Ethernet Cabling, Cable Quality | Freecom Technologies FSG-3

Freecom FSG-3 Storage Gateway

MAC Addresses and Address Resolution Protocol

An IP address alone cannot be used to deliver data from one LAN device to another. To send data between LAN devices, you must convert the IP address of the destination device to its media access control (MAC) address. Each device on an Ethernet network has a unique MAC address, which is a 48-bit number assigned to each device by the manufacturer. The technique that associates the IP address with a MAC address is known as address resolution. Internet Protocol uses the Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) to resolve MAC addresses. If a device sends data to another station on the network and the destination MAC address is not yet recorded, ARP is used. An ARP request is broadcast onto the network. All stations on the network receive and read the request. The destination IP address for the chosen station is included as part of the message so that only the station with this IP address responds to the ARP request. All other stations discard the request.

The station with the correct IP address responds with its own MAC address directly to the sending device. The receiving station provides the transmitting station with the required destination MAC address. The IP address data and MAC address data for each station are held in an ARP table. The next time data is sent, the address can be obtained from the address information in the table.

Ethernet Cabling

There are two different types of cabling for Ethernet networks. Originally they used thick or thin coaxial cable, but most installations currently use unshielded twisted pair (UTP) cabling. The UTP cable contains eight conductors, arranged in four twisted pairs, and terminated with an RJ45 type connector. There are 2 types of RJ-45 cables available today, the Media Dependent Interface (MDI) cable and the Media Dependent Interface - Crossover (MDI-X) cable. The first cable is used to connect routers to PCs and the second to connect PCs directly to PCs. The sent and receive wires are switched from beginning to end in the crossover cables. Some Ethernet switch products, such as the FSG-3, are able to sense the polarity of a connection and automatically adapt to the proper cabling type.

Cable Quality

A twisted pair Ethernet network operating at 10 Mbits/second (10BASE-T) will often tolerate low quality cables, but at 100 Mbits/second (10BASE-Tx) the cable must be rated as Category 5, or "Cat 5", by the Electronic Industry Association (EIA). This rating will be printed on the cable jacket. A Category 5 cable will meet specified requirements regarding loss and crosstalk. In addition, there are restrictions on maximum cable length for both 10 and 100 Mbits/second networks.