Optical Network Configurations

[gldgate]

One additional point. Ebay is your friend. SFP's and optical cables are plentiful and cheap there. I picked up a pack of 8 Cisco SFP's for $25. 1G speed is not the latest and greatest technology so you can pick up some good deals. Amazon pricing is generally multiples of what you can actually get things for.

[Tand]

I've been following this thread for some time. I don't envy those who are trying to isolate PCs that play their music: it looks complex and prone to gotchas. I'm fortunate in having a simple system: NAS > switch > bridge > switch > Sonore Rendu > hifi. The first switch links in 3 computers and other stuff and the second switch all my AV stuff.

 

Judging from others' experience the best option appears to be to isolate the last network step from the second switch to the Rendu, so I bought a couple of TP-Link MC100CM converters which I connected back-to-back using 2m of SC-SC multimode fibre (OM2 spec). Initially I could not get a link to the Rendu because the fibre optic cable I bought came as 2 cables and a pair of plastic clips to join the ends to form the SC plugs to insert into the converters and I mistakingly joined the cables so that I had TX connected to TX and FX to FX between the converters, rather than TX to FX and FX to TX.

 

Once I corrected this, the system worked fine. The effect on sound quality is a definite but subtle improvement in my setup: better definition, ‘cleaner’ treble and more detail particularly at low volume settings.

 

So I'd strongly recommend this approach to anyone using a NAS as a music server (I use Minimserver) and playing it back directly via ethernet. Very good value for the money - switching to a high-end interconnect would cost a lot more.

 

I can not get my TP Link MC110 to work. I have crossed the SC-SC cable (duplex sigle mode 9/125 OS2 spec) TX >FX and FX >TX. Should I change the dip switches? I use as recommended by TP Link "

We suggest leaving the switches on TP_AUTO, TP_100M,TP_FDX, and LFP_ON, because this configuration is suitable forlots of situations.

 

I am lost, help is most appreciated!

 

Tommy

[Forehaven]

One additional point. Ebay is your friend. SFP's and optical cables are plentiful and cheap there. I picked up a pack of 8 Cisco SFP's for $25. 1G speed is not the latest and greatest technology so you can pick up some good deals. Amazon pricing is generally multiples of what you can actually get things for.

 

Good to know gldgate, Thanks.

[tgb]

Hi Tand,

can you tell which led is lit on each FMC ?

you took care of the fiber ? you did not bent them 90° or more ?

Rgds

[jabbr]

Deleted

[Tand]

Hi Tand,

can you tell which led is lit on each FMC ?

you took care of the fiber ? you did not bent them 90° or more ?

Rgds

 

Hi tgb

 

I think I got it working now. All lights are on both FMC except LFP. It works when I connect my Samsung notebook on it but I can not get it to work between the Mac minis - then the lights Power and Link/Act is on both.

 

The FMCs should replace my ethernet cable between the minis. Its strange it does noe work in that configuration.

 

All swithces are on the top on both.

 

Tommy

[jabbr]

Hi tgb

 

I think I got it working now. All lights are on both FMC except LFP. It works when I connect my Samsung notebook on it but I can not get it to work between the Mac minis - then the lights Power and Link/Act is on both.

 

The FMCs should replace my ethernet cable between the minis. Its strange it does noe work in that configuration.

 

All swithces are on the top on both.

 

Tommy

 

That is strange. Perhaps the mac mini is unhappy with a 100mb only connection. Really no idea. Maybe play around with the switches to see if you can get it working.with the mini. If it works with the Samsung then it sounds like the equipment is working just not compatible (perhaps) with the mac mini (hard to say).

 

Consider using the Trendnet 100/1gbe FMCs that have been discussed above?

[dtb300]

A quick e-mail to emphasize what tgb said in regards to FMC power. The SMP's that come with the units (I am using TRENDnet) are pretty awful. I noticed an immediate improvement when I put the SMP's and Ethernet switch (new Paul Pang) on battery.

 

+1 on using either a LPS or External Battery Supply on your Media Converters. Strapped for Cash? Start with the MC closest to your Media Server, then do the ones further up the chain as you can afford.

[Tand]

That is strange. Perhaps the mac mini is unhappy with a 100mb only connection. Really no idea. Maybe play around with the switches to see if you can get it working.with the mini. If it works with the Samsung then it sounds like the equipment is working just not compatible (perhaps) with the mac mini (hard to say).

 

Consider using the Trendnet 100/1gbe FMCs that have been discussed above?

 

Got it working now! Mowed the 4th switch down and connected the FMC in front of my 2 minis (instead of between). Sound very nice now, another curtain has been removed.

[Tand]

Got the FMCs working between my minis now. I had to adjust some settings on both. Earlier I got the minis working on shared internet/Screen share, but it did not work with the FMCs. I dont have Internet connection on my music mini, but I have access to my iTunes Library on Server mini (the 1. of the minis). I have to use wifi to stream Amarra Tidal and radio.

