3 – Fast and Gigabit Ethernet Media and Standards

The Fast (100 Mbps) and Gigabit (1000 Mbps) Ethernet standards specify the use of either unshielded twisted-pair wire (UTP) or fiber optic media. The UTP cabling is cheaper and easier to use than fiber optics, but it has some distance limitations. This chapter discusses about UTP cabling, UTP standards, UTP cabling lengths, and UTP jack wiring. There are two types of fiber optic cabling, single-mode and multimode. Single-mode, which can transmit a single wavelength of light over long distances, is primarily used for wide area network (WAN) connections. Multimode can transmit multiple signals at one time but is more limited in length and typically used in local area networks (LANs). There are four fast Ethernet media specifications, three of which use UTP wire and one of which uses fiber optic cable. Fiber optic cables come in seven basic types of bundle: tight-buffered, distribution, breakout, loose-tube, ribbon, armored, and arial.