D-Link DFE-916X manual 100BASE-TX Technology Overview, 100Mbps Fast Ethernet Introduction

Dual-Speed Stackable Hubs User’s Guide

DFE-260s

Switch

Module

10Mbps Repeater

100Mbps Repeater

NWay Detection

RJ-45 Ports

100Mbps	100Mbps	10Mbps	10Mbps	100Mbps
Ethernet	Ethernet	Ethernet	Ethernet	Ethernet
Station	Station	Station	Station	Station

100BASE-TX Technology Overview

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 ad- vanced 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 Fast Ethernet (100Mbps) have been adopted by many vendors. Fast Ethernet technology stands out as the most inexpensive and smoothest migration path for existing 10Mbps Ethernet users in part because it doesn’t require a protocol translation when sharing data with 10Mbps Ethernet.

Fast Ethernet is a relatively new standard specified by the IEEE 802.3 LAN committee. It is an extension of the 10Mbps Ethernet standard with the ability to transmit and receive data at 100Mbps, while maintaining the

Introduction 5