10BASE-T
10BASE-T is one of several adaptations of the Ethernet (IEEE 802.3) standard for local area networks (LANs). The 10Base-T standard (also called Twisted Pair Ethernet) uses a twisted-pair cable with maximum lengths of 100 meters.

10BASE-T supports Ethernet's 10 Mbps transmission speed. In addition to 10BASE-T, 10 megabit Ethernet can be implemented with these media types:

-- 10BASE-2 (Thin wire coaxial cable - maximum segment length is 185 meters)
-- 10BASE-5 (Thick wire coaxial cable - maximum segment length is 500 meters)
-- 10BASE-F (optical fiber cable)
-- 10BASE-36 (broadband coaxial cable carrying multiple baseband channels for a maximum length of 3,600 meters)

This designation is an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) shorthand identifier. The "10" in the media type designation refers to the transmission speed of 10 Mbps. The "BASE" refers to baseband signaling, which means that only Ethernet signals are carried on the medium. The "T" represents twisted-pair; the "F" represents fiber optic cable; and the "2", "5", and "36" refer to the coaxial cable segment length (the 185 meter length has been rounded up to "2" for 200). 10Base-T cable is thinner and more flexible than the coaxial cable used for the 10Base-2 or 10Base-5 standards.


100Base-T
100Base-T is a networking standard that supports data transfer rates up to 100 Mbps (100 megabits per second). 100BASE-T is 10 times faster than Ethernet; it is often referred to as Fast Ethernet. Officially, the 100BASE-T standard is IEEE 802.3u. In Fast Ethernet, there are three types of physical wiring that can carry signals:

-- 100BASE-T4 (four pairs of telephone twisted pair wire)
-- 100BASE-TX (two pairs of data grade twisted-pair wire)
-- 100BASE-FX (a two-strand optical fiber cable)

The "T4," "TX," and "FX" refer to the physical medium that carries the signal.



10-Gigabit Ethernet
10-Gigabit Ethernet, being standardized in IEEE 802.3a, is a developing telecommunication technology that offers data speeds up to 10 billion bits per second. 10-Gigabit Ethernet is described as a "disruptive" technology that offers a more efficient and less expensive approach to moving data on backbone connections between networks while also providing a consistent technology end-to-end.



802.11

802.11 refers to a family of specifications developed by the IEEE for wireless LAN technology. 802.11 specifies an over-the-air interface between a wireless client and a base station or between two wireless clients. The IEEE accepted the specification in 1997.

There are several specifications in the 802.11 family:

-- 802.11 -- applies to wireless LANs and provides 1 or 2 Mbps transmission in the 2.4 GHz band using either frequency hopping spread spectrum (FHSS) or direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS).

-- 802.11a -- an extension to 802.11 that applies to wireless LANs and provides up to 54 Mbps in the 5GHz band. 802.11a uses an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing encoding scheme rather than FHSS or DSSS.

-- 802.11b (also referred to as 802.11 High Rate or Wi-Fi) -- an extension to 802.11 that applies to wireless LANS and provides 11 Mbps transmission (with a fallback to 5.5, 2 and 1 Mbps) in the 2.4 GHz band. 802.11b uses only DSSS. 802.11b was a 1999 ratification to the original 802.11 standard, allowing wireless functionality comparable to Ethernet.

-- 802.11g -- applies to wireless LANs and provides 20+ Mbps in the 2.4 GHz band.