LevelOne FGL-2870, Installation Manual

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4-4
Making Network Connections
4
Figure 4-3. Making Fiber Port Connections
4. As a connection is made, check the Link LED on the switch corresponding to
the port to be sure that the connection is valid.
The 1000BASE-SX, 1000BASE-LX and 1000BASE-LH fiber optic ports operate at
1 Gbps full duplex, with auto-negotiation of flow control. The maximum length for
fiber optic cable operating at Gigabit speed will depend on the fiber type as listed
under "1000 Mbps Gigabit Ethernet Collision Domain" on page 4-5.
Connectivity Rules
When adding hubs (repeaters) to your network, please follow the connectivity rules
listed in the manuals for these products. However, note that because switches break
up the path for connected devices into separate collision domains, you should not
include the switch or connected cabling in your calculations for cascade length
involving other devices.
1000BASE-T Cable Requirements
All Category 5 UTP cables that are used for 100BASE-TX connections should also
work for 1000BASE-T, providing that all four wire pairs are connected. However, it is
recommended that for all critical connections, or any new cable installations,
Category 5e (enhanced Category 5) or Category 6 cable should be used. The
Category 5e specification includes test parameters that are only recommendations
for Category 5. Therefore, the first step in preparing existing Category 5 cabling for
running 1000BASE-T is a simple test of the cable installation to be sure that it
complies with the IEEE 802.3ab standards.