fibre channel media
Fibre Channel works with optical fibers and copper cables. Both monomode fibers and multimode fibers with 50 µm and 62.5 µm with SC connectors, FC connectors, LC connectors and MU connectors can be used as optical fibers. In terms of copper cables, STP cables and mini coaxial cables with HSSDC connectors and Sub-D connectors( DE-9) are used.
For copper transmission media, Fibre Channel distinguishes between so-called intracabinet cables and intercabinet cables. Intracabinet cables are suitable for short connections in enclosures up to 13 m. These cables are also called passive copper cables. The Intercabinet cables are suitable for connecting two FC ports up to 30 m at transmission rates of 1.0625 Gbps. These cables are also referred to as active copper cables.
The highest transmission rates and longest distances are achieved with single- mode fibers, up to 100 MB/s over a distance of 10 km without amplifiers using long-wavelength lasers with a wavelength of 1,310 nm and up to 50 km with wavelengths of 1,550 nm. With multimode fibers, the distance is reduced to 500 m (50 µm fiber) depending on the wavelength used at the same transmission rate.