SPF with the same wavelength for one system, and 2 SPF with the wavelength, but different at the 2 first SPF ?

                    With a single fibre, you have to get 2 different wavelengths for each system. So, for 2 systems, you'd need 4 different wavelengths. The SFP should list the wavelength. If you look up the part number, it should provide the details.

                    PfSense running on Qotom mini PC
                    i5 CPU, 4 GB memory, 32 GB SSD & 4 Intel Gb Ethernet ports.
                    UniFi AC-Lite access point

                    I haven't lost my mind. It's around here...somewhere...

                    P 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                    • NogBadTheBadN
                      NogBadTheBad @JKnott
                      last edited by NogBadTheBad

                      @JKnott said in Optical Fiber, Splitter & Pfsense:

                      @NogBadTheBad said in Optical Fiber, Splitter & Pfsense:

                      I wonder if there is any way to query the SFPs from pfSense to find the type then work out what the fibre is from that.

                      Just look at the sheath. The colour indicates the type. Also, there's the matter of wavelength. You need to use different wavelengths for each system. With a single fibre "simplex" connection you will need 2 wavelengths for each system. The splitters will have ports for each supported wavelength.

                      Its between two buildings it wont look like a patch lead

                      Andy

                      1 x Netgate SG-4860 - 3 x Linksys LGS308P - 1 x Aruba InstantOn AP22

                      JKnottJ 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • JKnottJ
                        JKnott @NogBadTheBad
                        last edited by

                        @NogBadTheBad said in Optical Fiber, Splitter & Pfsense:

                        @dotdash said in Optical Fiber, Splitter & Pfsense:

                        Maybe you could terminate the fiber on a switch with several sfp slots.

                        I'm with you on this.

                        You'd still need a splitter. The detectors used in the SFP are not wavelength selective, so you need a filter ahead of it, to separate the different systems. Filters have multiple connectors on them, for each wavelength supported.

                        PfSense running on Qotom mini PC
                        i5 CPU, 4 GB memory, 32 GB SSD & 4 Intel Gb Ethernet ports.
                        UniFi AC-Lite access point

                        I haven't lost my mind. It's around here...somewhere...

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                        • P
                          PHILOX24 @JKnott
                          last edited by PHILOX24

                          @JKnott Ok i'll check better tomorrow, to be sure.
                          One person in the company told me they ask for single mode. So i guess it's single mode. But i'll check.

                          When you said i need 2 different wavelengths by systems, it's mean i need 2 fibre by systems ?
                          Or it's mean i just need 2 SPF with different wavelenths by systems ?
                          I'm a bit confuse :/

                          Sorry to be stupid, can you explained it quiclky with a quick scheme ?
                          Thanks so much.

                          JKnottJ 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                          • JKnottJ
                            JKnott @NogBadTheBad
                            last edited by

                            @NogBadTheBad said in Optical Fiber, Splitter & Pfsense:

                            Its between two buildings it wont look like a patch lead

                            What point is he looking at the cable? In my experience, the telecom brings the fibre right to the filters, though in some cases there may be a separate patch panel elsewhere in the building with a patch cable to the filter. However, the cable in the picture he later provided, it appears he has a cable with multiple strands. The different colours designate the strands. He needs to determine the specs of that cable somehow. There's no way we can tell him that. Perhaps he can talk to whoever installed the cable or provides the service.

                            PfSense running on Qotom mini PC
                            i5 CPU, 4 GB memory, 32 GB SSD & 4 Intel Gb Ethernet ports.
                            UniFi AC-Lite access point

                            I haven't lost my mind. It's around here...somewhere...

                            NogBadTheBadN 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                            • JKnottJ
                              JKnott @PHILOX24
                              last edited by

                              @PHILOX24 said in Optical Fiber, Splitter & Pfsense:

                              @JKnott Ok i'll check better tomorrow, to be sure.
                              One person in the company told me they ask for single mode. So i guess it's single mode. But i'll check.

                              When you said i need 2 different wavelengths by systems, it's mean i need 2 fibre by systems ?
                              Or it's mean i just need 2 SPF with different wavelenths by systems ?
                              I'm a bit confuse :/

                              Sorry to be stupid, can you explained it quiclky with a quick scheme ?
                              Thanks so much.

