Contents
What is Fast Ethernet?
Fast Ethernet is a networking technology widely used for local area networks (LANs). It is an evolution of the popular Ethernet standard, designed to provide higher data transmission rates.
Fast Ethernet Speed
Fast Ethernet operates at a maximum data rate of 100 megabits per second (Mbps). In comparison, its predecessor, the original Ethernet, supported a maximum speed of 10 Mbps. By increasing the data rate to 100 Mbps, Fast Ethernet significantly enhanced the performance and capabilities of LANs.
How Fast Ethernet Works
Fast Ethernet uses a twisted-pair cable as its main transmission medium, which is similar to the original Ethernet. It supports multiple cable types, such as Category 5 (Cat 5) and Category 5e (Cat 5e) cables. These cables are widely available and relatively inexpensive, making Fast Ethernet an affordable option for many organizations.
To enable data transmission at a higher speed, Fast Ethernet introduced a more efficient coding scheme called 4B5B. This scheme converts four data bits into five-bit codes, allowing for faster data transmission without requiring significant changes to the existing Ethernet infrastructure.
Fast Ethernet also introduced full-duplex communication, which enables simultaneous data transmission and reception between two devices. This feature effectively doubles the available bandwidth, allowing for faster and more efficient data transfer within the network.
Benefits and Applications of Fast Ethernet
The increased speed of Fast Ethernet brought numerous benefits to LANs. It enabled faster file transfers, improved multimedia streaming, and enhanced performance for time-sensitive applications like video conferencing and online gaming.
Fast Ethernet quickly gained popularity and became the standard for LANs. Its widespread adoption led to the development of various network devices, including switches and routers, designed specifically for Fast Ethernet networks. These devices played a crucial role in expanding the capabilities of LANs and enabled the efficient handling of larger amounts of network traffic.
In summary, Fast Ethernet is a networking technology that provides a data transmission rate of up to 100 Mbps, a significant improvement over the original Ethernet standard. It achieved this improved performance through the use of more efficient coding schemes and full-duplex communication. Fast Ethernet has become widely adopted and has transformed LANs, enabling faster and more reliable network connections.
Reference Articles
Read also
[Google Chrome] The definitive solution for right-click translations that no longer come up.