Ethernet Standards
The following table compares the characteristics of various Ethernet implementations.
|
Category |
Standard |
Bandwidth |
Cable Type |
Maximum Segment Length |
|
Ethernet |
10Base5 |
10 Mbps |
Coaxial (thicknet) |
500 meters |
|
10Base2 |
10 Mbps |
Coaxial (thinnet) |
185 meters |
|
|
10BaseT |
10 Mbps (half duplex) |
Twisted pair (Cat3, 4, or 5) |
100 meters |
|
|
Fast Ethernet |
100BaseTX |
100 Mbps (half duplex) |
Twisted pair (Cat5) |
100 meters |
|
100BaseT4 |
100 Mbps (half duplex) |
Twisted pair (Cat5) |
100 meters |
|
|
100BaseFX |
100 Mbps (half duplex) |
Fiber optic |
412 meters (half duplex multimode cable) |
|
|
Gigabit Ethernet |
1000BaseSX (short) |
1,000 Mbps (half duplex) |
Fiber optic |
220 to 550 meters depending on cable quality |
|
1000BaseLX (long) |
1,000 Mbps (half duplex) |
Fiber optic |
550 to 5,000 meters depending on cable quality |
|
|
1000BaseCX (short copper) |
1,000 Mbps (half duplex) |
Special copper |
25 meters, used within wiring closets |
|
|
1000BaseT |
1,000 Mbps (half duplex) |
Twisted pair (Cat5e) |
100 meters |
Fast Ethernet was designed to be as compatible with 10BaseT Ethernet as possible. This provides an easy migration path from 10BaseT to 100BaseT/100BaseT4 (and even to Gigabit Ethernet).
- Most new networking devices that are Fast or Gigabit Ethernet capable also support 10BaseT standards. Devices autosense the specifics of the network configuration and set themselves to use the fastest communication method possible.
- If your network uses 10BaseT and has Cat5 cable, you can slowly migrate from 10BaseT to FastEthernet (remember that FastEthernet uses Cat5 cable). As you replace components such as NICs and hubs with FastEthernet devices, portions of the network will begin operating at FastEthernet speeds.
- You can begin your upgrade with:
- Critical components, such as hubs, switches, and server NICs
- Segments that service mission-critical applications
- Workstations that have heavy bandwidth requirements
