What is a Gigabit Ethernet connection and what is it for?

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Today we show you what a Gigabit Ethernet connection is and what it is for. The important thing is to have our PCs and devices connected by cable instead of a wireless connection, although the latter is getting better and better and has evolved a lot this decade. Don't miss our article!


What is a Gigabit Ethernet connection?

Gigabit Ethernet is a version of Ethernet technology widely used in local area networks (LAN) to transmit 1 Gbps Ethernet frames or frames. It is used as the backbone in many networks, particularly those of large organizations.

Gigabit Ethernet is an extension of the previous 10 Mbps and 100 Mbps 802.3 Ethernet standards. It supports a 1,000 Mbps bandwidth and maintains full compatibility with the base of around 100 million installed Ethernet nodes.

When it was first developed, some thought that achieving Gigabit speeds with Ethernet would require the use of fiber optics or other special network cable technology. However, that is only necessary for long distances.

Gigabit Ethernet often uses fiber optic connection to transmit information at very high speed over long distances. For short distances, copper cables and twisted pair connections are used (specifically, the CAT5e and CAT6 cabling standards) similar to the older and more widely used 100 / 1000Mbps Fast Ethernet (which works from CAT5 cables).

The first Gigabit Ethernet standard
The Gigabit Ethernet standard was developed by Dr. Robert Metcalf and introduced by Intel, Digital, and Xerox in the early 1970s. It quickly became a larger LAN technology system for sharing information and data around the world. In 1998, the first Gigabit Ethernet standard, called 802.3z, was certified by the IEEE 802.3 Committee.

Ethernet saw the light of day to users in 1980, and at that time it had a maximum throughput of 10 megabits per second. 15 years passed and in 1995 an Ethernet upgrade was released, which they called “Fast Ethernet” (also known as “10/100”), which offered a performance of 100 megabits per second.

You cannot usually tell just by looking at the physical device if it supports Gigabit Ethernet. Network devices provide the same type of RJ-45 connection whether their Ethernet ports support 10/100 (Fast) or 10/100/1000 (Gigabit) connections.

Network cables often have information about the standards they support screen printed. These markings help confirm whether a cable is capable of operating at Gigabit Ethernet speeds, but they do not indicate whether the network is actually configured to operate at that speed.

To check the speed of an active network connection, open the connection settings on the client device.

In Microsoft Windows, for example, go to the Network and Sharing Center window> Change adapter settings. From there, you can right-click on a connection to see its status.

Slow devices connected to Gigabit Ethernet
What if your device only supports, for example, 100Mbps Ethernet but you connect it to a Gigabit compatible port? Does this instantly upgrade the device to use Gigabit?

No, he does not do it. All broadband routers (for many years now) support Gigabit Ethernet along with other mainstream computer networking equipment, but Gigabit Ethernet also supports older 100Mbps and 10Mbps Ethernet devices.
 
2 comments
Thank you, very nice post
Post automatically merged:

What its the real diference of 1Gbits and 1 gbps ? because im confuse...
 
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