📘 05-03: Ethernet Standards & Transceivers¶
📌 Reading Ethernet Names¶
Format: <speed>BASE-<media>
- Speed — 10 = 10 Mbps, 100 = 100 Mbps, 1000 = 1 Gbps, 10G = 10 Gbps
- BASE — baseband (whole medium carries one digital signal)
- Media suffix —
T= twisted pair,S= short-reach MMF,L= long-reach SMF
📌 Common Standards¶
| Standard | Speed | Media | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10BASE-T | 10 Mbps | Cat 3+ UTP | 100 m |
| 100BASE-TX | 100 Mbps | Cat 5 UTP | 100 m |
| 1000BASE-T | 1 Gbps | Cat 5e/6 UTP | 100 m |
| 10GBASE-T | 10 Gbps | Cat 6a UTP | 100 m |
| 10GBASE-SR | 10 Gbps | MMF | ~300 m |
| 10GBASE-LR | 10 Gbps | SMF | ~10 km |
📌 Transceivers (Modular Ports)¶
Hot-swappable modules that give a switch/router a specific media/speed interface:
| Module | Speed |
|---|---|
| SFP | 1 Gbps |
| SFP+ | 10 Gbps |
| QSFP / QSFP+ | 40 Gbps+ |
A media converter bridges two media types (e.g., copper ↔ fiber) to extend distance.
📌 Auto-MDIX¶
Modern switch ports auto-detect straight-through vs. crossover cabling and adjust, so either cable works — making crossover cables largely obsolete.
Tip
Key idea — speedBASE-media: T = copper (100 m), S/L = MMF/SMF fiber. Use SFP/SFP+/QSFP transceivers to select the interface; Auto-MDIX handles cable type automatically.
See also: Fiber-Optic Cabling, Network Hardware Devices
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