Gigabit Ethernet

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Gigabit Ethernet (GbE or 1 GigE) is a term describing various technologies for
transmitting Ethernet frames at a rate of a gigabit per second, as defined by the IEEE 802.32008 standard. Half-duplex gigabit links connected through hubs are allowed by the
specification but in the marketplace full-duplex with switches is normal.

Intel PRO/1000 GT PCI network interface card

Contents
[hide]

1 History
2 Varieties
o

2.1 1000BASE-X

2.1.1 1000BASE-CX

2.1.2 1000BASE-SX

2.1.3 1000BASE-LX

2.1.4 1000BASE-LX10

2.1.5 1000BASE-BX10

2.1.6 1000BASE-ZX

2.2 1000BASE-T

2.3 1000BASE-TX

3 See also

4 Notes

5 References

6 Bibliography

7 External links

[edit] History
The result of research done at Xerox Corporation in the early 1970s, Ethernet has evolved
into the most widely implemented physical and link layer protocol today. Fast Ethernet
increased speed from 10 to 100 megabits per second (Mbit/s). Gigabit Ethernet was the
next iteration, increasing the speed to 1000 Mbit/s. The initial standard for gigabit Ethernet
was produced by the IEEE in June 1998 as IEEE 802.3z, and required optical fiber. 802.3z
is commonly referred to as 1000BASE-X, where -X refers to either -CX, -SX, -LX, or
(non-standard) -ZX.
IEEE 802.3ab, ratified in 1999, defines gigabit Ethernet transmission over unshielded
twisted pair (UTP) category 5, 5e, or 6 cabling and became known as 1000BASE-T. With
the ratification of 802.3ab, gigabit Ethernet became a desktop technology as organizations
could use their existing copper cabling infrastructure.
IEEE 802.3ah, ratified in 2004 added two more gigabit fiber standards, 1000BASE-LX10
(which was already widely implemented as vendor specific extension) and 1000BASEBX10. This was part of a larger group of protocols known as Ethernet in the First Mile.
Initially, gigabit Ethernet was deployed in high-capacity backbone network links (for
instance, on a high-capacity campus network). In 2000, Apple's Power Mac G4 and
PowerBook G4 were the first mass produced personal computers featuring the 1000BASET connection.[1] It quickly became a built-in feature in many other computers. As of 2009
Gigabit NICs (1000BASE-T) are included in almost all desktop and server computer
systems.
Higher bandwidth 10 Gigabit Ethernet standards have since become available as the IEEE
ratified a fiber-based standard in 2002, and a twisted pair standard in 2006. As of 2009
10Gb Ethernet is replacing 1Gb as the backbone network and has begun to migrate down to
high-end server systems.[citation needed]

[edit] Varieties
There are five physical layer standards for gigabit Ethernet using optical fiber (1000BASEX), twisted pair cable (1000BASE-T), or balanced copper cable (1000BASE-CX).
The IEEE 802.3z standard includes 1000BASE-SX for transmission over multi-mode fiber,
1000BASE-LX for transmission over single-mode fiber, and the nearly obsolete
1000BASE-CX for transmission over balanced copper cabling. These standards use 8b/10b
encoding, which inflates the line rate by 25%, from 1,0001,250 Mbit/s to ensure a DC
balanced signal. The symbols are then sent using NRZ.
IEEE 802.3ab, which defines the widely used 1000BASE-T interface type, uses a different
encoding scheme in order to keep the symbol rate as low as possible, allowing transmission
over twisted pair.
Ethernet in the First Mile later added 1000BASE-LX10 and -BX10.
Name
1000BASE-CX

Medium
Twinaxial cabling

1000BASE-SX

Multi-mode fiber

1000BASE-LX
1000BASE-LX

Multi-mode fiber
Single-mode fiber
Single-mode fiber using 1,310 nm
1000BASE-LX10
wavelength
Single-mode fiber at 1,550 nm
1000BASE-ZX
wavelength
Single-mode fiber, over single-strand
1000BASE-BX10 fiber: 1,490 nm downstream 1,310 nm
upstream
Twisted-pair cabling (Cat-5, Cat-5e,
1000BASE-T
Cat-6, or Cat-7)
1000BASE-TX Twisted-pair cabling (Cat-6, Cat-7)

Specified distance
25 meters
220 to 550 meters dependent on
fiber diameter and bandwidth[2]
550 meters[3]
5 km[3]
10 km
~ 70 km
10 km
100 meters
100 meters

[edit] 1000BASE-X
1000BASE-X is used in industry to refer to gigabit Ethernet transmission over fiber, where
options include 1000BASE-CX, 1000BASE-LX, and 1000BASE-SX, 1000BASE-LX10,
1000BASE-BX10 or the non-standard -ZX implementations.
[edit] 1000BASE-CX
1000BASE-CX is an initial standard for gigabit Ethernet connections over twinaxial
cabling with maximum distances of 25 meters using balanced shielded twisted pair and
either DE-9 or 8P8C connector. The short segment length is due to very high signal