 

Tommy

[gldgate]

Update. Received LR Link SFP PCIe card yesterday from Ali Express.

 

LR LINK LREC6210PF SFP PCIe 1000Base SX/LX SFP Port Network Interface Card(Broadcom 5708S Based)-in Network Cards from Computer & Office on Aliexpress.com | Alibaba Group

 

First card I tried (TP Link) did not work so this was plan B. Honestly, did not know if this would work either. With CAPS Pipeline I also needed to install a PCIe riser as well. I installed the riser and card, put in SFP and fiber cable, crossed my fingers and booted up. The CAPS PC recognized the LR link right away (did not even need to install drivers from CD). Only reconfiguring I needed to do was reset JPLAY s/w dual PC LAN settings due to new card.

 

How did it sound? Since I already had most of the optical network up and running (switch and FMC's), I was not expecting a huge difference as effectively, the only thing the SFP PCIe card does is allow me to remove a 1M blue jeans RJ45 cable. I was right. Change IMO was subtle. Maybe a tad blacker background and a tad smoother but the majority of the benefit was already realized from the upstream FMC's and switch. The card does allow me to remove a FMC and power supply so it does help reduce overall cluter.

 

Here is the updated picture of network:

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]20470[/ATTACH]

 

Final Equipment count:

 

1 Optical Switch (Diablo OEM)

1 PCIe SFP Card (LR Link)

3 FMC's (2 TP-Link, 1 Trendnet)

8 Single Mode SFP's (Mostly Cisco 1gb)

4 LC/LC Optical Fiber cable

 

Approximate Cost of optical equipment ($450-$500) purchased from Ali express (Optical Switch, PCIe card), Amazon (FMC's) and Ebay (SFP's, fiber cable).

 

In addition to optical equipment, I have 3 Technet battery power supplies for the FMC's and a LPS for the switch. If you go through the effort of putting in optical, upgraded PS is a must.

 

Overall, I am pleased with optical "experiment". I believe having both NAS drives and Audio PC connected optically improves sound quality over copper ethernet.

 

With this completed, I'm going to take a break for a while on the hardware side of my system (other than perhaps power supply for the Regen). I am at the point where I believe my PC audio system is approximately at the same level as my vinyl system. Will switch over to SW side of things for a bit as we get close to release of AO for Windows 10. Otherwise, it's all about the music.

[jabbr]

Still loving the diskless NAA with x520 fiber NIC.

 

Tried to use other NICs, and my experiences are:

 

1) Mellanox Connectx-2. These cards are very cheap on ebay ~ $20 but I've had alot of trouble with mine in my fanless case. I'm worried that the card gets too hot ... it gets very hot. It intermittently boots and then doesn't and just can't make the switch from BIOS iSCSI to OS iSCSI ... and so I just can't get it to fully boot diskless. It might be the card itself (flakey) so I've got another on order.

2) Aliexpress "OEM" Intel i350 ... works great for normal network but I doesn't flash with Intel "BootUtil" consequently a no-go for iSCSI nor PXE boot. Although PCI-e x1 fits nicely with certain Mobo's, just not worth it compared with used Intel x520 (can be had for ~$120 on ebay)

 

3) ... still waiting for reclocked PPA SFP switch...

 

4) Equi-tech Balanced "Q" ... boy is it heavy, but very solid, and silent, and makes everything sound even better... soundstage is just than much deeper and wider etc.

 

5) Lots of listening ... let's fingers wander and I purchased a 40Gbs Infiniband switch because ... ? Okay it was a great price but ... ?? Need to stay away from eBay... guess I have a new SAN

 

Anyways, take home message is that for anyone interested in trying out iSCSI boot for diskless NAA ... and this is clearly a sonic improvement ... you better know how to use the command line and probably should stick with name brand Intel NICs (of course other may have no problem with Mellanox etc.)

[John769]

Change IMO was subtle. Maybe a tad blacker background and a tad smoother but the majority of the benefit was already realized from the upstream FMC's and switch. The card does allow me to remove a FMC and power supply so it does help reduce overall cluter.

 

Thanks for the feedback I guess that does call into question as to whether it's worth buying and accommodating a micro atx mobo just for the extra pcie slot. Everything being relative though, maybe it is..

 

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]20470[/ATTACH]

 

Doesn't seem to be working?

 

 

I believe having both NAS drives and Audio PC connected optically

 

Would you say not much benefit in going optical from switch to control pc?

 

 

 

 

3) ... still waiting for reclocked PPA SFP switch...

 

Looking forward to your verdict on that, man.

[gldgate]

Hi John:

 

 

The difference in price between PCIe card and additional FMC was pretty minimal in my case so I think it was worth it. Even if the difference is subtle every little bit adds up. For those starting from scratch, I would recommend starting with the FMC's/switch first and adding the card as budget/time permits. It's a tougher call in regards to whether you want to go select a motherboard purely based on adding PCIe card. My guess would be upstream FMC's will solve most of the issues but for an additional hundred bucks or so I would still probably do it (better to be safe than sorry).

