Do you want to get 100% of the internet speed you pay for at home?
If you've already realized that neither Wi-Fi repeaters nor PLCs will truly allow you to get the most out of what you're paying your internet provider for, you might have already seen plastic optical fiber kits. They are the simplest and most effective way to wire your home or office without construction work and forget about interference or homologation problems. But if you want to better understand how they work or what kind of installation you can have, stay tuned because I'm going to explain all the possibilities that Plastic Optical Fiber offers us.
What is Plastic Optical Fiber?
Well, in case you didn't know what plastic optical fiber is, it's simply a plastic cable that has the ability to transmit light, much like glass fiber. The difference from the traditional fiber that reaches us with our operator's internet (if we have fiber contracted) is that the cable is much thinner and more resistant to bending. For this reason, we use it to create connections in places where we want a highly reliable connection but where we don't have much space for cables. This is often the case in our private homes.
Types of plastic optical fiber installations
Alright, now let's look at different options we have to create a backbone network in our home. A plastic optical fiber backbone network is simply the installation we will make of the cable and converters in one or more rooms to extend the connection that comes from the router without losing anything along the way. We have several options:
Point-to-point installation
A point-to-point installation is the simplest we can make that will solve many people's problems. It simply involves extending the router's connection to one more point. To do this, at least 2 converters will always be necessary. One to convert the Ethernet signal into light and another to convert the signal back at the other end. The most common cases are homes with 2 floors where the router's Wi-Fi covers one of them, but the other remains without coverage, or long houses where one part is out of Wi-Fi range.
For this basic type of installation, it is ideal to choose a basic snap data kit that includes 2 converters. One for the start and one for the destination point.
Daisy-chain installation
From point-to-point, we move to the next level. A daisy-chain installation is usually necessary in slightly larger homes. It is designed for several distant points in the home, but sharing the same POF fiber line. The most common cases are homes with 3 floors where the router's Wi-Fi covers one of them, but the others remain without coverage. The same installation can be used for single-story homes, but without coverage in more than one area.
For this type of connection, the most common kits to choose from are the Duplex kit, sometimes with an additional 2-port POF converter like the ACT2003, as they offer the ability to extend the line along the way.
Star installation
A star installation is designed to provide the same bandwidth received at the router to several distant points that emanate from a switch as the first converter element, which would be connected to the router. The most common cases are large homes with several areas without coverage where an internal communication network is desired. A reduced version of the star installation is the Y-installation, which can be done with an ACT 2003, using it as a mini-switch limited to 2 points.
The ideal kit for a star installation is the Gold Kit, which includes a switch + 4 converters.
Mixed installation
Once we understand the previous configurations, we can create a combined or mixed star/daisy-chain installation. These cases are less common as they usually involve homes with special Wi-Fi coverage characteristics and where an internal communication network is desired to enjoy internet anywhere within the home. This would be the most complete of all possible configurations. From this, any home network could be generated by adding elements to it.
The most complete kit for this type of installation is the Snap Data Premium Kit.
Conclusion
Well, these are the main types of installations you can do. Each case is unique, and you can adapt your situation to your needs based on these ideas. This concludes this article, and as always, if you liked it, subscribe to our social media and share it.
If you still have doubts or want to consult your case, write to us at info@actelser.com
