Microsoft MN-500 manual About Wired Ethernet Connections, Ethernet Cables

About Wired (Ethernet) Connections

Ethernet is the most commonly used wired network protocol, with data transfer rates of 10 Mbps, 100 Mbps, or higher. The base station’s auto-negotiation feature automatically determines the rate of your network connections and uses the fastest speed available.

You will probably use Ethernet cables to connect some devices in your network, for example to connect your base station to a modem and to one or more computers. Each device that makes a wired connection to your base station must have an Ethernet adapter, which provides an Ethernet port. A modem and up to four other Ethernet devices can connect to the base station. By using hubs or switches, you can connect more Ethernet devices to your base station.

Ethernet Cables

An Ethernet cable resembles a phone cord, but has wider connectors at each end. You can distinguish Ethernet cable from phone cable by the larger connector size and, often, by the number of gold pins (or contacts) visible in the connector. Ethernet connectors (RJ-45) commonly contain eight contacts, whereas phone connectors (RJ-11) contain either two or four, as shown in the following illustration.

RJ-45 Ethernet	RJ-11 Telephone
(8 pins)	(4 pins)

Data is sent and received through specific wires within an Ethernet cable. Depending on the arrangement of the sending and receiving wires, an Ethernet cable is either a “straight-through” type or a “crossover” type. To determine which type of Ethernet cable you have, hold the cable’s two connectors together side by side and look at the order of the colored wires.

Chapter 1: Introduction 7