What is 10 Base Standard?

10Base2

10Base2 is sometimes referred to as thinnet (or “thin coax”) because it uses thin coaxial cabling for connecting stations to form a network. 10Base2 supports a maximum bandwidth of 10 Mbps, but in actual networks, the presence of collisions reduces this to more like 4 to 6 Mbps. 10Base2 is based on the 802.3 specifications of Project 802 developed by the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE).

How It Works

10Base2 networks are wired together in a bus topology, in which individual stations (computers) are connected directly to one long cable. The maximum length of any particular segment of a 10Base2 network is 185 meters. If distances longer than this are required, two or more segments must be connected using repeaters. Altogether, there can be a total of five segments connected using four repeaters, as long as only three of the segments have stations attached to them. This is referred to as the 5-4-3 rule.

A 10Base2 segment should have no more than 30 stations wired to it. The minimum distance between these stations must be 0.5 meters. Stations are attached to the cable using BNC connectors, and the ends of the thinnet cabling have BNC cable connectors soldered or crimped to them.

The designation 10Base2 comes from the speed of the network (10 Mbps), the signal transmission method (baseband transmission), and the maximum segment length (185 meters, rounded off to 200 with the zeros removed).

NOTE

10Base2 networks are not implemented much anymore for two reasons. First, because their speed is limited to 10 Mbps, the networks perform poorly in today’s bandwidth-hungry, Internet-connected world. Second, 10Base2 networks have a single point of failure—the long, linear bus cable used to connect the stations. A single break or loose connection brings down the entire network, and every cable segment and station connection must be checked to determine the problem. If you are wiring an office for a small LAN with low bandwidth requirements, use 10BaseT instead. For moderate to high bandwidth requirements, try using Fast Ethernet instead.

TIP

The two ends of a 10Base2 bus must be properly terminated. If they are not, signals will bounce and network communications will be impossible.

10Base5

A type of standard for implementing Ethernet networks. 10Base5 is sometimes referred to as thicknet because it uses thick coaxial cabling for connecting stations to form a network. Another name for 10Base5 is Standard Ethernet because it was the first type of Ethernet to be implemented. 10Base5 supports a maximum bandwidth of 10 Mbps, but in actual networks, the presence of collisions reduces this to more like 4 to 6 Mbps. 10Base5 is based on the 802.3 specifications of Project 802 developed by the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE).

How It Works

10Base5 networks are wired together in a bus topology—that is, in a linear fashion using one long cable. The maximum length of any particular segment of a 10Base5 network is 500 meters, hence the 5 in 10Base5. If distances longer than this are required, two or more segments must be connected using repeaters. Altogether, there can be a total of five segments connected using four repeaters, as long as only three of the segments have stations (computers) attached to them. This is referred to as the 5-4-3 rule.

A 10Base5 segment should have no more than 100 stations wired to it. These stations are not connected directly to the thicknet cable as in 10Base2 networks. Instead, a transceiver is attached to the thicknet cable, usually using a cable-piercing connector called a vampire tap. From the transceiver, a drop cable is attached, which then connects to the network interface card (NIC) in the computer. The minimum distance between transceivers attached to the thicknet cable is 2.5 meters, and the maximum length for a drop cable is 50 meters. Thicknet cable ends have N-series connectors soldered or crimped on them for connecting segments together.

10Base5 networks were often used as backbones for large networks. In a typical configuration, transceivers on the thicknet backbone would attach to repeaters, which would join smaller thinnet segments to the thicknet backbone. In this way, a combination of 10Base5 and 10Base2 standards could support sufficient numbers of stations for a moderately large company.

NOTE

10Base5 networks are legacy networks that are no longer implemented, although some companies might choose to maintain them for cost reasons. The complexity and bandwidth limitations of 10Base5 networks render them obsolete. If you are wiring an office for a small LAN with low bandwidth requirements, use 10BaseT instead. For moderate to high bandwidth requirements, try using Fast Ethernet. If you are implementing a backbone for today’s high-speed enterprise networks, try using Gigabit Ethernet, Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI), or some other advanced technology.

