Allied Telesis FastSwitch8 - Manual (Page 18)

Technical Specifications
12
Recommended Cables and Cable Specifications
There are various grades of voice-quality and data-quality cables available.
These can appear to be similar externally, although their high-speed data
transmission characteristics are radically different. The identification problem
is made worse by some suppliers selling voice-quality cables as data-quality
cables.
If voice-quality cables are used in a 100Base-TX network system, data
movement may be slow, collision-prone or non-existent. In addition, interface
LEDs will usually indicate a valid link in such cases.
Table 3 provides an overview of IEEE 802.3 and 802.3u cabling specifications
for 10Base-T and 100Base-TX network configurations using twisted-pair cable.
Table 3 IEEE 802.3 and 802.3u Cabling Specifications
1
1. Cabling must be in accordance with the TIA/EIA 568A standards.
10Base-T 100Base-T
Media Unshielded or Shielded Twisted
Pair Category 3 or better Unshielded or Shielded Twisted
Pair Category 5 or better
Maximum Segment
Length 100 m (328 ft) 100 m (328 ft)
Topology Star, Tree Star, Tree
External Devices Network Adapter Card, Repeater,
Switch, or Router Network Adapter Card,
Repeater, Switch, or Router