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What Is Fast Ethernet?
Historical Background
Fast Ethernet was developed in the early 90s to solve the bottleneck problems
encountered by older Ethernet networks. Ethernet, however, is a networking tech-
nology developed in the early 70s.
Ethernet network carries data signal through thick passive cables at a speed of
10Mbp. However, signals are delivered to all nodes in the network at the same time,
which resulted in frequent collisions and a lag in general network performance.
Fast Ethernet, instead, transmits data at a rate of 100Mbps. It is needed for peo-
ple who use CAD/CAM, videoconferencing, and exchange large amount of files.
Besides the increasing available bandwidth, Fast Ethernet system also brings
the advantage of using the same network operating system. Moreover, it is as well
backward compatible with Ethernet equipment.
Ethernet and Fast Ethernet Standards
The Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) is an international
standard for Ethernet and Fast Ethernet systems. The standard for Ethernet twisted-
pair networks is known as the IEEE802.3 standard, or 10BASE-T.
The IEEE802.3u standard or 100BASE-TX governs its successor, Fast Ethernet.
Your switch is compliant with the 100BASE-TX standard.
Moreover, to set up a network with a Fast Ethernet switch, all nodes have to be
connected to the switch through 100BASE-TX compliant adapters (built-in or plug-in
versions) or network interface cards (NIC). As for the network operating system,
any Ethernet-compatible system as well as theNIC’s drivers can be used
Cables Required
Fast Ethernet network does not use as same kind of cable as does Ethernet
nework. 100BASE-TX requires Category 5 unshielded twisted-pair (Category 5
UTP) or Category 1 shielded twisted-pair (Category 1 STP), or any equivalent cable
to transmit data.
UTP, STP or equivalent cable must be applied with a Fast Ethernet switch.
Those cables are easy to find as they are widely sold in retail stores and pre-
installed in many buildings.
What Is Fast Ethernet?
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