Ethernet Basics

10- and 100-Mbps Ethernet

10-Mbps Ethernet
• Three 10-Mbps Ethernet standards:
– 10BASE5
– 10BASE2
– 10BASE-T
• 10BASE2 and 10BASE5 were around more
than 20 years and have been replaced by
newer alternatives
• 10BASE-T’s use is declining, but it is still
used it some networks
10- and 100-Mbps Ethernet

Comparing 10-Mbps Ethernet Options

10- and 100-Mbps Ethernet

10-Mbps Ethernet
• 10-Mbps Ethernet standards cover all
of IEEE 802.3 OSI physical layer
(Layer 1) standards and the lower
half of the OSI Layer 2 (the MAC
sublayer)
• IEEE 802.3 Logical Link Control (LLC)
defines the upper sublayer of OSI
Layer 2 for Ethernet
10- and 100-Mbps Ethernet

Ethernet Standards and the OSI Layers

10- and 100-Mbps Ethernet

10-Mbps Ethernet
• 10BASE5, 10BASE2, and 10BASE-T all
use different physical layer
specifications
• All three types share the same
settings for timing-related features
• There are also three types of frames
allowed on an Ethernet network
10- and 100-Mbps Ethernet

Ethernet Framing Review

10- and 100-Mbps Ethernet
10-Mbps Ethernet
• All three 10-Mbps Ethernet options use a
logical bus topology
• All three 10-Mbps Ethernet options use
asynchronous transmission logic (do not
send any signals when idle)
• Receivers must synchronize themselves to
the sender each time a device sends a
frame; done by using the Preamble and
Start Frame Delimiter (SFD)
 10- and 100-Mbps Ethernet
10-Mbps Ethernet
• Other key features identical across all
types of 10-Mbps Ethernet:
– Shared medium
– CSMA/CD and half duplex
– Design rules about the number of hubs or
repeaters between two end-user devices
– Timing parameters
– Frame format
– Logical bus topology
– Asynchronous transmission – silence between
frames
 10- and 100-Mbps Ethernet
10BASE-T
• Approved in 1990
• Similar to 10BASE2 and 10BASE5
• Major change from the physical bus
topology
• Uses a physical star and UTP cabling
• In 1997, full duplex standard was
approved, allowing simultaneous
transmission and reception of signals by a
device, which significantly increases
performance
10- and 100-Mbps Ethernet

10BASE-T Wiring
• Supports Categories 3, 5, and 5e
unshielded twisted-pair (UTP) cabling
• Works better with Cat5 than Cat3
• Current installations of cabling are at
least Cat5e which will allow support
of Gigabit Ethernet
10- and 100-Mbps Ethernet

Using a Straight-Through UTP Cable

10- and 100-Mbps Ethernet

10BASE-T Wiring
• Straight-through cables are used to
connect a NIC to a hub
• The NIC’s transmit pins (1 and 2) are
connected to the hub’s receive pins
(1 and 2)
• The NIC’s receive pins (3 and 6) are
connected to the hub’s transmit pins
(3 and 6)
10- and 100-Mbps Ethernet

TIA-
Standard
Pinouts
10- and 100-Mbps Ethernet

TIA/EIA 568A Pinouts

10- and 100-Mbps Ethernet

10BASE-T Wiring
• Hubs and switches are often
connected together to forward data
• This type of connection requires a
crossover cable
• The same cable can be used to
connect two PCs directly without
using a hub or switch
10- and 100-Mbps Ethernet

10BASE-T Crossover Cable

10- and 100-Mbps Ethernet

10BASE-T Design: Using Hubs,

CSMA/CD, and Half Duplex
• 10BASE2, 10BASE5, and 10BASE-T all
use the same CSMA/CD algorithm to
avoid and recover from collisions
• 10BASE-T requires CSMA/CD when
using hubs, but usually not when
using switches
10- and 100-Mbps Ethernet

