100Base-T And 1000Base-T Cables; 8100 Series Fiber Mda Cables; Gbic Cables; Autonegotiation Mode Problems For Passport 8100 Modules - Nortel Passport 8000 Series Installing And Maintaining

92 Chapter 4 Operating the Passport 8000 Series switch

100BASE-T and 1000BASE-T cables

The 100 Mb/s ports and 1 Gb/s ports are designed to operate using Category 5
UTP cabling only. Category 5 UTP cable is a two-pair cable certified to handle up
to 100 Mb/s bandwidth. To minimize crosstalk noise, maintain the twist ratio of
the cable up to the point of termination; untwist at any termination should not
exceed 0.5 in.
(1.27 cm).

8100 Series fiber MDA cables

The 8100 Series fiber MDAs use only multimode 62.5/125 µm fiber cable. The
Nortel Networks 100BASE-FX MDA is not supported on single-mode fiber. SC
connectors are used on 2-port 100BASE-FX MDAs, and MT-RJ connectors are
used on 4-port 100BASE-FX MDAs.

GBIC cables

Cables for the GBICs vary depending on the specific GBIC type. For information
about the cable requirements for GBICs, see Installing GBIC and Gigabit SFP
Transceivers.

Autonegotiation mode problems for Passport 8100 modules

Port connection problems can occur when a port (or station) is connected to
another port (or station) that is not operating in a compatible mode (for example,
connecting a full-duplex port on one station to a half-duplex port on another
station).
The 8100 modules negotiate port speeds according to the IEEE 802.3 Clause 1998
autonegotiating standard. The switch adjusts (autonegotiates) its port speed and
duplex mode to match the best service provided by the connected station, up to
100 Mb/s in full-duplex mode.
The following autonegotiation problems can occur:
• If the connected station uses a form of autonegotiation that is not compatible
with the IEEE 802.3 Clause 1998 autonegotiating standard, the 8100 module
cannot negotiate a compatible mode for correct operation.
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