media converter
The term media converter is used for the adaptation of different physical transmission media, but also for the conversion of mutimedial data formats. Such media converters are software programs that convert files from one format to another.
Physical media converters connect different types of cables together, inheriting the structure and operation of the network.
Media converters can be used for LAN extension. They are completely transparent to the network and in the simplest case are formed from a four-pole, which can be a box, an adapter or a network card. In the past, it was used to adapt different cables - coaxial, TP cables and optical fibers - and different connectors to each other. For example, media converters could be used to adapt 100Base- TX to 100Base-FX, to detect different Ethernet data rates or, as optical media converters, to convert signals from single- mode fibers to multimode fibers.
Since the conversions mentioned can also be performed by simple switches, the media converter seems to have been displaced by other inexpensive network components. As a result, media converters are increasingly being used in HS technologies, for example, to transmit Gigabit Ethernet on existing cabling structures, incorporating copper cabling on the floor and fiber in the backbone. In this case, intelligent media converters offer a low-cost alternative to manageable switches, as they directly pass on error messages about cable breaks.
Another area of application is range extensions, which are used to increase the network extension of Ethernet or Fibre Channel. Existing networks can also be integrated cost-effectively into new network concepts using media converters and media adapters, such as the Media Interface Adapter( MIA).