10BASE-T Design: Using Hubs,

CSMA/CD, and Half Duplex: the 5,4,3
Rule
• Key design rule when using hubs:
– Between any two devices on a LAN,
there can be at most
• Five cable segments
• Four hubs
• Three LAN segments with devices attached
to them
10- and 100-Mbps Ethernet

Example of a Long Delay for Hearing a

Collision
 10- and 100-Mbps Ethernet
The 5-4-3 Rule
• Makes sure that CSMA/CD works correctly
by ensuring a collision can be heard in a
reasonable amount of time
• A collision fragment must propagate back
to the sending device for it to know there
has been a collision
• The delay for the electricity to get from the
collision point back to the sending device is
affected distance, cable type and any
repeaters or hubs in the path
10- and 100-Mbps Ethernet

The 5-4-3 Rule

• Each repeater or hub adds to the
delay
• All 10-Mbps Ethernet network
standards require that a frame be
able to go from one end of the
network and back to the other in 50
microseconds
• In today’s network designs, hubs are
10- and 100-Mbps Ethernet

Good Design Practice with 10BASE-T

Hubs
 10- and 100-Mbps Ethernet

10BASE-T Design: Using Switches

• The exclusive use of switches
eliminates the 5-4-3 rule’s
restrictions
• Switches have small collision
domains
• If collisions can’t occur, 5-4-3 rule is
not needed
10- and 100-Mbps Ethernet

Using Switches to Create Many Smaller

Collision Domains
 10- and 100-Mbps Ethernet

10BASE-T Design: Using Switches

• In the previous slide, each collision domain
is a cable up to 100 meters long, with no
hosts attached; no collisions occur
• 1997 – IEEE802.3i standard defines “full
duplex” with these restrictions
– Ethernet switches/bridges must be used (no
hubs/repeaters
– Only two Ethernet interfaces can be in the
same collision domain
10- and 100-Mbps Ethernet

10BASE-T Design: Using Switches

• Full duplex more than doubles the
bandwidth
– Devices on either end of a cable can
send at the same time
– CSMA/CD can be disabled
– Collisions cannot occur, so no collision
waste
10- and 100-Mbps Ethernet

100-Mbps Ethernet
• In the 1990s, use of 10BASE-T LANs
grew rapidly (cheaper to install)
• The Internet grew quickly, about 10%
per month
• Eventually, 10Mpbs to the desktop
was not fast enough
10- and 100-Mbps Ethernet

100-Mbps Ethernet: 100BASE-TX

• The Fast Ethernet family was
introduced in 1995
• 100BASE-TX (IEEE 802.3u), which
specifies Cat5 copper cabling,
became widely popular
• The 100BASE-T standard, using Cat3
cabling, was not widely supported
 10- and 100-Mbps Ethernet

100-Mbps Ethernet: 100BASE-TX

• 10BASE-T and 100BASE-TX Equivalent Features
– Support CSMA/CD and half duplex
– Support autonegotiation today
– Use Cat5/5e cabling
– Have same cable length restrictions
– Use same Ethernet frame format
– Use most of the same timing parameters
– Use the same RJ-45 pinouts
– Can disable CSMA/CD and use full duplex
 10- and 100-Mbps Ethernet

100-Mbps Ethernet: 100BASE-TX

• 10BASE-T and 100BASE-TX differences
– Relate to physical layer
– 100BASE-TX transmits data at 100 Mbps,
ten times faster than 10BASE-T
– 100BASE-TX is synchronous (always
sending some bits, even when idle)
– The bit-time of 100BASE-TX is 1/10th the
bit-time of 10BASE-T
10- and 100-Mbps Ethernet
Common Ethernet Timing Settings
for 100 Mbps Ethernet Standards
10- and 100-Mbps Ethernet

Designing Ethernets with Two

Speeds
• Autonegotiation allows NIC and
switch ports to use either 10 or 100
Mbps and either half or full duplex
• Mixed speeds were common on LANs
• Today, mixed speeds are more likely
to be 100 Mbps and 1 Gbps
10- and 100-Mbps Ethernet