TIP

The two ends of a 10Base5 bus must be properly terminated. If they are not, signals will bounce and network communications will be impossible.

10BaseF

A type of standard for implementing Ethernet networks. 10BaseF is different from other 10-Mbps Ethernet technologies because it uses fiber-optic cabling instead of copper unshielded twisted-pair (UTP) cabling. 10BaseF is based on the 802.3 specifications of Project 802 developed by the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE).

How It Works

10BaseF 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 10BaseF 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.

The 10BaseF standard actually consists of three separate standards describing different media specifications:

• 10BaseFB: Defines how the synchronous data transmission occurs over the fiber-optic cabling. Using 10BaseFB segments, you can cascade or link synchronous fiber-optic hubs in configurations that are longer than traditional 10BaseT Ethernet networks and contain up to 1024 stations. This standard is more expensive and is not as widely implemented as 10BaseFL.

• 10BaseFL: Defines the characteristics of the fiber-optic link between the nodes and the hub or concentrator. 10BaseFL replaces the older standard for fiber-optic link segments, Fiber-Optic Inter-Repeater Link (FOIRL) segments, which was developed in the 1980s. 10BaseFL is the most commonly implemented version of 10BaseF.

• 10BaseFP: Defines the implementation of a star topology that does not use repeaters. 10BaseFP stands for Fiber Passive, and its segments can be only 500 meters in length with a maximum of 33 stations connected. This standard is rarely used today.

TIP

Use 10BaseF instead of 10BaseT in environments that are electrically noisy, such as in industrial areas, near elevator shafts, or around other motors or generators.

TIP

Use fiber-optic cabling when running cables between buildings. Differences in ground potential between the ends of copper cabling can induce voltages that can damage networking equipment if the ends are not grounded properly. Fiber-optic cabling also supports faster speeds than copper UTP cabling and provides a more suitable upgrade option to Fast Ethernet and beyond.

TIP

The maximum signal loss or attenuation on a given segment should be no more than 12.5 decibels. Using too many connectors in a segment of fiber-optic cabling can cause the attenuation to exceed this figure, which can lead to signal loss.

10BaseT

A type of standard for implementing Ethernet networks. 10BaseT is the most popular form of 10-Mbps Ethernet, using unshielded twisted-pair (UTP) cabling for connecting stations, and using hubs to form a network. 10BaseT supports a maximum bandwidth of 10 Mbps, but in actual networks, the presence of collisions reduces this to more like 4 to 6 Mbps. 10BaseT is based on the 802.3 specifications of Project 802 developed by the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE).

How It Works

10BaseT networks are wired together in a star topology to a central hub. The UTP cabling used for wiring should be category 3 cabling, category 4 cabling, or category 5 cabling, terminated with RJ-45 connectors. Patch panels can be used to organize wiring and provide termination points for cables running to wall plates in work areas. Patch cables then connect each port on the patch panel to the hub. Usually, most of the wiring is hidden in a wiring cabinet and arranged on a rack for easy access.

The maximum length of any particular segment of a 10BaseT network is 100 meters. If distances longer than this are required, two or more segments must be connected using repeaters. The minimum length of a segment should be 2.5 meters. By using stackable hubs or by cascading regular hubs into a cascaded star topology, you can network large numbers of computers using 10BaseT cable. Although they support up to 1024 nodes, collision domains supporting no more than 200 or 300 nodes will yield the best performance.

NOTE

The maximum length of a 10BaseT cable segment is not a result of the specifications for round-trip communications on an Ethernet network, but rather a limitation caused by the relatively low signal strength of 10BaseT systems. With enhanced category 5 cabling, you might be able to sustain network communications effectively with cable lengths up to about 150 meters, although this is not normally recommended.

TIP

When wiring a 10BaseT network, use enhanced category 5 cabling. This will make it unnecessary to rewire your network should you decide to upgrade to Fast Ethernet.