Table of Contents for Ethernet: The Definitive Guide, 2nd Edition

Part I. Introduction to Ethernet

1. The Evolution of Ethernet . . 3

History of Ethernet 3
The Aloha Network 4
The Invention of Ethernet 4
Reinventing Ethernet 6
Reinventing Ethernet for Twisted-Pair Media 7
Reinventing Ethernet for 100 Mb/s 8
Reinventing Ethernet for 1000 Mb/s 8
Reinventing Ethernet for 10, 40, and 100 Gb/s 9
Reinventing Ethernet for New Capabilities 9
Ethernet Switches 10
The Future of Ethernet 10

2. IEEE Ethernet Standards . . 11

Evolution of the Ethernet Standard 11
Ethernet Media Standards 13
IEEE Supplements 13
Draft Standards 14
Differences Between DIX and IEEE Standards 15
Organization of IEEE Standards 16
The Seven Layers of OSI 16
IEEE Sublayers Within the OSI Model 18
Levels of Compliance 20
The Effect of Standards Compliance 20
IEEE Media System Identifiers 21
10 Megabit per Second (Mb/s) Media Systems 21
100 Mb/s Media Systems 23
1000 Mb/s Media Systems 24
10 Gb/s Media Systems 24
40 Gb/s Media Systems 25
100 Gb/s Media Systems 25

3. The Ethernet System . . . . . 27

The Four Basic Elements of Ethernet 27
The Ethernet Frame 28
The Media Access Control Protocol 30
Hardware 33
Network Protocols and Ethernet 36
Best-Effort Delivery 36
Design of Network Protocols 37
Protocol Encapsulation 38
Internet Protocol and Ethernet Addresses 39
Looking Ahead 41

4. The Ethernet Frame and Full-Duplex Mode. . . . 43

The Ethernet Frame 44
Preamble 46
Destination Address 46
Source Address 48
Q-Tag 48
Envelope Prefix and Suffix 49
Type or Length Field 50
Data Field 51
FCS Field 52
End of Frame Detection 52
Full-Duplex Media Access Control 53
Full-Duplex Operation 53
Effects of Full-Duplex Operation 55
Configuring Full-Duplex Operation 55
Full-Duplex Media Support 56
Full-Duplex Media Segment Distances 56
Ethernet Flow Control 57
PAUSE Operation 58
High-Level Protocols and the Ethernet Frame 60
Multiplexing Data in Frames 60
IEEE Logical Link Control 61
The LLC Sub-Network Access Protocol 62

5. Auto-Negotiation . . . . . . . 63

Development of Auto-Negotiation 64
Auto-Negotiation for Fiber Optic Media 65
Basic Concepts of Auto-Negotiation 65
Auto-Negotiation Signaling 67
FLP Burst Operation 68
Auto-Negotiation Operation 72
Parallel Detection 74
Operation of Parallel Detection 74
Parallel Detection and Duplex Mismatch 75
Auto-Negotiation Completion Timing 76
Auto-Negotiation and Cabling Issues 77
Limiting Ethernet Speed over Category 3 Cable 78
Cable Issues and Gigabit Ethernet Auto-Negotiation 79
Crossover Cables and Auto-Negotiation 79
1000BASE-X Auto-Negotiation 80
Auto-Negotiation Commands 81
Disabling Auto-Negotiation 82
Auto-Negotiation Debugging 82
General Debugging Information 83
Debugging Tools and Commands 84
Developing a Link Configuration Policy 86
Link Configuration Policies for Enterprise Networks 87
Issues with Manual Configuration 87

6. Power Over Ethernet . . . . . 89

Power Over Ethernet Standards 89
Goals of the PoE Standard 90
Devices That May Be Powered Over Ethernet 91
Benefits of PoE 91
PoE Device Roles 92
PoE Type Parameters 93
PoE Operation 94
Power Detection 94
Power Classification 95
Link Power Maintenance 97
Power Fault Monitoring 97
PoE and Cable Pairs 98
PoE and Ethernet Cabling 101
PoE Power Management 102
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PoE Power Requirements 102
PoE Port Management 103
PoE Monitoring and Power Policing 103
Vendor Extensions to the Standard 105
Cisco UPoE 105
Microsemi EEPoE 105
Power over HDBaseT (POH) 105

Part II. Ethernet Media Systems

7. Ethernet Media Signaling and Energy Efficient Ethernet.. . . . 109

Media Independent Interfaces 111
Ethernet PHY Components 112
Ethernet Signal Encoding 113
Baseband Signaling Issues 113
Baseline Wander and Signal Encoding 114
Advanced Signaling Techniques 115
Ethernet Interface 115
Higher-Speed Ethernet Interfaces 116
Energy Efficient Ethernet 117
IEEE EEE Standard 118
EEE Operation 119
Impact of EEE Operation on Latency 121
EEE Power Savings 122

8. 10 Mb/s Ethernet . . . . . . . 125

10BASE-T Media System 125
10BASE-T Ethernet Interface 126
Signal Polarity and Polarity Reversal 126
10BASE-T Signal Encoding 126
10BASE-T Media Components 128
Connecting a Station to 10BASE-T Ethernet 130
10BASE-T Link Integrity Test 130
10BASE-T Configuration Guidelines 131
Fiber Optic Media Systems (10BASE-F) 131
Old and New Fiber Link Segments 132
10BASE-FL Signaling Components 133
10BASE-FL Ethernet Interface 133
10BASE-FL Signal Encoding 133
10BASE-FL Media Components 134
10BASE-FL Fiber Optic Characteristics 134
Alternate 10BASE-FL Fiber Optic Cables 135
Fiber Optic Connectors 135
Connecting a 10BASE-FL Ethernet Segment 136
10BASE-FL Link Integrity Test 136
10BASE-FL Configuration Guidelines 137

9. 100 Mb/s Ethernet . . . . . . 139

100BASE-X Media Systems 139
Fast Ethernet Twisted-Pair Media Systems (100BASE-TX) 140
100BASE-TX Signaling Components 140
100BASE-TX Ethernet Interface 140
100BASE-TX Signal Encoding 141
100BASE-TX Media Components 145
100BASE-TX Link Integrity Test 146
100BASE-TX Configuration Guidelines 146
Fast Ethernet Fiber Optic Media Systems (100BASE-FX) 146
100BASE-FX Signaling Components 147
100BASE-FX Signal Encoding 147
100BASE-FX Media Components 147
100BASE-FX Fiber Optic Characteristics 150
Alternate 100BASE-FX Fiber Optic Cables 150
100BASE-FX Link Integrity Test 150
100BASE-FX Configuration Guidelines 150
Long Fiber Segments 151

10. Gigabit Ethernet . . . . . . . 153

Gigabit Ethernet Twisted-Pair Media Systems (1000BASE-T) 153
1000BASE-T Signaling Components 154
1000BASE-T Signal Encoding 155
1000BASE-T Media Components 158
1000BASE-T Link Integrity Test 159
1000BASE-T Configuration Guidelines 159
Gigabit Ethernet Fiber Optic Media Systems (1000BASE-X) 159
1000BASE-X Signaling Components 160
1000BASE-X Link Integrity Test 160
1000BASE-X Signal Encoding 160
1000BASE-X Media Components 161
1000BASE-X Fiber Optic Specifications 164
1000BASE-SX Loss Budget 164
1000BASE-LX Loss Budget 166
1000BASE-LX/LH Long Haul Loss Budget 166
1000BASE-SX and 1000BASE-LX Configuration Guidelines 167
Differential Mode Delay 167
Mode-Conditioning Patch Cord 168