                              With a single fibre, you need one wavelength for one direction and a different wavelength for the other. That's 2 for a single system. Multiply that by the number of systems for the total number of wavelengths. With 2 fibres, you'd generally use the same wavelength in each direction.

                              PfSense running on Qotom mini PC
                              i5 CPU, 4 GB memory, 32 GB SSD & 4 Intel Gb Ethernet ports.
                              UniFi AC-Lite access point

                              I haven't lost my mind. It's around here...somewhere...

                              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                              • NogBadTheBadN
                                NogBadTheBad
                                last edited by NogBadTheBad

                                If resiliency is your main issue and cost not an issue I'd use 2 switches per site in a stack and create a LAG across the two switches.

                                Are the 4 strands in the same sheath, if so 2 switches would be an overkill at each site.

                                Screenshot 2019-10-08 at 16.17.51.png

                                Andy

                                1 x Netgate SG-4860 - 3 x Linksys LGS308P - 1 x Aruba InstantOn AP22

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                                • NogBadTheBadN
                                  NogBadTheBad @JKnott
                                  last edited by

                                  @JKnott said in Optical Fiber, Splitter & Pfsense:

                                  @NogBadTheBad said in Optical Fiber, Splitter & Pfsense:

                                  Its between two buildings it wont look like a patch lead

                                  What point is he looking at the cable? In my experience, the telecom brings the fibre right to the filters, though in some cases there may be a separate patch panel elsewhere in the building with a patch cable to the filter. However, the cable in the picture he later provided, it appears he has a cable with multiple strands. The different colours designate the strands. He needs to determine the specs of that cable somehow. There's no way we can tell him that. Perhaps he can talk to whoever installed the cable or provides the service.

                                  Thats why I suggested looking at the cable and sfp.

                                  Andy

                                  1 x Netgate SG-4860 - 3 x Linksys LGS308P - 1 x Aruba InstantOn AP22

                                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                  • NogBadTheBadN
                                    NogBadTheBad @PHILOX24
                                    last edited by

                                    @PHILOX24 said in Optical Fiber, Splitter & Pfsense:

                                    @JKnott Thank you for your answer.

                                    Here, a picture of the cable, and the sheath : https://www.noelshack.com/2019-41-2-1570545356-capture.png
                                    So i guess it's a single mode.

                                    What about the wavelength. it's mean i need 2 SPF with the same wavelength for one system, and 2 SPF with the wavelength, but different at the 2 first SPF ?
                                    Sorry, i'm new in optical.

                                    Thank you for your help.

                                    BTW you can drag your screenshots into the message window, no need to host them somewhere :)

                                    Andy

                                    1 x Netgate SG-4860 - 3 x Linksys LGS308P - 1 x Aruba InstantOn AP22

                                    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                    • NogBadTheBadN
                                      NogBadTheBad
                                      last edited by NogBadTheBad

                                      @PHILOX24 said in Optical Fiber, Splitter & Pfsense:

                                      Gl - CA438 - 00020 - 02 - 4 FO

                                      https://img-en.fs.com/file/datasheet/lgx-box-plc-splitters-datasheet.pdf

                                      Wide Operating Wavelength: From 1260nm to 1650nm

                                      You might be better talking with fs.com direct.

                                      Andy

                                      1 x Netgate SG-4860 - 3 x Linksys LGS308P - 1 x Aruba InstantOn AP22

                                      JKnottJ 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                      • JKnottJ
                                        JKnott @NogBadTheBad
                                        last edited by

                                        @NogBadTheBad said in Optical Fiber, Splitter & Pfsense:

                                        Wide Operating Wavelength: From 1260nm to 1650nm

                                        That range includes several wavelengths, including the entire CWDM range.

                                        PfSense running on Qotom mini PC
                                        i5 CPU, 4 GB memory, 32 GB SSD & 4 Intel Gb Ethernet ports.
                                        UniFi AC-Lite access point

                                        I haven't lost my mind. It's around here...somewhere...

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                                        • C
                                          Coin123
                                          last edited by

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