transmission rate. Although, it is still used for specific applications where cabling is done
by IT professionals, for instance the IBM BladeCenter uses 1000BASE-CX for the Ethernet
connections between the blade servers and the switch modules, 1000BASE-T has
succeeded it for general copper wiring use.
[edit] 1000BASE-SX
1000BASE-SX is a fiber optic gigabit Ethernet standard for operation over multi-mode
fiber using a 770 to 860 nanometer, near infrared (NIR) light wavelength.
The standard specifies a distance capability between 220 metres (62.5/125 m fiber with
low modal bandwidth) and 550 metres (50/125 m fiber with high modal bandwidth). In
practice, with good quality fiber and terminations, 1000BASE-SX will usually work over
significantly longer distances.[4][not in citation given]
This standard is highly popular for intra-building links in large office buildings, co-location
facilities and carrier neutral internet exchanges.
Optical power specifications of SX interface: Minimum output power = 9.5 dBm.
Minimum receive sensitivity = 17 dBm.
[edit] 1000BASE-LX
1000BASE-LX is a fiber optic gigabit Ethernet standard specified in IEEE 802.3 Clause 38
which uses a long wavelength laser (1,2701,355 nm), and a maximum RMS spectral width
of 4 nm.
1000BASE-LX is specified to work over a distance of up to 5 km over 10 m single-mode
fiber.
1000BASE-LX can also run over all common types of multi-mode fiber with a maximum
segment length of 550 m. For link distances greater than 300 m, the use of a special launch
conditioning patch cord may be required.[5] This launches the laser at a precise offset from
the center of the fiber which causes it to spread across the diameter of the fiber core,
reducing the effect known as differential mode delay which occurs when the laser couples
onto only a small number of available modes in multi-mode fiber.
[edit] 1000BASE-LX10
1000BASE-LX10 was standardized six years after the initial gigabit fiber versions as part
of the Ethernet in the First Mile task group. It is very similar to 1000BASE-LX, but
achieves longer distances up to 10 km over a pair of single-mode fiber due to higher quality
optics. Before it was standardized 1000BASE-LX10 was essentially already in widespread
use by many vendors as a proprietary extension called either 1000BASE-LX/LH or
1000BASE-LH.[6]

[edit] 1000BASE-BX10
1000BASE-BX10 is capable of up to 10 km over a single strand of single-mode fiber, with
a different wavelength going in each direction. The terminals on each side of the fibre are
not equal, as the one transmitting downstream (from the center of the network to the
outside) uses the 1,490 nm wavelength, and the one transmitting upstream uses the
1,310 nm wavelength.
[edit] 1000BASE-ZX
1000BASE-ZX is a non-standard but industry accepted[citation needed] term to refer to gigabit
Ethernet transmission using 1,550 nm wavelength to achieve distances of at least 70 km
over single-mode fiber.

[edit] 1000BASE-T

1000BASE-T capable network interface card made by Intel, which connects to the
computer via PCI-X
1000BASE-T (also known as IEEE 802.3ab) is a standard for gigabit Ethernet over copper
wiring.
Each 1000BASE-T network segment can be a maximum length of 100 meters (328 feet),
and must use Category 5 cable or better. Category 5e cable or Category 6 cable may also be
used.
Autonegotiation is a requirement for using 1000BASE-T[7] according to Section 28D.5
Extensions required for Clause40 (1000BASE-T).[8] At least the clock source has to be
negotiated, as one has to be master and the other slave.
In a departure from both 10BASE-T and 100BASE-TX, 1000BASE-T uses all four cable
pairs for simultaneous transmission in both directions through the use of echo cancellation
and a 5-level pulse amplitude modulation (PAM-5) technique. The symbol rate is identical
to that of 100BASE-TX (125 Mbaud) and the noise immunity of the 5-level signaling is
also identical to that of the 3-level signaling in 100BASE-TX, since 1000BASE-T uses 4dimensional trellis coded modulation (TCM) to achieve a 6 dB coding gain across the 4
pairs.

If two gigabit devices are connected through a cable with two pairs only, negotiation takes
place on two pairs only, so the devices successfully choose 'gigabit' as the highest common
denominator (HCD), but the link never comes up. Most gigabit physical devices have a
specific register to diagnose this behaviour. Some drivers offer an "Ethernet@Wirespeed"
option where this situation leads to a slower yet functional connection.[9]
The data is transmitted over four copper pairs, eight bits at a time. First, eight bits of data
are expanded into four 3-bit symbols through a non-trivial scrambling procedure based on a
linear feedback shift register; this is similar to what is done in 100BASE-T2, but uses
different parameters. The 3-bit symbols are then mapped to voltage levels which vary
continuously during transmission. One example mapping is as follows:
Symbol Line signal level
000

001

+1

010

+2

011

100

101

+1

110

111

Automatic MDI/MDI-X Configuration is specified as an optional feature in the 1000BASET standard,[10] meaning that straight-through cables will often work between gigabit-capable
interfaces. This feature eliminates the need for crossover cables, making obsolete the
uplink/normal ports and manual selector switches found on many older hubs and switches
and greatly reducing installation errors.

[edit] 1000BASE-TX

The Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) created and promoted a standard

similar to 1000BASE-T that was simpler to implement, calling it 1000BASE-TX
(TIA/EIA-854).[11] The simplified design would, in theory, have reduced the cost of the
required electronics by only using one pair of wires in each direction. However, this
solution required Category 6 cable and has been a commercial failure, likely due to the
cabling requirement as well as the rapidly falling cost of 1000BASE-T products. Many
1000BASE-T products are advertised as 1000BASE-TX[note 1] due to lack of knowledge that
1000BASE-TX is actually a different standard. The confusion between 1000BASE-T and
1000BASE-TX probably stems from the fact that most popular form of Fast Ethernet (100
Mbit/s) is known as 100BASE-TX, and the fact that many products support multiple speeds
of 10/100/1000Mb/sec and are often promoted as 10/100/1000BASE-TX.[note 2]