Patent ID: 7243837

Claim:
A device comprising: a fiber optic cable having a fiber optic connector; a transponder attached to the fiber optic connector, the transponder including a unique identifying information about the fiber optic cable; only one media converter, the only one media converter mountable to a bulkhead, and the only one media converter preset to accept only a specific unique identifying information; an antenna attached to the only one media converter; and a transceiver electrically connected to the antenna so as to form a reader which is capable of activating and interrogating the transponder when the transponder is sufficiently close to the antenna, and wherein, when the fiber optic connector is mounted to the only one media converter, the reader reads the unique identifying information from the transponder attached to the fiber optic connector, if the unique identifying information from the transponder attached to the fiber optic connector is not the same as the specific unique identifying information preset with the only one media converter then the only one media converter will not accept any other information from the fiber optic cable attached to the fiber optic connector so as to secure a network, and wherein, when the fiber optic connector is mounted to the only one media converter, the reader reads the unique identifying information from the transponder attached to the fiber optic connector, if the unique identifying information from the transponder attached to the fiber optic connector is the same as the specific unique identifying information preset with the only one media converter then the only one media converter will be activated and the only one media converter will begin to accept and transmit other information with the fiber optic cable attached to the fiber optic connector.