3Com 3C985B-SX, 3C986-T manual 10/100/1000Base-T NIC, Port Type, Connector, Media, Maximum Distance

1 Installing the NIC

10/100/1000Base-T NIC

The NIC has one RJ-45 connector used for attaching the system to an Ethernet copper-wire segment. When automatic link negotiation is disabled, the port can be configured for 10Mbps, 100Mbps, or 1000Mbps signaling and either half-duplex or full-duplex operation.

1Prepare an appropriate cable.

The following table lists the cable characteristics for connecting to 10/100/1000Base-T ports:

Port Type	Connector	Media	Maximum Distance
10Base-T	RJ-45	Cat. 3, 4, or 5 UTP	100 meters (325 feet)
100/1000Base-T	RJ-45	Cat. 5 UTP	100 meters (325 feet)

NOTE: 1000Base-T signaling requires four twisted pairs of Category 5 balanced cabling, as specified in ISO/IEC 11801:1995 and EIA/TIA-568-A (1995), and tested using procedures defined in TIA/EIA TSB95.

2Connect one end of the cable to the NIC.

3Connect the other end of the cable to an RJ-45 Ethernet network port.

The NIC port LEDs are not functional (they will not reflect port link or data status) until the NIC driver software is installed.

See the next chapter for driver installation and configuration instructions.

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