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FastEthernet is a set of network standards that provide speeds up to 100mbps, while Gigabit Ethernet operates at 1gbps. There are different cabling standards for each class of Ethernet LAN, with FastEthernet having five options. Hardware for faster LAN requires a larger investment but pays off in productivity.
FastEthernet refers to a set of network standards for data transfer rates that exceed the original Ethernet speed of 10 megabits per second (mbps). Hardware and software that support FastEthernet can provide speeds of up to 100mbps. Original Ethernet is sometimes referred to as 10Base-T, for 10 mbps baseband data transmission over a twisted pair. “Twisted pair” is a type of copper Ethernet cabling used in networks. FastEthernet is also known as 100Base-T, although there are other designations for other types of cabling as well.
Although FastEthernet has increased the network speed tenfold, it is now only a mid-range Ethernet architecture. Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) operates ten times faster than FastEthernet, at speeds of 1 gigabit per second (gbps) or 1000Base-T and faster. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) publication 802x defines technical standards for LANs so that networking hardware is interoperable or compatible within its class. There are different standards for each class of Ethernet LAN.
For example, the 10Base-T Ethernet standard runs over twisted-pair cables with a maximum distance of 328 feet (100 meters). 10Base-2 designates standard Ethernet over coaxial cable or Thinnet. The maximum distance for this type of Ethernet is approximately 607 feet (185 meters). There are eight other types of cabling for standard Ethernet according to the IEEE 802 specification.
FastEthernet has five different cabling standards outlined by IEEE 802, with 100Base-X as the general designation. Ethernet cabling is defined by category designations, dictated by its technical specifications. Thus, Category 5 cable, for example, is sometimes called Cat-5 cable for short. FastEthernet includes the following standards and options:
100Base-FX – FastEthernet over dual multimode fiber optic cables
100Base-TX – Two shielded twisted-pair cables, Category 4
100Base-T – Two twisted-pair cables
100Base-T2 – Two unshielded twisted pair cables, Category 3 or better
100Base-T4 – Four unshielded twisted pair cables, Category 3 or higher or
Gigabit Ethernet has its own classifications under IEEE 802, including 10Gigabit Ethernet with speeds up to 10 billion bits per second. This type of LAN uses fiber optic cables and has a maximum distance of 984 feet (300 meters) for multimode fiber cable and nearly 25 miles (40 kilometers) for singlemode optical cable.
Hardware for a faster LAN usually requires a larger initial investment than a slower one. However, if speed is required, it pays off over time in terms of productivity. On the other hand, a small business office may see a point in diminishing returns when ultra-fast GbE over a less expensive, but still very effective FastEthernet LAN is considered.