Typical 10/100 Ethernet Design

 10- and 100-Mbps Ethernet

Designing Ethernets with Two

Speeds
• Autonegotiation provides design and
upgrade flexibility
• NICs can be used that support only 10
Mbps, 10 or 100 Mbps, or only 100 Mbps
• Upgrades do not have to be completed
over one weekend
• Note: Hubs cannot be used in this design
10- and 100-Mbps Ethernet

100BASE-FX
• Can run longer distances than
100BASE-TX
• Often used between buildings on a
campus
• 100 Mbps speed
• Fiber Distributed Data Interface
(FDDI) was also popular
10- and 100-Mbps Ethernet

Backbone
Design
Using
FDDI
10- and 100-Mbps Ethernet

100BASE-FX
• Asynchronous Transfer mode (ATM)
became popular in the mid-1990s
– Took place of FDDI equipment
– Equipment overhead caused some
inefficiencies
• 100BASE-FX allowed similar cabling
distances and speeds as FDDI, overcame
some of the inefficiencies
10- and 100-Mbps Ethernet

100BASE-FX
• 100BASE-FX was not as popular as
100BASE-TX because:
– Not enough benefit seen in replacing existing
FDDI backbones
– ATM allowed higher transfer speeds (155 or
622 Mbps)
– Introduction of Gigabit Ethernet ended need for
it
 Gigabit Ethernet and
Beyond
• Gigabit Ethernet runs at 1 Gigabit
per second (Gbps), which is 1000
Mbps
• Often called “GigE”
• Originally the IEEE 802.3z standard
that uses fiber
• Now available over UTP – IEEE
802.3ab
• Uses same framing as other Ethernet
 Gigabit Ethernet and
Beyond
Common Ethernet Timing Settings for
1000-Mbps Ethernet Standards
 Gigabit Ethernet and
Beyond
1000BASE-X
• Refers to three separate Gigabit
Ethernet standards, all of which use
fiber-optic cabling
• Two popular commercial versions:
– 1000BASE-SX (short distances)
– 1000BASE-LX (long distances)
Gigabit Ethernet and
Beyond
Comparing 1000BASE-SX and
1000BASE-LX
 Gigabit Ethernet and
Beyond
1000BASE-X Advantages Versus
1000BASE-T with Copper Cabling
• Noise immunity, because fiber-optic cabling is not
susceptible to interference from nearby radiation
• Because 1000BASE-X is not electrical, no
grounding problems exist
• Provides various options for different types of
cabling, connectors and price points
• Cabling distance allows a more widely dispersed
Ethernet LAN
Gigabit Ethernet and
Beyond
Comparing Maximum Cabling
Distances:
1000BASE-X and 1000BASE-T
 Gigabit Ethernet and
Beyond
Backbone with Two 1000BASE-X Links
 Gigabit Ethernet and
Beyond
Backbone Links
• With 1000BASE-X, longer backbone links
can be built than with ATM
• Up to eight parallel 1000BASE-X links
could be used between switches in a
single Gigabit EtherChannel
• Most backbone links have at least two
parallel channels for redundancy
 Gigabit Ethernet and
Beyond
Gigabit Ethernet Connectors
• Both 1000BASE-SX and 1000BASE-LX use
two fiber strands – one to communicate in
each direction
• The concept is similar to using pairs of
copper wires in copper cabling
• The connectors are typically either SC or
MT-RJ connectors
Gigabit Ethernet and
Beyond
SC Connector
Gigabit Ethernet and
Beyond
MT-RJ Connector
 Gigabit Ethernet and
Beyond
Backbone Links
• The small circles at the end of each
connector represent the end of the actual
fibers
• The transmitter on one end must connect
to the detector on the other end
• Every fiber optical cable essentially acts
like a crossover cable
 Gigabit Ethernet and
Beyond
Matching Transmitter with Receiver on
1000BASE-X
 Gigabit Ethernet and
Beyond
1000BASE-T
• Development of Gigabit over copper required
much more engineering work than Gigabit over
fiber
• 1000BASE-T uses Cat5e cabling (Cat5 cable can
be re-terminated and made to pass the Cat5e
standard without replacing the cable)
• 2 bits (called a symbol) are sent at a time
• All four pairs of wires are used, with each pair
transmitting twice as many bits per second as
100BASE-TX, which gives 4 x 250 Mbps = 1 Gps
• Each wire pair can simultaneously send and
receive!
 Gigabit Ethernet and
Beyond
1000BASE-T
• If a NIC sends a frame and begins to send
one at the same time, a collision is
assumed
• Gigabit Ethernet does not use CSMA/CD or
half duplex by choice - to do so, Gigabit
hubs would be needed and none are made
• Gigabit switches are used instead of hubs
• Ethernet standards faster than Gigabit do
not support CSMA/CD and half duplex
 Gigabit Ethernet and
Beyond
1000BASE-T Straight-Through Cable
Pin Lead Names
 Gigabit Ethernet and
Beyond
Future of Ethernet
• Next step is migration of the desktop to 1
Gbps
• Many LAN installations already run
multiple 1-Gbps links as an EtherChannel
between switches
• 10 Gigabit standards for fiber and copper
have been approved by the IEEE
• IEEE 802.3ae standard allows links up to
40 kilometers, allowing Ethernet MAN
 Gigabit Ethernet and
Beyond
Service Provider MAN with 10 Gigabit
and 1 Gigabit Ethernet
 Gigabit Ethernet and
Beyond
Networking Media Speeds
• Copper
– Up to 1000 Mbps (1 Gbps) (probably more)
• Wireless
– Up to 1000 Mbps (1 Gbps) (probably more)
• Optical
– Up to 10 Gbps (probably more)
 Summary

