Datasheet

195
UTS Series
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Technical Information
In order to explain basic Ethernet theory, we can use a functional comparison to a busy city with highways, buildings and cars. To illustrate this, the
table below provides correlation between the different components/pieces/links that encompass Ethernet network connectivity, and the larger scale
infrastructure of a metropolitan city.
Ethernet Basics
Ethernet is a widely used communications protocol that is used to transmit data packets (datagrams) between network devices. Imagine a highway in a
large metropolitan area six lanes wide at rush hour. The vehicles on the highway need rules to follow so that they get to their destination without crashing
into each other. In an Ethernet network link, there could be 100 million bits of information transmitted in one second. In the Ethernet standard, there exist
rules to govern packet structure, transmission requirements, error correction, communication with end equipment, etc.
Examining the differences between 100Mhz, 100 Base TX, Cat5e/Cat6.
What does it all mean?
When discussing connectors and Ethernet, there are a few key details to be aware of:
• 100Mhz is a measurement of Frequency for the signal
- Comparable to the Speed Limit of a highway
• 100BaseTX (or Fast Ethernet) is an Ethernet link standard and identies available link bandwidth. The bandwidth is measured in units of
MBits/S (megabits per second)
- Comparable to the number of cars that pass a point in one second
• Cat5e/Cat6 are an EIA/TIA standard for performance and physical characteristics for cables and connectors
- Comparable to performance specications of the car and highway.
In connectors and cables, Fast Ethernet uses 2 pairs. One for transmit and one for receive. This way data trafc can ow in both directions simultaneously.
•City: The network itself
•Buildings: End equipment, PC, server, etc.
•Roads: Ethernet cabling
•Cars: Data packets, datagrams, bits, bytes, etc.
•Tolls: Firewalls
•Bridges: Connectors
•Trafclaws: Protocol/communication specications
Ethernet for the Layman
Technical Information