Networking technology has advanced to a stage where businesses are now faced with a major dilemma when upgrading their communications infrastructure: do they select wired or wireless networking technology, or a combination of the two?
According to Mark Dorfling, NetShield business development manager at Comztek, while companies have many options available to them today, they have also invested vast amounts of capital in infrastructure they cannot simply throw out during the upgrade stage.
"However, they need to ensure their old infrastructure communicates with the new and that`s when the use of media converters or laser links makes perfect business sense. They ensure that networks communicate successfully with one another, especially where wired and wireless infrastructures are used in combination.
"In addition, a laser link provides guaranteed bandwidth of up to 100Mb full duplex, a critical consideration if it is to act effectively as a `last mile` connection medium," he says.
Dorfling explains that connecting two office blocks can be difficult if the only option is to lay cable - prohibitively expensive - or when crossing a road.
"A laser link connection relies on a direct line-of-sight communication set-up. These solutions are used extensively on mines and many other industrial applications, and are therefore perfectly suited to any corporate communication need," he adds.
Dorfling points out that locally developed technologies such as those offered by NetShield are not only cost-effective, but they can be tailor-made to application specific networks.
He says that where a customer has a specific communication need, there are several solutions that can deliver all a company needs for voice, data or video communications. These include NetShield serial encapsulation into IP protocol for transmission on Ethernet networks, multiplexers or laser links.
"For companies that want to upgrade their communications infrastructure but want to keep their old network, they should consider solutions to upgrade the network using media converters. This will extend the life of the old network and the company concerned will also be able to connect to the new network. This ensures that the initial outlay in networking technologies is not wasted and the company is also able to keep its old infrastructure," he concludes.
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