GbE is a set of Ethernet standards with a minimum data transfer rate of 1 gbps. There are four types of GbE, using optical fiber or copper cabling. GbE has already been surpassed by 10GbE.
Ethernet cabling is used to wire local area networks (LANs) and Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) is a set of Ethernet standards with a minimum data transfer rate of 1 gigabit per second (gbps). This equates to 1,000 megabits per second (mbps), thus respectfully surpassing previous FastEthernet and original Ethernet speeds of 100mbps and 10mbps. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) sets standards for Ethernet technologies. This allows manufacturers to build network hardware and software that conform to the uniform “flavors” of Ethernet. There are four types of this type of GbE.
As stated in IEEE’s 802.3z and 802.3ab standards, GbE uses one of two types of optical fiber, twisted pair or copper cabling, although the latter is a legacy technology. Of the optical cabling used, there is multimode and singlemode cable. The difference is in how the signals are transmitted across the lines.
Each GbE standard is designated with a short name. The “1000” refers to the speed of 1,000 mbps. “Base” is short for baseband and the two initials at the end indicate the type of cabling technology used. Abbreviations are as follows:
1000Base-LX – GbE using longwave lasers over dual multimode or singlemode fiber optic cables
1000Base-SX – GbE using shortwave lasers over dual multimode or singlemode fiber optic cables
1000Base-TX – GbE using four pairs of Category 5 rated unshielded twist pair cable
1000Base-CX – GbE using two pairs of shielded twisted pair cables
Category 5 cable, sometimes called Cat-5, is labeled as such by the manufacturer. There are various categories of cables based on their technical specifications. Sometimes, the designation of 1000Base-X is used as an inclusive generic reference to GbE without specification of type or cabling.
GbE cabling is effective over defined distances, so the length of cable required for a particular LAN may require a specific type of GbE. Some laptops and motherboards are already incorporating GbE for built-in functionality. GbE has already been surpassed by 10-Gigabit Ethernet (10GbE). This type of Ethernet is 10 times faster than 1-GbE and is sometimes referred to as XGbE.
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