How can we make a LAN using Fiber Optic Wire?

Answer 1

You can't, there is no such thing as fiber optic wire.

If it contained "wire" it would not be fiber optic.

Wire refers to metal wiring such as copper in an insulated jacket coating. Fiber optics are bundles of glass tubing, typically sheathed in a much sturdier protective cable system (sometimes referred to as armoring).

I assume your question is:

How can we make a LAN using "fiber optic cable"?

Answer:

The same way you build a normal LAN you just switch out for new equipment. How much of your network you wish to switch over to fiber optics is the real question.

At every stage of your LAN you will need a fiber optic ready piece of equipment including the modem, router and computer connection points. Fail to update any area of the LAN and you have devalued all of the fiber optics from that point and downstream of that point.

Conceptually, beyond simply updating the equipment and cabling to fiber optics there are only a few additional considerations:

1. Length of the cables vs traditional wiring. Depending on the thickness and quality of your fiber optics you will have different recommended max lengths for networking legs. If you need to exceed the cables recommended length you will need a repeater or additional boosted router of some form. While you run into the same issue with traditional wiring just be aware that fiber optics have different length recommendations and vary with thickness.

2. Fiber optics are typically not as flexible as traditional wiring and require more care during installation. Where as wire can be bent or forced into different shapes and small spaces, fiber optics have a much smaller bend radius. If you bend a fiber optic cable beyond its bend radius you will shatter the glass tubing inside. Same issue should be considered for impact: With wiring you can hit it multiple times with a hammer and just flatting it or force it into a corner. With fiber optics, you will eventually shatter the inside if enough force is applied.

While most fiber optics have been designed with enough armor cable to withstand basic handling, none of it can withstand the level of abuse that wire will endure and continue to function.

3. It's typically much thicker than wire. If you have pre drilled holes for wiring bundles, they may need to be enlarged for the same number of fiber optic cables to fit in the same location. Fiber optics may be 2 to 5 times the diameter of traditional wiring. This simply depends on the quality of the cables used. Thicker armor and/or thicker glass bundles are typically going to be higher quality and less prone to damage or having issues with data transmission over longer distance.