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QUICKSTART GUIDE
MULTILINK ETHERNET COMMUNICATIONS SWITCH – QUICKSTART GUIDE 15
5 Introduction to Twisted Pair and Fiber Optic
Ethernet LANs
This section will provide a brief review of modern Ethernet media before covering the steps
to correctly configure the Multilink switch for typical protective relaying applications. For
this discussion the range of IP addresses that will be used are within the range of
3.94.247.1 to 3.94.247.254 using a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0. This same range of
addresses can be used for testing purposes but you should contact your IT support group
for a valid range of addresses to be used for your particular application.
5.1 Ethernet Physical Layer: Twisted Pair Copper vs Fiber Optic
Today, the two most popular physical layer standards for Ethernet are twisted pair copper
cable and fiber optic cable. Twisted pair copper is easier to terminate, has lower
installation costs but is susceptible to electrical noise and a single run of twisted pair cable
is distance limited.
Fiber optic media typically is able to be applied over much longer distances, is immune to
electrical noise and while being more difficult to terminate the availability of per-
fabricated cables has reduced the complexity of the installation within the substation
dramatically.
5.1.1 Twisted Pair copper cable
• Easy to Terminate
• Low installation costs
• Susceptible to noise interference
• Limited by 100m distance
• Either shielded or unshielded (UTP)