Introduction to Technology
“Gigabit” Versus “Fast” Ethernet
Chapter 1
14
“Gigabit” Versus “Fast” Ethernet
Throughout this document, the terms “Fast” and “Gigabit” Ethernet will be used. These
terms refer to the following Ethernet technologies:
• “Ethernet” refers to the original10Base-T Ethernet technology.
• “Fast” Ethernet refers to the 100Base-T Ethernet technology.
• “Gigabit” Ethernet is a generic reference to1000Base Ethernet. You will see all of the
following Gigabit Ethernet references in this manual:
— 1000Base-SX is Gigabit Ethernet over shortwave laser fiber optic cable.
— 1000Base-T is Gigabit Ethernet over unshielded twisted-pair (UTP) Category 5
(CAT 5) or CAT5E cable or better. This type of cable is often referred to as copper.
• HP also offers a series of network interface cards that provide combinations of
Ethernet, SCSI and Fiber Channel technologies on the same card. These cards are
referred to as combination cards. See the applicable combination card matrix on
http://docs.hp.com for information on the number of cards supported per system,
driver needed, and HP-UX release supported.
