Introduction

The EISA 10/100Base-TX/9000 product provides the means for interfacing various types of HP 9000 Series 700 and 800 computers to either a 10Base-T or 100Base-TX network.

100Base-TX is a subset of 100Base-T networking defined by the IEEE 802.3u-1995 standard. 100Base-TX provides 100 Mbit/s data transmission over category 5 unshielded twisted-par (UTP) cable. Two pairs of wires in the cable are used--one wire pair is for receiving data, and one wire pair is for transmitting data. The same card port that supports 100Base-TX operation can also support 10Base-T operation.

IEEE 802.3u 100Base-TX LANs have topologies very similar to 10Base-T LANs; however certain aspects of the topology such as the maximum permitted cable lengths are more stringent for 100Base-TX than for 10Base-T. The category 5 UTP cable used in 100Base-TX networks between devices such as an HP computer and a 100Base-TX hub must be less than 100 meters long.

For more information on network topologies and associated specifications for 100Base-TX networking, refer to the IEEE 802.3u specification. Also, a useful practical reference is Fast Ethernet, Dawn of a New Network by Howard W. Johnson (published 1996 by Prentice Hall PTR, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458. Phone 800-382-3419. The ISBN number is 0-13-352643-7).