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Networking Fundamentals · Foundational

Ethernet Naming Convention

The IEEE format rate-BASE-medium (for example 1000BASE-T) that describes an Ethernet physical layer.

Definition

The first number is the speed in Mbps (or G for Gbps), BASE means baseband signaling, and the suffix identifies media or reach: T twisted pair, SX/SR short-reach multimode fiber, LX/LR long-reach single-mode, ER extended reach, CR copper twinax. A digit after the suffix often indicates lanes, as in 40GBASE-SR4.

Example

10GBASE-LR is 10 Gbps baseband over long-reach single-mode fiber.

Exam tip

Decode by parts: T = copper twisted pair, S = short (multimode), L = long (single-mode).

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