4.4.Distance and Speed Limitations

1. Ethernet Bandwidth Capacities

• The bandwidth of a network is measured in terms of how many bits the network can transmit during a 1-second period of time.

  • For example, if a network has the capacity to transmit 10,000,000 bits in a 1-second period of time, the bandwidth capacity is said to be 10 Mbps

• Table below defines common bandwidths supported on various types of Ethernet networks.

Ethernet Type	Bandwidth Capacity
Standard Ethernet	10 Mbps: 10 million bits per second
Fast Ethernet	100 Mbps: 100 million bits per second
Gigabit Ethernet	Gbps: 1 billion bits per second
10-Gigabit Ethernet	10 Gbps: 10 billion bits per second
100-Gigabit Ethernet	100 Gbps: 100 billion bits per second

2. Types of Ethernet

• The type of cabling used in your Ethernet network influences the bandwidth capacity and the distance limitation of your network. Table below offers a listing of multiple Ethernet standards, along with their media type, bandwidth capacity, and distance limitation.

Ethernet Standard	Media Type	Bandwidth Capacity	Distance Limitation
10BASE5	Coax (thicknet)	10 Mbps	500 m
10BASE2	Coax (thinnet)	10 Mbps	185 m
10BASE-T	Cat 3 (or higher) UTP	10 Mbps	100 m
100BASE-TX	Cat 5 (or higher) UTP	100 Mbps	100 m
100BASE-FX	MMF	100 Mbps	2 km
1000BASE-T	Cat 5e (or higher) UTP	1 Gbps	100 m
1000BASE-TX	Cat 6 (or higher) UTP	1 Gbps	100 m
1000BASE-LX	MMF/SMF	1 Gbps/1 Gbps	5 km
1000BASE-LH	SMF	1 Gbps	10 km
1000BASE-ZX	SMF	1 Gbps	70 km
0GBASE-SR	MMF	10 Gbps	26–82 m
10GBASE-LR	SMF	10 Gbps	10 km
10GBASE-ER	SMF	10 Gbps	40 km
10GBASE-SW	MMF	10 Gbps	300 m
10GBASE-EW	SMF	10 Gbps	40 km
10GBASE-T	Cat 6a (or higher)	10 Gbps	100 m
100GBASE-SR10	MMF	100 Gbps	125 m
100GBASE-LR4	SMF	100 Gbps	10 km
100GBASE-ER4	SMF	100 Gbps	40 km