About Fast Ethernet - D-Link DFE-690TXD User Manual

Inside its compact case, the D-Link DFE-690TXD holds an Ethernet controller,
network processing interface, a 68-pin PC Card Standard front-end plug, which
connects to the notebook PC, and a direct port for connecting RJ-45. The DFE-
690TXD requires no pre- installation setup -- simply insert its front end into the
notebook PC's PC-Card slot.
The DFE-690TXD is supplied with an RJ-45 receptacle, which receives the
network cable. The direct port features full LED display for linkage and
activity states, speed and duplex, transmitting and receiving data, and carrier
detection.

About Fast Ethernet

Fast Ethernet is a network technology specified by IEEE Standard 802.3u. It
extends the traditional 10Mbps (10 megabit/sec) Ethernet technology to
achieve 100Mbps (100 megabit/sec) transmission and reception. Because Fast
Ethernet retains the traditional Ethernet CSMA/CD (Carrier Sense, Multiple
Access, and Collision Detect) protocol, it remains wholly compatible with
10Mbps Etherne t while providing a tenfold increase in network capacity.
The Fast Ethernet standard specifies three subtypes, corresponding to three
media types:
§
100Base-TX (using two twisted pairs in EIA 568 Category 5 UTP or
STP cable)
§
100Base-T4 (using four twisted pairs in a Category 3, Category 4, or
Category 5 UTP cable)
§
100Base-FX (using two fiber-optic strands).
The DFE-690TXD provides full-duplex and half-duplex 100Base-TX operation
(in Category 5 twisted-pair cable environments). It does not provide 100Base-
T4 or 100Base-FX operation. To provide for traditional 10Mbps Ethernet
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