D-Link DES-810, DES-818 manual 100Mbps Fast Ethernet Introduction, 100BASE-TX Technology Overview

LAN while preserving your initial investment and use of 10Mbps Ethernet LANs.

100Mbps Fast Ethernet Introduction

Computers today have become increasingly powerful, with the capability to accommodate very sophisticated uses such as multimedia applications, video-conferencing, and CAD/CAM. To utilize these technologically advanced applications more efficiently, there is also a growing demand for faster networks that can handle heavy network traffic.

Recognizing this need for greater bandwidth and lower latency, a variety of technologies such as FDDI, ATM, and 100Mbps Fast Ethernet have been adopted by many vendors. 100Mbps Fast Ethernet technology stands out as the most inexpensive and smoothest migration path for existing 10Mbps Ethernet users.

100Mbps Fast Ethernet is a relatively new standard specified by the IEEE

802.3LAN committee. It is an extension of the 10Mbps Ethernet standard with the ability to transmit and receive data at 100Mbps, while maintaining

the CSMA/CD Ethernet protocol. Since 100Mbps Fast Ethernet is compatible with all 10Mbps Ethernet environments, it provides a straight- forward upgrade without wasting the company’s existing investment in hardware, software, and trained personnel.

100BASE-TX Technology Overview

Cables and Connectors

Category 5 unshielded twisted-pair (UTP) cables are supported. UTP category 5 cable uses the same RJ-45 connector used with 10BASE-T, wired

2 Overview