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Ethernet Cabling
You can use a variety of cables to implement Ethernet networks. Many of these cable types—Thinnet, Thicknet, UTP—are described in Chapter 3. Ethernet networks traditionally have used coaxial cables of several different types. Fiber-optic cables now are frequently employed to extend the geographic range of Ethernet networks.

The contemporary interest in using twisted-pair wiring has resulted in a scheme for cabling that uses unshielded twisted-pair (UTP): the 10BASE-T cabling standard, which uses UTP in a star physical topology. (10BASE-T is discussed later in this chapter.)

Ethernet remains closely associated with coaxial cable. Two types of coaxial cable still used in small and large environments are Thinnet (10BASE2) and Thicknet (10BASE5). Thinnet and Thicknet Ethernet networks have different limitations that are based on the Thinnet and Thicknet cable specifications. The best way to remember the requirements is to use the 5-4-3 rule of thumb for each cable type.

The 5-4-3 rule (see Figure 4.8) states that the following can appear between any two nodes in the Ethernet network: