Westward Sales Blog

Are you on the fence about the right converter for your project? A fiber media converter is a straightforward yet valuable device that converts fiber optics and other media types. 

Its primary function is facilitating transmission between fiber and copper, extending a network’s reach, or integrating fiber optic cabling into a copper-based network. 

Due to their affordability and versatility, you can deploy these converters throughout a network for various purposes. However, the market offers numerous fiber media converters, leading to confusion when selecting the most suitable one for specific projects. 

This post provides a guide for choosing the appropriate converters.

In modern warfare, communication is not just crucial — it’s the lifeline that determines success or failure on the battlefield. At the heart of effective communication systems lie military antennas. These tools are the unsung heroes that enable the transmission and reception of vital signals. 

Over the years, this antenna technology has witnessed significant advancements. Hence, it reshaped modern warfare, bolstering the capabilities of armed forces worldwide.

Uninterrupted power supply (UPS) systems are critical to continuously operating sensitive equipment and processes. Choosing the right industrial UPS system requires thorough consideration of various factors to meet your facility’s specific needs and requirements. 

This comprehensive guide will explore essential considerations and tips to help you make an informed decision. Before we explore these tips, let’s look at the peculiarities of these systems. 

Staying connected is no longer a want — it’s necessary in almost all industries and tasks. Whether working remotely, managing a business, or simply keeping in touch with loved ones, reliable computer solutions ensure seamless connectivity. 

Explore hardware, software, and everything in between. This guide introduces challenging working environments requiring unique computer systems and the right solution. 

Connectivity is a must for almost all individuals and business entities. Dependable and effective wireless network solutions are vital, whether it’s for work, learning, or leisure activities.

Traditional wired connections have long been the norm, but the emergence of wireless networks has revolutionized how we connect. These solutions offer numerous benefits, from increased flexibility and mobility to simplified infrastructure management. 

This blog post will take a deep dive into the benefits of wireless networks. It will also examine how businesses and individuals enhance connectivity by embracing it.

Regardless of the industry to which you belong, efficiency is paramount. Amidst this quest for efficiency, industrial networking solutions have emerged as unsung heroes, revolutionizing how industries operate. 

Beyond mere connectivity, these solutions offer many benefits, some of which might surprise you. Every process, every piece of machinery, and every piece of data counts towards optimizing operations. These factors also help you stay ahead of the competition. 

Let’s delve into five unexpected ways industrial networking solutions increase efficiency. 

Emergency vehicles utilize a variety of antennas for effective communication and operational purposes, trucking companies use GPS to track their fleets, and RV owners install mobile routers to stay connected to the Internet while traveling and camping in remote sites. With the increasing demand for mobile connectivity and the proliferation of wireless devices, selecting the best mobile antennas for your vehicle is crucial for ensuring reliability and performance.

When it comes to network management, outdoor applications present numerous challenges. It forces you to seek innovative technology in areas lacking connectivity or infrastructure. One powerful solution to poor connectivity is a rugged outdoor WiFi gateway. It connects remote WiFi devices to the Internet using the cellular network when wired Internet or access to public WiFi is unavailable. You can use them for continuous remote connectivity or short-term deployment. They are ideal for connecting WiFi-enabled devices like irrigation controllers, IoT sensors, and camera streams to the Internet.

Power over Ethernet, or PoE, is a popular Ethernet technology that transfers data and electrical power simultaneously over a single cable. Standard Ethernet can only transfer data and is ubiquitous in all networks from home, business, and data centers.

A single fiber optic cable is capable of carrying a signal for approximately 60 miles before a repeater is needed to amplify the signal. Standard Ethernet cables, though, are not nearly so efficient. In most cases, an Ethernet cable can transmit a signal about 100 meters before you run into issues. This situation is where an Ethernet extender comes into the equation.

Power over Ethernet, or PoE, has been around since the first standards were published, dating back to 1997. The technology has taken giant strides since those days.  An industrial PoE switch represents one of the easiest and most efficient ways to expand network capacity and range on demand. 

By running power through the Ethernet communication cables, you can skip laying costly power lines and significantly reduce cable management.

Antennas have various wireless applications, from vehicle fleets to control cabinets, machinery, base stations, and mobile hotspots. So, finding the best antenna for your network is critical. 

However, a high-performance antenna will only be effective if mounted correctly. Hence, it would be best to have a reliable antenna mount. 

Nowadays, many types of mounts exist, each designed for a specific need. Hence, it is essential to know about each type.

As our use of interconnected devices increases, cost and complexity rise too. If you find your equipment set up in a space that doesn’t have ample outlets or network connections, PoE (Power over Ethernet) technology may be a convenient solution. Power over Ethernet technology transmits electric power and data simultaneously over a single network cable. This helps teams to install devices in places that lack power.

One of the biggest challenges in modern networking is spanning large distances while staying within a budget.

Unfortunately, cheap hardware usually fails to accommodate longer ranges or succumbs to harsh outdoor environments. This situation forces you into more expensive technologies, like fiber optics, which may not be affordable.

Point-to-point wireless bridge technology could be the perfect solution you seek. It allows Wi-Fi communication to reach spans further than the IEEE 802.11b/g/n standard of a few hundred feet.

Bridging helps networks transmit across miles using traditional Wi-Fi, cutting installation costs by magnitude. Likewise, it offers better performance than many competing solutions.

So, let’s explore point-to-point wireless bridging and all that it offers. You might have found the best way to solve your networking challenges with this device.

Industrial networking never stops advancing. There will always be new technologies and techniques to improve your communication, and it’s essential to keep up. One of the latest trends is industrial Wi-Fi mesh network systems.

While mesh networks have been around for a while, they have only recently been seen at an industrial scale. Now, products are available that enable large-scale industrial mesh networks, so it’s meaningful to understand what they can do for you.