Fast Ethernet Media Converters

The key difference is transmission distance and the type of fiber cable required.

• Multimode fiber media converters use multimode fiber (50/125 or 62.5/125 micron) and are designed for shorter distances — typically up to 550m at Gigabit speeds or up to 2km at Fast Ethernet speeds. They operate at 850nm or 1310nm wavelengths.
• Singlemode fiber media converters use singlemode fiber (9/125 micron) and support much longer distances — from 20km up to 100km or more. They are used for inter-building, campus, and wide-area fiber links.

Multimode and singlemode fiber are not interchangeable. The converter must match the fiber type installed in your network.

Networx media converters are available with three fiber connector types: LC, SC, and ST. All models include one RJ-45 copper port on the other end.

• LC — A compact push-pull connector widely used in data centers and modern enterprise environments.
• SC — A square push-pull connector common in telecommunications and structured cabling.
• ST — A round bayonet-style twist-lock connector found in many older network installations.

The connector type on the media converter must match the connector on your fiber patch cable or wall outlet.

Yes. All Networx media converters support auto-negotiation on the copper (RJ-45) Ethernet port, automatically detecting the speed and duplex setting of the connected device — supporting 10Mbps, 100Mbps, or 1Gbps as applicable to the model.

Yes. Networx media converters comply with IEEE 802.3 Ethernet standards and work with networking equipment from any manufacturer that supports standard Fast Ethernet or Gigabit Ethernet fiber interfaces. They are not limited to Networx-branded switches, routers, or fiber transceivers.

Yes. Networx media converters support both standalone and rack-mounted use. The FR-2U14 14-Slot Media Converter Chassis accommodates up to 14 Networx media converter modules in a 2U 19-inch rack enclosure, with a shared internal power supply for all installed modules.

A Fast Ethernet fiber media converter bridges a 10/100Mbps copper Ethernet (RJ-45) connection to a 100Mbps fiber optic link (100Base-FX or 100Base-BX). These converters are used in networks running at Fast Ethernet speeds — including legacy infrastructure, small business networks, and lower-bandwidth applications where Gigabit speeds are not required.

WDM (Wavelength Division Multiplexing) media converters — also called BiDi (Bi-Directional) converters — transmit and receive data over a single fiber strand by using two different wavelengths simultaneously, one for each direction.

BiDi converters must be deployed in matched pairs: one unit transmitting at 1310nm (paired with a unit transmitting at 1550nm) on the same fiber. Networx BiDi models include the FT-100SC1310T30 (1310T/1550R) and FT-100SC1550T30 (1550T/1310R), which must be used together.

A fiber media converter is a networking device that bridges two different physical media types — typically a copper Ethernet cable (RJ-45) and a fiber optic cable. It converts the electrical signal used by copper-based Ethernet into the light-based signal required for fiber optic transmission, and vice versa.

Media converters are used to extend network reach beyond the 100-meter limit of copper Ethernet cable, connect legacy copper equipment to a fiber backbone, or link two network segments running different cable types.

Networx fiber media converters include a 3-year warranty. The FR-2U14 media converter chassis carries a lifetime warranty.