When it comes to computer networking, the speed that information can be carried is integral to understanding how powerful (or powerless) a network is. Before Fast Ethernet came about, the original ethernet speed was 10 Mbit/second. Fast Ethernet carries traffic at 100 Mbit/second. How does it do this? It does it by following several 100-megabit Ethernet standards including specific hardware like 100baseTX which is one of the most commonly supported by the majority of Ethernet hardware being produced today. The ‘T’ in 100baseTX stands for “Twisted” Pair Copper.
Full duplex fast Ethernet is at times, referred to as “200 Mbit/s.” This, however, is misleading because that level of enhanced speed can only be achieved if traffic patterns are symmetrical. Introduced in 1995, Fast Ethernet remained the fastest version of Ethernet for only three years. In 1998, it was superseded by gigabit Ethernet.
Early on, before even the 10 Mbit Ethernet, coaxial cables were used and are now, for the most part, obsolete. Ethernet, the original 10 Mbit Ethernet came next, then the 100 Mbit/second Fast Ethernet. As the need for faster and more advanced systems arose, the Gigabit Ethernet came next, followed by the 10-Gigabit Ethernet. Currently, there is 100-Gigabit Ethernet being developed but as of the date this article was published, it is not yet ready.
Highly functioning switches such as the Cisco WS-C2960G-24TC-L Catalyst Gigabit Switch are designed to be significantly more powerful than predecessors. An ethernet switch of this caliber has the ability to deliver intelligent services for the network edge as well as offer integrated security and network admission control in a way that ethernet and fast ethernet switches cannot.
Today’s Ethernet has many varieties. They vary in speed as well as physical medium used. The most common forms now used are 10BASE-T, 100BASE-TX, and 1000BASE-T. All three of these utilize twisted pair cables along with 8P8C modular connectors (often referred to as RJ45 connectors). The numbers in their names refer to the number of Mbit/s. A 10BASE-T runs at 10 Mbit/s, a 100BASE-TX runs at 100 Mbit/s, and a 1000BASE-T runs at 1 Gbit/s.