Question : Problem: Using Cisco 3560\3750 SFP port for Tape Library

I am going to be setting up a tape library. I am told with the library that I'm getting that there are two ways to set it up,

[svrs to be backed up]----->thru the lan---->[backup svr]--->SCSI--->[tape library]

or

[fiber nic]------>[fiber bridge]------>[tape library]

My question is, can I use a cisco switch (3560\3750) and plug the tape library in one of the spf ports on it?

I want to buy the switch to act as the 'fiber bridge' and since it's a gb switch and all the servers have gb nics, i just want them to have a gb connection to the tape library which itself is connected by fiber.

Also, in buying the switch, it says the SFP ports are empty, do I need to purchase a specific gbic or fiber module to plug into the spf port? And i'm assuming this module will depend what type of fiber connection is coming off the tape library, would that be correct? like SC to LC or someting another

Answer : Problem: Using Cisco 3560\3750 SFP port for Tape Library

For getting net to the town. The Ideal solution would be to have fiber installed from your datacenter to a central point in town. It would be expensive to set up but would be the most reliable.

I haven't heard of any companies actually doing E over power, but if there is a company that has it working and has a good SLA, then it might be the way to go.

Satellite is bad because of the latency. You can get really fast speeds, but with ping times of >3seconds it limits what you can do with it.


for internet to the house.
I think wireless would be your best bet. with the small area you need to cover you could easily do it with one omni antenna and amplifier at a central location. It is pretty reliable for shorter distances like this. I know of several small towns that have wireless ISPs and they work well.

It wouldn't be practical to run any cables to the houses. You might be able to do DSL since they would already have phone lines, but it would require a deal with the phone company. Same with using cable.


For auth, I would just lock them down based on mac addresses. If that isn't good enough then PPPoe would be ok, but you don't want to deal with the overhead of VPN.