Multi-Gigabit - ZyXEL Communications XS3800-28 User Manual

Chapter 1 Getting to Know Your Switch
Switch Application
Fig ure 1
1.1.1 Multi- G ig a b it
A 10 Gigabit port supports speeds of 10 Gbps if the connected device supports 10 Gbps and a Cat 6a
(up to 100 m) or Cat 6 cable (up to 50 m) is used. The speed drops to 1G if these criteria are not met; it
drops to 100 Mbps if a Cat 5 cable is used (up to 100 m).
If a network device such as a 5G network card, gaming computer, server, Network Attached Storage
(NAS) or Access Point (AP) only supports 2.5 Gigabit or 5 Gigabit connectivity, then the maximum speed
potential of these devices is never reached.
In addition, at the time of writing, most existing cabling is Cat 5e or Cat 6, further limiting maximum
speed or distance potential.
Multi-Gigabit (IEEE 802.3bz) solves these problems by additionally supporting 2.5 Gigabit and 5 Gigabit
Ethernet connections over Cat 5e and higher Ethernet cables. Multi-Gigabit ports are also backward
compatible with 100 Mbps and 1 Gigabit ports.
XS3800-28 User's Guide
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