What is Ethernet Media Standards, How to identify bandwidth and cable type from media standard
Different Ethernet, Fast Ethernet and Gigabit Ethernet standards are identified by three-part names, also known as Ethernet Media Standards.
An example of an Ethernet Media Standard is 10Base-T. The first part of the previous Media Standard "10" specifies the transmission speed (in this case 10, Mbps). The second part of the name "Base" specifies that the type of signal used for data transfer in this particular Ethernet standard is baseband signal. The final part of the Ethernet Media Standard specifies the kind of cable used. Here "T" specifies twisted-pair cable.
The following table shows the some important Ethernet Media Standards, type of cable used, supported bandwidth speed and maximum supported cable length for data transfer.
Media Standard |
Cable Type |
Bandwidth Capacity |
Maximum Length |
|---|---|---|---|
10Base2 |
Coaxial |
10 Mbps |
185m |
10Base5 |
Coaxial |
10 Mbps |
500m |
10BaseT |
UTP (CAT 3 or higher) |
10 Mbps |
100m |
100BaseTX |
UTP (CAT 5 or higher) |
100 Mbps |
100m |
10BaseFL |
Fibre Optic |
10 Mbps |
2Km |
100BaseFX |
Fibre Optic |
100 Mbps |
HD 400m/FD 2km |
1000BaseT |
UTP (CAT 6 or higher) |
1 Gbps (1000 Mbps) |
100m |
10GBase-T |
UTP (Cat 6a or higher) |
10 Gbps (10000 Mbps) |
100m |
1000BaseSX |
Fibre Optic |
1 Gbps (1000 Mbps) |
MMF 550m |
1000BaseLX |
Fibre Optic |
1 Gbps (1000 Mbps) |
MMF 500m/SMF 10km |
1000BaseCX |
Fibre Optic |
1 Gbps (1000 Mbps) |
100m |
10GbaseSR |
Fibre Optic |
10 Gbps |
300m |
10GbaseLR |
Fibre Optic |
10 Gbps |
SMF 10km |
Note: X represents a higher grade of connection, and 100BaseTX is twisted-pair cable cabling that can use either UTP or STP at 100 Mbps. With fibre-optic cable such as 100BaseFX, the speed is quicker than standard 10BaseF. The “L” stands for “Long” in long wave length lasers and "S" stands for Short Wave Length.
Please visit below links to understand some of the abbreviations used above.
• Coaxial cables
• Twisted Pair Cables and Categories
• Fiber Optic Cables
• How Fiber Optics Work
• Multimode Fiber (MMF)
• Single mode Fiber (SMF)