10/100/1000Base-T Nics - 3Com EtherLink 3C985B-SX Installation And User Manual

2 Installing the NIC Hardware

10/100/1000Base-T NICs

The NIC has one RJ-45 connector used for attaching the system to an Ethernet copper-wire segment. When link
negotiation is disabled, the port supports 10Mbps, 100Mbps, or 1000Mbps signaling and either half-duplex or
full-duplex operation.
1 Prepare an appropriate cable.
The following table lists the cable characteristics for connecting to 10/100/1000Base-T ports:
Port Type
10Base-T
100/1000Base-T
NOTE: 1000Base-T signaling requires four twisted pairs of Category 5 balanced cabling, as specified in
ISO/IEC 11801:1995 and ANSI/EIA/TIA-568-A (1995) and tested using procedures defined in TIA/EIA TSB95.
2 Connect one end of the cable to the NIC.
3 Connect the other end of the cable to an RJ-45 Ethernet network port.
Attach the cable connector so that the Tx (transmit) port on the NIC is connected to the RX (receive) port of
the device at the other end of the cable.
NOTE: The NIC port LEDs are not functional (they will not reflect port link or data status) until the NIC driver
software is installed. See the table for the 10/100/1000Base-T NIC in "Physical Description" on page 9 for a
description of NIC port LED operation. See Chapter 3 for driver installation and configuration instructions.
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Connector Media
RJ-45 Cat. 3, 4, or 5 UTP
RJ-45 Cat. 5 UTP
Maximum Distance
100 meters (325 feet)
100 meters (325 feet)