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7
Hardware Installation and Network Topology
CHAPTER 1
Cabling Requirements
Incorrect cabling is often the cause of network configuration
problems. It’s important that you understand cabling requirements
before connecting devices to the switch.
UTP requirements
The 100BASE-TX Fast Ethernet specification requires you use
Category 5 unshielded twisted-pair (CAT 5 UTP) cabling to operate at
100 Mbps per second. If you use lower grade cabling (CAT 3 or
CAT 4), you may get a connection, but will soon experience data loss
or slow performance.
The 10BASE-T Ethernet specification allows you to use CAT 3,
CAT 4, or CAT 5 UTP cabling.
You’re limited to 100 meters between any two devices with UTP
cable whether you’re running at 10 Mbps or 100 Mbps. However, you
can extend the total diameter by installing a fiber optic media adapter
and using fiber optic connections between switches, or between the
switch and a hub (repeater), router or bridge. See page 12 for an
example.
Fiber optic requirements
The optional 100BASE-FX fiber optic media adapter (Intel product
code ES101MAFX) lets you use multimode fiber optic cable to
connect two switches, or to connect the switch to a hub, bridge, or
router. The media adapter uses an SC fiber optic connector.
With multimode fiber optic cable, signals can travel up to 412 meters
between two switches or between the switch and a router when the
link is configured at half duplex. If configured at full duplex, the
signal can travel up to 2 kilometers.
The signal can travel up to 160 meters between the switch and a hub
(repeater). Full duplex isn’t possible between the switch and a hub.