Network Cable Types and Specifications

10Mbps Networking

Standard	Cable Type	Segment Length	Connector	Topology	IEEE Standard
10Base2	Thin Coaxial	185 meters	BNC	Physical bus	803.2a
10BaseT	Category 3, 4, 5 twisted pair	100 meters	RJ-45	Physical star
10BaseFL	Fiber-optic	2000 meters	SC/ST	Physical star

[edit] Notes on 10Base2

10Base2 networks follow the 5-4-3 rule whereby there is a maximun of 5 network segments allowed, using a maximum of 4 repeaters. Only 3 of the 5 permitted segments may be populated.
Each populated 10Base2 segment is limited to a maximum of 30 attached nodes.

[edit] Notes on 10BaseT

10BaseT networks follow the 5-4-5 rule whereby there is a maximum of 5 network segments allowed, using a maximum of 4 repeaters. All 5 segments may be populated with nodes.

[edit] Fast Ethernet Networking

Fast Ethernet defines a group of stnadards for networking speed of 100 Mbps

Standard	Cable Type	Segment Length	Connector	Topology	IEEE Standard
100BaseTX	Category 5 UTP	100 meters	RJ-45	Physical Star	802.3u
100BaseT4	Category 3, 4, 5 UTP	100 meters	RJ-45	Physical Star	802.3u
100BaseFX	Multimode Single-mode fiber-optic	412 meters / Multimode fiber 10000 meters / Single-mode fiber	SC, ST	Physical Star	802.3u
FDDI	Fiber Optic / Twisted Pair (CDDI)	2000 meters	SC, ST	Dual Ring	ANSI FDDI

[edit] Gigabit Ethernet Networking

Standard	Cable Type	Segment Length	Connector	IEEE Standard
1000BaseLX	Multimode/Single-mode fiber	550/multimode 5000/Single-mode	Fiber connectors	802.3z
1000BaseSX	Multimode fiber	550 meters with 50 micron multimode fiber	Fiber connectors	802.3z
1000BaseCX	Sheilded Twisted Pair	25 meters	9-pin shielded connector 8-pin fiber channel type 2 connector	802.3z
1000BaseT	UTP Category 5	75 meters	75 meters	802.3ab

[edit] 10 Gigabit Ethernet

Standard	Transmission Type	Distance	Cable type	Connector	IEEE Standard
10GBBaseSR	Baseband	33m / 300m	50 micron / 62.5 micron multimode	Fiber connectors	802.3ae
10GBBaseLR	Baseband	10000 meters	Single-mode fiber	Fiber connectors	802.3ae
10GBBaseER	Baseband	40000 meters	Single-mode fiber	Fiber connectors	802.3ae