The early generation of

Ethernet Ethernet ( ) is a family of wired computer networking technologies commonly used in local area networks (LAN), metropolitan area networks (MAN) and wide area networks (WAN). It was commercially introduced in 1980 and first standardized in 198 ...

standards had a maximum throughput of . In 10BASE-X, the 10 represents its maximum throughput of , BASE indicates its use of

baseband In telecommunications and signal processing, baseband is the range of frequencies occupied by a signal that has not been modulated to higher frequencies. Baseband signals typically originate from transducers, converting some other variable into ...

transmission, and X indicates the type of medium used. Classic Ethernet includes coax,

twisted pair Twisted pair cabling is a type of communications cable in which two conductors of a single circuit are twisted together for the purposes of improving electromagnetic compatibility. Compared to a single conductor or an untwisted balanced ...

and optical variants. The first Ethernet standard was published in 1983 and classic Ethernet operating at was the dominant form of Ethernet until the first standard for

Fast Ethernet In computer networking, Fast Ethernet Ethernet physical layer, physical layers carry traffic at the nominal rate of . The Classic Ethernet, prior Ethernet speed was . Of the Fast Ethernet physical layers, 100BASE-TX is by far the most common. ...

was approved in 1995.

Varieties

Fibre-based standards (10BASE-F)

''10BASE-F'', or sometimes ''10BASE-FX'', is a generic term for the family of 10 Mbit/s

standards using

fiber-optic cable A fiber-optic cable, also known as an optical-fiber cable, is an assembly similar to an electrical cable but containing one or more optical fibers that are used to carry light. The optical fiber elements are typically individually coated with p ...

. In 10BASE-F, the 10 represents a maximum throughput of 10 Mbit/s, BASE indicates its use of

transmission, and F indicates that it relies on a medium of fiber-optic cable. The technical standard requires two strands of 62.5/125 μm

multimode fiber Multi-mode optical fiber is a type of optical fiber mostly used for communication over short distances, such as within a building or on a campus. Multi-mode links can be used for data rates up to 800 Gbit/s. Multi-mode fiber has a fairly # ...

. One strand is used for data transmission while the other is used for reception, making 10BASE-F a

full-duplex A duplex communication system is a point-to-point system composed of two or more connected parties or devices that can communicate with one another in both directions. Duplex systems are employed in many communications networks, either to allow ...

technology. There are three different variants of 10BASE-F: 10BASE-FL, 10BASE-FB and 10BASE-FP. Of these only 10BASE-FL experienced widespread use. With the introduction of later standards 10 Mbit/s technology has been largely replaced by faster

Gigabit Ethernet In computer networking, Gigabit Ethernet (GbE or 1 GigE) is the term applied to transmitting Ethernet frames at a rate of a gigabit per second. The most popular variant, 1000BASE-T, is defined by the IEEE 802.3ab standard. It came into use in ...

and

100 Gigabit Ethernet 40 Gigabit Ethernet (40GbE) and 100 Gigabit Ethernet (100GbE) are groups of computer networking technologies for transmitting Ethernet frames at rates of 40 and 100 gigabits per second (Gbit/s), respectively. These technologies offer significantly ...

standards.

FOIRL

''Fiber-optic inter-repeater link'' (FOIRL) is a specification of Ethernet over optical fiber. It was specially designed as a back-to-back transport between repeater hubs to decrease latency and

collision In physics, a collision is any event in which two or more bodies exert forces on each other in a relatively short time. Although the most common use of the word ''collision'' refers to incidents in which two or more objects collide with great for ...

detection time, thus increasing the possible network radius. It was replaced by 10BASE-FL.

10BASE-FL

10BASE-FL is the most commonly used 10BASE-F specification of Ethernet over

optical fiber An optical fiber, or optical fibre, is a flexible glass or plastic fiber that can transmit light from one end to the other. Such fibers find wide usage in fiber-optic communications, where they permit transmission over longer distances and at ...

. In 10BASE-FL, ''FL'' stands for fiber optic link. It replaces the original

fiber-optic inter-repeater link The early generation of Ethernet standards had a maximum throughput of . In 10BASE-X, the 10 represents its maximum throughput of , BASE indicates its use of baseband transmission, and X indicates the type of medium used. Classic Ethernet include ...

(FOIRL) specification, but retains compatibility with FOIRL-based equipment. When mixed with FOIRL equipment, the maximum segment length is limited to FOIRL's 1000 meters.

10BASE-FB

The 10BASE-FB is a

network segment A network segment is a portion of a computer network. The nature and extent of a segment depends on the nature of the network and the device or devices used to interconnect end stations. Ethernet According to the defining IEEE 802.3 standards ...

used to bridge

Ethernet hub An Ethernet hub, active hub, network hub, repeater hub, multiport repeater, or simply hub is a network hardware device for connecting multiple Ethernet devices together and making them act as a single network segment. It has multiple input/out ...

s. Here ''FB'' abbreviates FiberBackbone. Due to the

synchronous Synchronization is the coordination of events to operate a system in unison. For example, the conductor of an orchestra keeps the orchestra synchronized or ''in time''. Systems that operate with all parts in synchrony are said to be synchrono ...

operation of 10BASE-FB, delays normally associated with Ethernet

repeater In telecommunications, a repeater is an electronic device that receives a signal and retransmits it. Repeaters are used to extend transmissions so that the signal can cover longer distances or be received on the other side of an obstruction. Some ...

s are reduced, thus allowing segment distances to be extended without compromising the collision detection mechanism. The maximum allowable segment length for 10BASE-FB is 2000 meters. This media system allowed multiple half-duplex Ethernet signal repeaters to be linked in series, exceeding the limit on the total number of repeaters that could be used in a given 10 Mbit/s Ethernet system. 10BASE-FB links were attached to synchronous signaling repeater hubs and used to link the hubs together in a half-duplex repeated backbone system that could span longer distances.

10BASE-FP

In 10BASE-FP, ''FP'' denotes ''fibre passive''. This variant calls for a non-powered optical signal coupler capable of linking up to 33 devices, with each segment being up to 500 m in length. This formed a

star network A star network is an implementation of a spoke–hub distribution paradigm in computer networks. In a star network, every host is connected to a central hub. In its simplest form, one central hub acts as a conduit to transmit messages. The ...

centered on the signal coupler. A LAN implementing this standard was applied as a branch LAN to construct an all-optical fiber hierarchical integrated LAN with a high-speed LAN (FDDI, etc.) as the backbone.

References

{{Ethernet Ethernet standards