This white paper discusses Gigabit Ethernet and 10 Gigabit Ethernet cabling solutions. It describes the fiber optic and copper cabling options for 1GbE and 10GbE networks, including cable types, connectors, and transceivers. It explains that single mode and multi-mode fiber cables can support distances from hundreds of meters to tens of kilometers for both 1GbE and 10GbE, while copper solutions like Cat5/6 can provide shorter connections up to 100 meters. Transceivers like SFP, SFP+, and XFP are used to connect the different cable types to networking equipment.

1. WHITE PAPER
Fiberstore White Paper | Gigabit Ethernet Cabling Solution 1
Born in the 1970s, Ethernet technology has continually evolved in order to meet the never-ending
requirement for faster rates of data transmission. Through this ongoing evolution, it has matured
into the foremost technology standard for local area networks (LANs) as newer, higher performing
iterations, such as 1 Gigabit Ethernet and 10 Gigabit Ethernet. There is a variety of types of cables
available for making Ethernet connections at speeds of 1 Gigabit and 10 Gigabit per second. This
paper provides a brief introduction to these two types of high speed Ethernet cabling solution, 1
Gigabit Ethernet cabling and 10 Gigabit Ethernet cabling.
1 Gigabit Ethernet Cabling
When planning 1 Gigabit Ethernet cabling infrastructure, generally you have two choices: fiber optic
or copper. Both offer superior data transmission. From the aspects of fiber cabling choices and
copper cabling choices, solutions to 1 Gigabit Ethernet cabling are introduced as follows.
Fiber Cabling Choices
There are two common types of fiber cable available for 1 Gigabit Ethernet, single mode and
multi-mode. Both cables provide high bandwidth at high speeds. There are a few other possibilities
for range, mode, and wavelength, but the following two are predominate.
 Short Range: SR—for connections of up to 550 meters in length.
 Long Range: LR—for connections of up to 10 KM in length.
Fiber optic cable itself and connectors are used for fiber cabling. There are multiple choices for
cable type and connector type. Multi-mode fibers and single mode fibers require different
connectors. And optical fiber connections are constructed with a combination of a transceiver. The
transceiver accepts digital signals from the Ethernet device and converts them to optical signals for
transmission over the fiber. SFP (small form factor pluggable transceiver) is the most common type
of transceiver used in 1 Gigabit Ethernet connections. The following is a picture of SFP transceiver
modules.
Gigabit Ethernet
Cabling Solution

2. WHITE PAPER
Fiberstore White Paper | Gigabit Ethernet Cabling Solution 2
Copper Cabling Choices
For 1 Gigabit Ethernet cabling, category 5 cable, commonly referred to as cat5, is a common choice.
The cable standard provides performance of up to 100 MHz and is suitable for Gigabit Ethernet.
Most cat5 cables are unshielded twisted pair cables, relying on the balanced line twisted pair design
and differential signaling for noise rejection. Cat5e, an enhanced version of the category 5
specification was introduced several years ago. Cables of up to 100 meters in length can be used.
RJ45 copper SFP transceiver module (Mini-GBIC) is built to offer a cost-effective way to add, replace
or upgrade a copper Ethernet port on your networking equipment.
10 Gigabit Ethernet Cabling
10 Gigabit Ethernet cabling is very similar to 1 Gigabit Ethernet cabling. Solutions to 10 Gigabit
Ethernet cabling are also introduced in fiber cabling choices and copper cabling choices.
Fiber Cabling Choices
For 10 Gigabit Ethernet cabling, the fiber options are very similar to 1 Gigabit Ethernet cabling. But
the range is less due to the higher speed. In general, there are three distance ranges.
 Short Range: SR—for connections of up to 300 meters in length.
 Long Range: LR—for connections of up to 2,000 meters in length.
 Extended Range: ER—for connections of up to 10,000 meters (10 KM) in length.
The transceivers for 10 Gigabit Ethernet cabling are somewhat different. XFP or SFP+ transceivers
are used to connect these 10 Gigabit Ethernet cables. The connector type itself defines the
mechanical specifications of the fiber-to-transceiver interface. Thus one could have an XFP
transceiver on one end of a 10 Gigabit fiber cable and an SFP+ transceiver on the other end. As long
as the cable type and connector type match there is no problem. The following is a picture of XFP
transceiver module.

3. WHITE PAPER
Fiberstore White Paper | Gigabit Ethernet Cabling Solution 3
Copper Cabling Choices
As switching standards mature and copper cabling standards catch up, the use of copper cabling for
10GbE is becoming more common. Currently, there are two different copper cabling technologies
for 10 Gigabit Ethernet, each with different price and performance capabilities.
10GBase-CX4, published in 2004, was the first 10 Gigabit Ethernet copper standard. CX4 was
relatively economical and allowed for very low latency. It uses a coaxial copper cable and can
support cable lengths of up to 15 meters. Its disadvantage was a too-large form factor for high
density port counts in aggregation switches.
10GBase-T was released in 2006 to run 10 Gigabit Ethernet over cat6a and cat7 copper cabling up to
100 meters. While promising, 10GBase-T still needs technology improvements to lower its cost,
power consumption, and latency. Like copper cabling choices for 1 Gigabit Ethernet, 10GBase-T still
uses RJ45 copper transceiver to provide reliable connections.
Conclusion
Just as there are many manifestations of 1 Gigabit Ethernet and 10 Gigabit Ethernet standards to
suit various networking environments, there are also many copper and fiber cabling technologies to
support them. Companies must have a solid understanding of not only their environment and need,
but also the different standards and cabling technologies available to them. Doing so will help them
develop a sound migration and cabling strategy.

4. WHITE PAPER
Fiberstore White Paper | Gigabit Ethernet Cabling Solution 4
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Notice: This document is for informational purposes only and does not set forth any warranty, expressed or
implied, concerning any equipment, equipment features, or service offered or to be offered by Fiberstore.
Fiberstore reserves the right to make changes to this document at any time, without notice, and assumes no
responsibility for its use. This information document describes features that may not be currently available.
Contact a Fiberstore sales team for information on feature and product availability.
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