10-Gigabit Ethernet

In computer networks, 10-Gigabit Ethernet is the family of Ethernet technologies that achieve maximum rates up to 10 gigabits per second (10 Gbps). It is also known as 10GE, 10GbE or 10 GigE. It is defined by the IEEE 802.3ae-2002 standard.

10GE is a thousand times faster than standard Ethernet and supports only full-duplex communication. Multimode fiber having 0.85μ frequency is used for medium distances and single-mode fiber having 1.5μ frequency is used for long distances.

Varieties of Gigabit Ethernet

The popular varieties of fast Ethernet are 1000Base-SX, 1000Base-LX, 1000BASE-T and 1000Base-CX.

10GBase-SR

• Defined by IEEE 802.3ae standard

• Uses fiber optic cables

• Maximum segment length is 300 m

• Deployed using multimode fibers having 0.85μ frequency

10GBase-LR

• Defined by IEEE 802.3ae standard

• Uses fiber optic cables

• Maximum segment length is 10 km

• Deployed using single-mode fibers having 1.3μ frequency

10GBase-ER

• Defined by IEEE 802.3ae standard

• Uses fiber optic cables

• Maximum segment length is 40 km

• Deployed using single-mode fibers having 1.5μ frequency

10GBase-CX4

• Defined by IEEE 802.3ak standard

• Uses 4 pairs of twin-axial cables

• Maximum segment length is 15 m

• Uses 8B/10B coding

10GBase-T

• Defined by IEEE 802.3an standard

• Uses 4 pairs of unshielded twisted pair cables

• Maximum segment length is 100 m

• Uses low-density parity-check code (LPDC code)