11. 10 Gigabit Ethernet . . . . . 171

10 Gigabit Standards Architecture 172
10 Gigabit Ethernet Twisted-Pair Media Systems (10GBASE-T) 173
10GBASE-T Signaling Components 174
10GBASE-T Signal Encoding 175
10GBASE-T Media Components 177
10GBASE-T Link Integrity Test 180
10GBASE-T Configuration Guidelines 180
10GBASE-T Short-Reach Mode 181
10GBASE-T Signal Latency 181
10 Gigabit Ethernet Short Copper Cable Media Systems (10GBASE-CX4) 182
10 Gigabit Ethernet Short Copper Direct Attach Cable Media Systems
(10GSFP+Cu) 183
10GSFP+Cu Signaling Components 184
10GSFP+Cu Signal Encoding 186
10GSFP+Cu Link Integrity Test 187
10GSFP+Cu Configuration Guidelines 187
10 Gigabit Ethernet Fiber Optic Media Systems 187
10 Gigabit LAN PHYs 189
10 Gb/s Fiber Optic Media Specifications 191
10 Gigabit WAN PHYs 193

12. 40 Gigabit Ethernet . . . . . 195

Architecture of 40 Gb/s Ethernet 196
PCS Lanes 196
40 Gigabit Ethernet Twisted-Pair Media Systems (40GBASE-T) 201
40 Gigabit Ethernet Short Copper Cable Media Systems (40GBASE-CR4) 202
40GBASE-CR4 Signaling Components 204
40GBASE-CR4 Signal Encoding 205
QSFP+ Connectors and Multiple 10 Gb/s Interfaces 206
40 Gigabit Ethernet Fiber Optic Media Systems 207
40 Gb/s Fiber Optic Media Specifications 211
40GBASE-LR4 Wavelengths 213
40 Gigabit Extended Range 214

13. 100 Gigabit Ethernet . . . . 215

Architecture of 100 Gb/s Ethernet 215
PCS Lanes 216
100 Gigabit Ethernet Twisted-Pair Media Systems 219
100 Gigabit Ethernet Short Copper Cable Media Systems (100GBASE-CR10) 219
100GBASE-CR10 Signal Encoding 222
100 Gigabit Ethernet Fiber Optic Media Systems 223
Cisco CPAK Module for 100 Gigabit Ethernet 224
100 Gb/s Fiber Optic Media Specifications 225

14. 400 Gigabit Ethernet . . . . 231

400 Gb/s Ethernet Study Group 232
400 Gb/s Standardization 232
Proposed 400 Gb/s Operation 232

Part III. Building an Ethernet System

15. Structured Cabling . . . . . 237

Structured Cabling Systems 238
The ANSI/TIA/EIA Cabling Standards 239
Solving the Problems of Proprietary Cabling Systems 239
ISO and TIA Standards 240
The ANSI/TIA Structured Cabling Documents 240
Elements of the Structured Cabling Standards 241
Star Topology 242
Twisted-Pair Categories 244
Minimum Cabling Recommendation 246
Ethernet and the Category System 246
Horizontal Cabling 247
Horizontal Channel and Basic Link 248
Cabling and Component Specifications 249
Category 5 and 5e Cable Testing and Mitigation 250
Cable Administration 250
Identifying Cables and Components 251
Class 1 Labeling Scheme 251
Documenting the Cabling System 253
Building the Cabling System 253
Cabling System Challenges 254

16. Twisted-Pair Cables and Connectors. . . 257

Horizontal Cable Segment Components 257
Twisted-Pair Cables 258
Twisted-Pair Cable Signal Crosstalk 260
Twisted-Pair Cable Construction 260
Twisted-Pair Installation Practices 263
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Eight-Position (RJ45-Style) Jack Connectors 264
Four-Pair Wiring Schemes 265
Tip and Ring 265
Color Codes 265
Wiring Sequence 266
Modular Patch Panels 269
Work Area Outlets 270
Twisted-Pair Patch Cables 270
Twisted-Pair Patch Cable Quality 270
Telephone-Grade Patch Cables 271
Twisted-Pair Ethernet and Telephone Signals 272
Equipment Cables 272
50-Pin Connectors and 25-Pair Cables 273
25-Pair Cable Harmonica Connectors 273
Building a Twisted-Pair Patch Cable 273
Installing an RJ45 Plug 274
Ethernet Signal Crossover 278
10BASE-T and 100BASE-T Crossover Cables 279
Four-Pair Crossover Cables 280
Auto-Negotiation and MDIX Failures 281
Identifying a Crossover Cable 282

