The Things You Need to Know about 10BASE-FX Ethernet Standards
2016-12-05

Introduction

In this article we will talk about the 10BASE-FX Ethernet standard and what is the difference between 10BASE-FX and 10BASE-T. All this just to give you more understanding about 10BASE-FX technology. 


Compatible Brands
MFG PART#
 Wavelength Type
Distance
Media
Cisco
GLC-FE-100FX
1310nm
SFP2km
MMF
Juniper
QFX-SFP-1GE-LX
1310nm
SFP
10km
SMF
Juniper
QFX-SFP-1GE-T

RJ45
100m

Juniper
QFX-SFP-1GE-SX
850nm
SFP
550m
MMF
Alcatel-Lucent
SFP-DUAL-SM10
1310nm
SFP
10km
SMF
Alcatel-Lucent
SFP-DUAL-MM
1310nm
SFP
2km
MMF


What is the 10BASE-FX technology?

A type of standard for implementing Ethernet networks 10BASE-FX is different from other 10-Mbps Ethernet technologies because it uses fiber-optic cabling instead of copper unshielded twisted-pair (UTP) cabling. 10BASE-FX is based on the 802.3 specifications of Project 802 developed by the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE). 10BASE-FX is similar to 10BaseT in that each station is wired into a fiber-optic hub in a star topology to form the network. The maximum length of any segment of 10BASE-FX fiber-optic cabling is 2 kilometers. The recommended cabling type for 10BaseF networks is 62.5-micron diameter fiber-optic cabling. This cable can be terminated with either ST connectors or SMA connectors, depending on the vendor and the hub configuration. Two-strand multimode fiber-optic cabling is used, with one strand allotted for transmitting data and the other for receiving data.

10BASE-FX technology

What are the Difference Between 10BASE-FX and 10BASE-T?

10BASE-FX is an implementation of Ethernet 802.3 over fiber optic cabling. 10BASE-FX offers only 10 Mbps, even though the fiber optic media has the capacity for much faster data rates. One of the implementations of 10BASE-FX is to connect two hubs as well as connecting hubs to workstations. The best time to use 10BASE-FX is in the rewiring of a network from copper to fiber optic, when you need an intermediate protocol using the new wiring. 10BASE-FX is not often a permanent solution because the data rate is so low and the cabling so expensive in comparison to using UTP.

One of the most common types of Ethernet in use today is 10BaseT. This particular implementation uses four-pair UTP wiring (Cat3 or higher, but most commonly you will see Cat5) using RJ-45 connectors. Each cable is connected from each network device to a central hub in a physical star topology. Within the hub, the signals are repeated and forwarded to all other nodes on the network because it is a logical bus topology. Older network interface cards are configured with jumpers to set addresses and interrupts.

Today's network interfaces cards can be managed through a diagnostic program, or automatically configure themselves through plug and play technology. There is a limit of 1024 devices on an Ethernet segment, plus you can have a maximum of 1024 network segments. A UTP cable has a maximum distance of 100 meters, which is equivalent to 328 feet.
TECHNICAL SUPPORT
Get solutions or consultation from the technical team.