There are basically three types of media commonly in use in ethernet installations:
| Thin coaxial cable is known as RG58 | It is used in thin ethernet (10Base2) installations |
| 185 metres maximum segment length | 50 centimetres minimum distance between connection points |
| Maximum 30 connections per segment | 5 centimetres minimum bend radius |
| Uses BNC (Bayonet-Neil Concelman) connectors | External diameter of +/- 4.9 millimetres |
| Thick coaxial cable is known as RG8 | It is used in thick ethernet (10Base5) installations |
| 500 metres maximum segment length | 2.5 metres minimum distance between connection points |
| Maximum 100 connections per segment | 25 centimetres minimum bend radius |
| Uses a viper tap to connect backbone to network interface card | External diameter of +/- 10.29 millimetres |
| Unshielded twisted pair is known as UTP | It is currently available in 5 different categories (Cat 1 to 5) |
| Cat5 UTP is used in 10BaseT, 100BaseT, gigabit and token ring | Cat5 is the most popular installation choice presently |
| Cat6 is being developed for the next generation of installations | 100 metres maximum segment length |
| Uses RJ45 plugs and sockets | Overbending the cable increases cross-talk between the 8 wires |
| Fire optic is very secure - it is virtually untappable | Single mode fibre has the greatest distance and bandwidth |
| Multimode graded index fibre can support 3Gbps over several kilometres | Multimode step index fibre can support 200Mbps over 1 kilometre |
| Higher frequencies of light suited for higher bandwidths | Thicker glass cores suited for longer distances |
| In the order of 10 times more expensive than UTP | Transmission across fibre is virtually error and interference free |
| Co-axial - Central Institute of Technology | Coaxial cable information |
| Fibre Optic - Central Institute of Technology | Fibre optic cable details |
| Physical Connections | Ethernet Version 2 and IEEE 802.3 Physical Characteristics from the Cisco site |
| Twisted Pair - Central Institute of Technology | Twisted pair details |
| Wiring Guide - Central Institute of Technology | Wiring information |
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