Options for no SFP port on MX

[GaryShainberg]

Guys and Girls,

I, Like many others have raised concerns that the MX84 and MX100 (and the smaller ones) do not have the ability to use an SFP port as a WAN connection which, has just lost me a large bit of business because the client did not want to buy into a product set that has this as an indication of product short-comings.

FWIW, most enterprise ISP's in the UK now provide their service on a fibre connection where the bearer is 1GB or higher, even if they only provide a 100mb service and the fact that Meraki do offer this on the MX250 and MX450 highlights that this is a product marketing issue and not a technical issue.

Unfortunately, apparently adding this feature to the MX 84 and 100 is not on the product roadmap.

Now my rant is over ...

I have already posted a solution (on this forum) about using a switch and a vLAN to act as a pseudo fibre converter but please can someone suggest the best a good, cost effective media converter that will work with either single-mode or multi-mode fibre to GE

TIA

Gary

[KJKUESTER]

We utilize Black Box Pure Networking Gibagit Media Converters (LG200A) with interchangeable MMF or SMF SPF's as options.

Good Luck!

[KJKUESTER]

We utilize Black Box Pure Networking Gigagit Media Converters (LGC200A) with interchangeable MMF or SMF SPF's as options.

Good Luck!

[PhilipDAth]

>the fact that Meraki do offer this on the MX250 and MX450 highlights that this is a product marketing issue and not a technical issue

The MX250 is rated at 2Gb/s and the MX450 at 4Gb/s.  It's not an SFP port they have but an SFP+ port - to be able to plug in a 10Gbe circuit.  It's a technical requirement to have a WAN port capable of more than 1Gbe to use the capacity.  Nothing to do with prodyct marketing.

The MX84 is rated for 500Mb/s of throughout.  It doesn't need an SFP+ port.  But to be able to have a dual purpose SFP port might be good - where you can change the role of one ofthe SFP ports from LAN to WAN.

At the moment if you are desperate you can put one of the SFP ports and 1 copper LAN port into a seperate VLAN, plug in your fibre ISP circuit to the SFP port, and then run a copper lead from the other LAN port in the VLAN to a WAN port.  Effectively you are using the MX as a media converter.  Not a pretty solution, but it does make for a nice all in one solution.

I prefer the seperate media converter/switch option.

[GaryShainberg]

@PhilipDAth Thanks for your insight and I agree I should have been a little more specific over sfp and sfp+ either way and irrespective ot port speed, I am regularly hitting problems because of this.

Your comment is exactly what I am after, the ability to use an SFP port as either LAN or WAN, just like you can use port 2 on an MX84/MX100 or Port 4 on MX64/65

I am already using the switch ports as a pseudo media converter, I guess I could also use the MX100 to do the same.

What media converters do you use ?

TIA

[PhilipDAth]

>What media converters do you use ?

In my part of the world, if you want it delivered with a copper tail that's how the service provider delivers it.

I can't remember the last time I used a media converter.

[DillonofAnch17]

We use generic Startec converter but what Philip stated is the best Ive heard in a long time