Networking —

UTP and the 5-4-5 Rule

As with coaxial implementations, there are rules governing UTP networks. UTP Ethernet networks use the 5-4-3 rule, but in a slightly modified form. As with coaxial, a total of five physical segments can be used on the network and these five physical segments can be connected using four repeaters, but all five physical segments can be populated.

10BaseFL

10BaseFL is an implementation of 10Mbps Ethernet over fiber-optic cabling. Its primary benefit, over 10BaseT, is that it can be used in distances up to 2km. However, given the availability of other faster networking standards, such as 100BaseFX (discussed next), you are unlikely to encounter a large number of 10BaseFL implementations.

Table 3 summarizes the characteristics of the 10Mbps networking standards discussed in this section.

Table 3 10Mbps Network Comparison

Standard

Cable Type

Segment Length

Connector

Topology

10Base2

Thin coaxial

185 meters

BNC

Physical bus

10BaseT

Category 3, 4, 5

100 meters

RJ-45

Physical star

twisted pair

10BaseFL

Fiber Optic

2000 Meters

SC/ST

Physical star