• Ethernet has increased in speed 1000

times, from 10 Mbps to 10,000 Mbps
• All Ethernet forms share a common frame
structure, which leads to excellent
interoperability
• Most copper Ethernet connections are now
switched full duplex
• 10GigE and faster were exclusively fiber
technologies, but some are now available
over copper
 Summary

• 10BASE5, 10BASE2 and 10BASE-T are considered

legacy Ethernet technologies
• The four common features of legacy Ethernet are
timing parameters, frame format, transmission
process, and the 5-4-3 basic design rule
• The 5-4-3 rule states that a single (10BASE5,
10BASE2 and 10BASE-T) LAN can have no more
than 5 segments, 4 repeaters, and 3 segments
occupied between any two LAN devices
• 10BASE-T uses twisted-pair cabling and was
introduced in 1990
 Summary

• Because 10BASE-T has multiple wires, it is

capable of full duplex signaling
• 10BASE-T carries 10 Mbps of traffic in half duplex
mode and 20 Mbps in full duplex mode
• 10BASE-T links can have unrepeated distances of
up to 100 meters; repeaters, hubs, bridges and
switches can extend the network beyond that
distance
• A 10BASE-T LAN can be extended indefinitely by
stringing together switches; each connection
between switches is limited to 100 meters
 Summary
• 100-Mbps Ethernet is known as “FastEthernet”
• 100-Mbps Ethernet can be implemented with
twisted-pair copper wire (100BASE-TX) or with
fiber (100BASE-FX)
• 100-Mbps Ethernet forms can transmit 200 Mbps
in full duplex
• 100-Mbps Ethernet uses two separate encoding
steps to enhance signal integrity
• Two fiber versions of Gigabit Ethernet, 1000BASE-
SX and 1000BASE-LX, offer these advantages:
– Noise immunity, small size, increased unrepeated
distances and bandwidth
• Gigabit Ethernet over fiber is the preferred
backbone technology