About Fast Ethernet
As the demand for desktop video, multimedia development, imaging, and other speed-intensive applications continues to rise, the need for high per- formance, fault tolerant LAN technology will become more critical.
Standard Ethernet, which has been the most popular networking technolo- gy to date with a maximum data throughput of 10 Megabits per second, is becoming insufficient to handle the latest video, multimedia, and other speed-intensive client/server LAN applications.
Among the solutions to the problem of network speed, Fast Ethernet has emerged as the most viable and economical. Capable of sending and receiving data at 100 Megabits per second, it is more than fast enough to handle even the most demanding video and other real-time applications.
Although there are a number of different competing Fast Ethernet imple- mentations, 100BaseTX is by far the most popular. Operating on two pairs of Category 5 unshielded twisted-pair (UTP) cabling, 100BaseTX supports high speed signaling and is relatively inexpensive. Because it uses four wires for data transmission and the same packet format, packet length, error control, and management information as 10BaseT, 100BaseTX can be made to communicate with slower 10BaseT equipment when routed through a switch.
This backward compatibility is one of 100BaseTX's major advantages over other forms of Fast Ethernet; it allows critical, speed-dependent net- work segments to be upgraded to 100BaseTX speeds as needed without re- wiring, refitting, and retraining an entire site. Networks can now mix both slow and fast network segments for different users or departments. Pub- lishing, R&D, video, multimedia, or accounting departments can enjoy a 100Mbps pace, while other corporate segments can operate at slower and more affordable 10Mbps speeds.
Every port on your Auto-Sensing Hub is capable of running at either 10Mbps or 100Mbps, allowing you to mix and match economical 10BaseT hardware with high performance 100Mbps network cards, hubs, switches, and other equipment.
