10BaseT

10BaseT
10BaseT
stands for 10 million bits per second (Mbps), baseband technology, twisted-pair. This
Ethernet technology has the highest installed base of any network in the world. It runs the carrier
sense multiple access collision detection (CSMA/CD) protocol and, if correctly installed, is
an efficient network. However, if it gets too large and the network is not segmented correctly,
problems occur. It is important to understand collision and broadcast domains and how to correctly
design the network with switches and routers.
Using 10BaseT at the Access Layer
10BaseT Ethernet is typically used only at the access layer, and even then, FastEthernet (100BaseT)
is quickly replacing it as the prices for 100BaseT continue to drop. It would be poor design to place
10BaseT at the distribution or core layers. You need transits that are much faster than 10BaseT at
these layers to aggregate user traffic.
Distance
The distance that 10BaseT can run and be within specification is 100 meters (330 feet). The
100 meters includes the following:

5 meters from the switch to the patch panel

90 meters from the patch panel to the office punch-down block

5 meters from the punch-down block to the desktop connection
This doesn’t mean that you can’t run more than 100 meters on a cable run; it just is not guaranteed
to work.