Need some help understanding how to make setup work with fiber.

[Stingraymax]

Hello everybody,


I need some help getting me understand how the whole fiber thing can work for me.


So I have Ip camera setup with a 16channel POE NVR that is connected to my network via ethernet cable and there are about 8 cameras hooked to it each connected to the poe ports on the nvr. Now I have a separate building about 400ft away from my house and I want to install fiber cable into a conduit underground to the separate building to hook up 2 more cameras and maybe later wifi AP.

Now I have already bought a waterproof poe switch with SFP port in it and 6 rj45 poe sockets.
So if I'm correct I will need a media converter, 2 transceivers and I would use OS2 LC cable with 4 strands.

But now how do I hook everything up ? Do I attach the 2 cameras in the separate building to the waterproof switch and then go with the fiber cable to my house and there hook it up to the media converter .. but then how do I connect it to my NVR ? the nor only has 1 lan port. Do I just hook the media converter to a camera port on the nvr ? Or do need another switch and connect it to the switch together with a cable to my main internet router and then from that switch to the LAN port of the NVR ?

Thank you in advance.

 

[bp2008]

I'm going to link a bunch of stuff from amazon US as examples; I'm sure you can find comparable items in your country.

This cable has a decently tough jacket and has 6 strands but the ends are loose and a bit delicate. Would be a tad tricky to pull through conduit.
Maybe you're better off with some basic duplex cables and just run two of them.

You can make a gigabit link work with just 1 strand of fiber if you get transceivers with only one socket. They can cost more than "duplex" transceivers that use two strands of fiber though. Anyway it is always good to have spare fibers in your conduit in case one gets damaged, so 4+ strands would be a nice target.

Do I just hook the media converter to a camera port on the nvr ?

Depending on the NVR that might work.

Or do need another switch and connect it to the switch together with a cable to my main internet router and then from that switch to the LAN port of the NVR ?

Otherwise you can do that. It is really just a matter of your NVR's compatibility but it is likely that one or both of those methods will work.

I think you are very much on the right track here. You understand how the fiber works and really the only question is what compatibility issues your NVR may have with accessing multiple cameras from one network port.

Consider, instead of a media converter, there are lots of inexpensive Chinese switches with RJ45 and an SFP port or two. Many even have 2.5 Gbps RJ45 ports and 10 Gbps SFP+ ports which are backwards compatible with SFP. Some have web management so you can use vlans with them if you want, but most of the cheaper ones are unmanaged.

https://amazon.com/dp/B099PK4Y7Y

https://amazon.com/dp/B0CGDCBBV3

https://amazon.com/dp/B0CLK4QYNY

 

[Stingraymax]

Thank you for the information. The nvr is a NVR5216-16P-EI that I bought from Andy. So no idea what would work but I like the idea of using one of those cheap switches. Might give me the possibility to attach an AP in the separate building later on.

 

[luk8899]

One point I'd like to make in addition is that if you think you may ever put more "stuff" in the location use a fiber cable with more strands. I'm not sure if you're planning to terminate yourself or pay someone to do it, but if you're running normal cable with no plugs it costs very little to go to 8 strands from 4. For example I was putting in a cable to link my house to an outside "server room" at 10G. I needed only 2 strands - even one if I used bidirectional SFPs. I've put in a cable with 12 strands. Who knows, perhaps I'll move my PC there and send the KVM via fiber if reasonably cheap devices supporting 4k@60hz +KVM at least show up on the market? The 12 strand cable was about 20% more per meter and it was pretty cheap anyway.

I don't know that particular NVR. You already have the 6 port switch. If I was you I would basically plug that switch (with one of the RJ45 ports) into the NVR and plug two cameras into the other two ports on the switch and see if your NVR sees them and it all works. If it does you only need 2 fiber strands for standard SFPs or a single strand for bidirectional.

If this is the case, you use the media converter next to the NVR and you plug it into one of the ports. The other end of fiber goes into the 6 port outdoor switch and cameras go into copper PoE ports. I'd buy a media converter with a SFP port (or even two). I recently got some 10G ones on aliexpress and they were cheaper than 1G converters I can buy locally.

I'm assuming single mode cable because at least in my country multimode is actually more expensive now (both the cable and SFPs). So for me there was no reason to use multimode. I set my fiber up with mechanical splices, but they were very finnicky. It worked fine eventually, but if you can get it properly spliced by someone with a fusion welder (or you're thinking you'll do more of it and buy one) that is a much better option. Another advantage of single mode is that the cheapest 10km modules can tolerate a lot of crappy splicing before they stop working. I had 6dB of loss at one point and it worked fine at 10G.

Another thing of importance if you're going to use bare cable is some sort of a box to house the fiber termination in. The cable itself is pretty resilient as well as pigtails if you choose the 2mm pigtail cables. But the place they connect is very fragile. In fusion welding they put a piece of heatshrink with a steel rod, but it is still delicate. So you need some sort of box for this. Many companies sell them. Likely there is some technical term to describe this box in your country.

If you buy preterminated cable, then its a different story.