17. Fiber Optic Cables and Connectors. . . . 283

Fiber Optic Cable 283
Fiber Optic Core Diameters 284
Fiber Optic Modes 285
Fiber Optic Bandwidth 286
Fiber Optic Loss Budget 287
Fiber Optic Connectors 289
ST Connectors 289
SC Connectors 290
LC Connectors 290
MPO Connectors 291
Building Fiber Optic Cables 292
Fiber Optic Color Codes 293
Signal Crossover in Fiber Optic Systems 294
Signal Crossover in MPO Cables 294

Part IV. Ethernet Switches and Network Design

18. Ethernet Switches . . . . . . 299

Basic Switch Functions 300
Bridges and Switches 300
What Is a Switch? 301
Operation of Ethernet Switches 301
Address Learning 303
Traffic Filtering 305
Frame Flooding 306
Broadcast and Multicast Traffic 306
Combining Switches 308
Forwarding Loops 308
The Spanning Tree Protocol 309
Switch Performance Issues 316
Packet Forwarding Performance 316
Switch Port Memory 317
Switch CPU and RAM 317
Switch Specifications 317
Basic Switch Features 321
Switch Management 321
Packet Mirror Ports 322
Switch Traffic Filters 322
Virtual LANs 323
802.1Q Multiple Spanning Tree Protocol 325
Quality of Service (QoS) 326

19. Network Design with Ethernet Switches . . . . 327

Advantages of Switches in Network Designs 327
Improved Network Performance 327
Switch Hierarchy and Uplink Speeds 329
Uplink Speeds and Traffic Congestion 330
Multiple Conversations 331
Switch Traffic Bottlenecks 332
Hierarchical Network Design 333
Network Resiliency with Switches 336
Spanning Tree and Network Resiliency 337
Routers 339
Operation and Use of Routers 339
Routers or Bridges? 340
Special-Purpose Switches 342
Multilayer Switches 342
Access Switches 343
Stacking Switches 343
Industrial Ethernet Switches 344
Wireless Access Point Switches 344
Internet Service Provider Switches 345
Metro Ethernet 345
Data Center Switches 346
Advanced Switch Features 349
Traffic Flow Monitoring 349
sFlow and NetFlow 349
Power over Ethernet 350

Part V. Performance and Troubleshooting

20. Ethernet Performance . . 353

Performance of an Ethernet Channel 354
Performance of Half-Duplex Ethernet Channels 354
Persistent Myths About Half-Duplex Ethernet Performance 354
Simulations of Half-Duplex Ethernet Channel Performance 357
Measuring Ethernet Performance 360
Measurement Time Scale 361
Data Throughput Versus Bandwidth 364
Network Design for Best Performance 367
Switches and Network Bandwidth 367
Growth of Network Bandwidth 368
Changes in Application Requirements 368
Designing for the Future 369

21. Network Troubleshooting. . . . . . . . . . . 371

Reliable Network Design 372
Network Documentation 373
Equipment Manuals 374
System Monitoring and Baselines 374
The Troubleshooting Model 375
Fault Detection 377
Gathering Information 378
Fault Isolation 378
Determining the Network Path 379
Duplicating the Symptom 379
Binary Search Isolation 380
Troubleshooting Twisted-Pair Systems 381
Twisted-Pair Troubleshooting Tools 381
Common Twisted-Pair Problems 381
Troubleshooting Fiber Optic Systems 385
Fiber Optic Troubleshooting Tools 385
Common Fiber Optic Problems 386
Data Link Troubleshooting 387
Collecting Data Link Information 387
Collecting Information with Probes 388
Network-Layer Troubleshooting 388

Part VI. Appendixes

A. Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . 393

B. Half-Duplex Operation with CSMA/CD. . 403

C. External Transceivers . . . . 427

Glossary. 449

Index. . . 463