C
HAPTER
4
| Making Network Connections
Connectivity Rules
– 41 –
ES-3026/3026P
The 100BASE-FX fiber optic ports operate at 100 Mbps, full duplex, with
auto-negotiation of flow control. The maximum length for fiber cable
operating at 100 Mbps is listed under
“100 Mbps Fast Ethernet Collision
C
ONNECTIVITY
R
ULES
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 C
ABLE
R
EQUIREMENTS
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 and 6 specifications
include 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 802.3-2005 standards.
1000 M
BPS
G
IGABIT
E
THERNET
C
OLLISION
D
OMAIN
Table 5: Maximum 1000BASE-T Gigabit Ethernet Cable Length
Cable Type
Maximum Cable Length
Connector
Category 5, 5e, or 6 100-ohm UTP or STP
100 m (328 ft)
RJ-45
Table 6: Maximum 1000BASE-SX Gigabit Ethernet Cable Lengths
Fiber Size
Fiber Bandwidth
Maximum Cable Length
Connector
62.5/125 micron
multimode fiber
160 MHz/km
2-220 m (7-722 ft)
LC
200 MHz/km
2-275 m (7-902 ft)
LC
50/125 micron
multimode fiber
400 MHz/km
2-500 m (7-1641 ft)
LC
500 MHz/km
2-550 m (7-1805 ft)
LC
Table 7: Maximum 1000BASE-LX Gigabit Ethernet Cable Length
Fiber Size
Fiber Bandwidth
Maximum Cable Length
Connector
9/125 micron single-
mode fiber
N/A
2 m - 5 km (7 ft - 3.2 miles)
LC
