Week 3 - Ethernet Cabling Options

There are many changes and advancements that have happened with internet and network solutions over the past 4 decades. It all started back when ethernet was introduced around the 1970s and it was created by a man named Robert Metcalfe. Since ethernet has been introduced, there have been certain forms of ethernet that have come to network solutions. One of the evolutions of ethernet was Gigabit Ethernet. Gigabit Ethernet was introduced in the 1990s and is now one of the most common types of ethernet connections found on NICs. With that said, there are 2 different variations of ethernet that the IEEE committee has approved. One of the variations is the 802.3ab aka 1000BaseT. The other variation is 802.3z which is referred to as 1000BaseX.

I will include a bit of additional information about the specs of these cabling solutions.

1000BaseT:

• Cat 5e/6 UTP cabling setup 
• Four-pair/full duplex 
• RJ-45 connectors 
• 100 meters in length 

1000BaseSX

• Multimode fiber cabling setup 
• 850nm 
• Variable/Commonly LC connectors 
• 220-500 meters in length  

1000BaseLX

• Single-mode fiber 
• 1300nm 
• Variable/Commonly LC and SC 
• 5 kilometers in length  

To conclude, each of these cabling solutions has its use cases in which they would benefit and some cases in which it would be better to use another cabling solution.