 

Since I don't play music on my control PC I don't see an urgent need for an FMC there. However, since I put in the SFP PCIe card I do have an extra FMC and power supply available so that's something I can try just for the heck of it. Not expecting any difference but will give it a shot this weekend.

 

Will see if this works:

 

[John769]

Since I don't play music on my control PC

 

Your i7 Puget Systems machine doesn't play music, or at least have some related function?

 

 

My guess would be upstream FMC's will solve most of the issues but for an additional hundred bucks or so I would still probably do it (better to be safe than sorry).

 

Unfortunately I'm already sorry: This morning, half asleep, I fried my PPA v1 card by feeding it 9V from one of three Teradak U9VA's allocated to a MC220L. Bummer!

 

The amount of power supplies required is getting ridiculous

[dtb300]

The amount of power supplies required is getting ridiculous

With so many LPS's it's like having too much money - not quite a bad thing And far better than so many SMPS's!!

[gldgate]

Your i7 Puget Systems machine doesn't play music, or at least have some related function?

 

 

 

 

Unfortunately I'm already sorry: This morning, half asleep, I fried my PPA v1 card by feeding it 9V from one of three Teradak U9VA's allocated to a MC220L. Bummer!

 

The amount of power supplies required is getting ridiculous

 

Crap - sorry about your PPA. Keeping power requirement straight is a pain. I almost did the same thing when I first got a PP Ethernet switch about a month or so ago.

 

Luckily, battery seems to work as well as (if not better than) LPS in my system so 3/4 of these can handle all optical needs for about $100 or so. I charge them overnight and I'm ready to go.

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FAU7ZB2?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s01

 

The Puget obviously can play music but I just prefer SQ with CAPS in dual PC mode. It takes a minute to fire up the stereo and I never turn off the PC's so it's not a hassle. The Puget does most of the heavy processing (usually with Infinity Blade in tandem with Jplay) and then sends it over to CAPS for output.

[John769]

thanks!

[jabbr]

Your i7 Puget Systems machine doesn't play music, or at least have some related function?

 

 

 

 

Unfortunately I'm already sorry: This morning, half asleep, I fried my PPA v1 card by feeding it 9V from one of three Teradak U9VA's allocated to a MC220L. Bummer!

 

The amount of power supplies required is getting ridiculous

 

Ouch.

 

The 220L s take 5V so I'm using the 1st gen Astro E5 which allow charging & play at same time.

[dtb300]

The 220L s take 5V so I'm using the 1st gen Astro E5 which allow charging & play at same time.

Or the Anker Astro Pro 2 (more expensive) and has three USB charging outputs & charge/play at same time. I use one of these where I have 2 MC-220L's (near my switch).

 

I may pick up that E5 you mention, or try out the timer with the other Anker I have that does not support powering and charging at same time.

[John769]

Ouch.

 

The 220L s take 5V

 

Indeed. Talking of the 220L, it makes my Teradak U9VA (either 9V or 5V) really hot to the extent that I'm a little concerned for the latter's longevity. It draws 5.5/8.5 watts from the U9VA's 9V/5V, although maybe that's normal. The MM SFP's get pretty warm too.

 

Someone mentioned earlier that their Anker/Technet's seemed to run out more quickly powering the 220L compared to other FMC's.

 

I might just swap them for a pair of Trendnet's at some point.

[dtb300]

Indeed. Talking of the 220L, it makes my Teradak U9VA (either 9V or 5V) really hot to the extent that I'm worried for the latter's longevity. It draws 5.5/8.5 watts from the U9VA's 9V/5V. The MM SFP's get pretty warm too.

 

Someone mentioned earlier that their Anker/Technet's seemed to run out more quickly powering the 220L compared to other FMC's.

 

I might just swap them for a pair of Trendnet's at some point.

 

 

For one MC-220L I am using an Anker Power Core 20100 (had the Anker already) - Does not support power through. Anyway, yesterday the 220L was on Anker from 8am - 9pm and played music about 3-4 hours and still had 3/4 of the power remaining. The Anker was never warm and the 220L is only slightly warm.

[John769]

well, it probably prefers higher amps (the Teradak is 1A, I believe), although its smps is only 0.6a/ 9V. Hmm..

 

 

Noticing a big difference in price between Intel 520-DA and Lenovo Thinkpad Intel 520-DA, which is almost a third of the former's new price. The Lenovo's seem a bargain.

[dtb300]

well, it probably prefers higher amps (the Teradak is 1A, I believe), although its smps is only 0.6a/ 9V. Hmm..

The 220L needs either 9V/0.6A or 5V/1A.

 

On another note, now that I have the fiber network up and running, it is time to Subnet out the Music part of the network from the "normal" home network traffic.

[jabbr]

The 220L needs either 9V/0.6A or 5V/1A.

 

On another note, now that I have the fiber network up and running, it is time to Subnet out the Music part of the network from the "normal" home network traffic.

 

If you can iSCSI boot diskless it will provide another level of improvement