Ethernet gaining in surveillance networks

Interconnecting a diverse range of IP security cameras can prove incredibly challenging, especially if organizations limit themselves to fairly rigid network architectures. Fiber to Ethernet media converters can help companies diversify their network infrastructure, something that could prove incredibly important as more organizations turn to Ethernet technologies to support their surveillance networks.

According to a recent IHS study, Ethernet is becoming more prominent in surveillance networks, and it may be time for organizations to more carefully think about how they build their connectivity infrastructure.

Factors contributing to rising Ethernet use in surveillance networks
The report explained that increased Ethernet use in surveillance settings has been an ongoing trend in the security sector. This began when organizations started to move away from analog cameras and to more advanced IP solutions, but it has been slow going.

Building a network that can support IP cameras is incredibly difficult as it must have enough bandwidth to support large amounts of video data moving through the infrastructure. At the same time, the systems must also be able to withstand temperature extremes and other issues caused by being exposed to the elements, factory floors or other harsh environments.

All of this is starting to change. The challenges of building the network are still present, but there is more help out there. The news source said that standards bodies and equipment manufacturers have worked to create more unity and commonality in their solutions. This has taken a fractured technical industry into a more coherent one, making it much easier to figure out the best way to implement IP cameras in different operational settings.

This more homogenous standards and equipment environment is creating an easier pathway in the analog to IP transformation. The study found that this trend is leading to much more Ethernet use in surveillance networks, leading to rising revenue opportunities for Ethernet switches and complementary technologies.

Understanding the benefits of media diversity in security networks
Ethernet does have its limitations in surveillance networks, particularly in settings like retail warehouses, factories and campuses. These types of environments need surveillance cameras to be spread beyond the distance limitations of Ethernet networks, making fiber interconnects a key part of the network. Building these networks efficiently depends on media converter tools that make it easy to switch between fiber and Ethernet with minimal disruption, helping organizations establish a framework for IP surveillance in a cost-efficient way.

Perle has an extensive range of Managed and Unmanaged Fiber Media Converters to extended copper-based Ethernet equipment over a fiber optic link, multimode to multimode and multimode to single mode fiber up to 160km.