Ethernet Media Standards and Distances
Reference chart for common ethernet media types. Most of the distances listed are average. Quality fiber and quality vendor optics can typically perform better. This chart is not an exclusive list, and is notably missing WAN PHY and special CWDM and DWDM optics now commonly available.
10/100/1000 on Copper
| Standard | Media | distance | notes |
|---|
| 10BASE-T | Cat-3 (2 pair) | 100m | |
| 100BASE-T | Cat-5 (2 pair) | 100m | |
| 1000BASE-T | Cat-5 (4 pair) | 100m | Cat-5e recommended |
100 Mbit Fiber
| Standard | Media | distance | wavelength |
|---|
| 100BASE-FX | 62.5µm MMF | 2km | 1300nm |
Gigabit Fiber
| Standard | Media | distance | wavelength | notes |
|---|
| 1000BASE-SX | 62.5µm MMF | 220m | 850nm | |
| 1000BASE-SX | 50µm MMF | 500m | 850nm | |
| 1000BASE-LX | 62.5µm MMF | 550m | 1310nm | requires launch conditioning |
| 1000BASE-LX | 50µm MMF | 550m | 1310nm | requires launch conditioning |
| 1000BASE-LX/LH | SMF | 10km | 1310nm | typical distance |
| 1000BASE-ZX | SMF | 70km | 1550nm | not standardized |
10 Gigabit Fiber
| Standard | Media | distance | wavelength | notes |
|---|
| 10GBASE-SR | 62.5µm MMF | 26m-82m | 850nm | |
| 10GBASE-LRM | 62.5µm MMF | 220m | 1310nm | |
| 10GBASE-LX4 | 62.5µm MMF | 300m | 1300nm CWDM | |
| 10GBASE-SR | 50µm OM3 | 300m | 850nm | |
| 10GBASE-LRM | 50µm OM3 | 260m | 1310nm | |
| 10GBASE-LX4 | 50µm OM3 | 300m | 1300nm CWDM | |
| 10GBASE-LR | SMF | 10km | 1310nm | known to do ~15km |
| 10GBASE-LX4 | SMF | 10km | 1300nm CWDM | |
| 10GBASE-ER | SMF | 40km | 1550nm | |
| 10GBASE-ZR | SMF | 80-120km | 1550nm | not standardized, be careful about chromatic dispersion penalty |
10 Gigabit Copper
| Standard | Media | distance | notes |
|---|
| 10GBASE-CX4 | Cat-5e | 15m | 802.3ap |
| 10GBASE-T | Cat-6 Unshielded | 55m | 802.3an |
| 10GBASE-T | Cat-6 Shielded | 100m | 802.3an |
| 10GBASE-T | Cat-6a | 100m | 802.3an |
| 10GBASE-T | Cat-7 | 100m | 802.3an |
| SFP+ Direct Attach | twin-ax | 1-10m | |
40 Gigabit
| 40GBASE-CR4 | Cat-7? | 10m | 802.3ba |
| 40GBASE-SR4 | OM3 MMF | 100m | 850nm |
| 40GBASE-SR4 | OM4 MMF | 125m | |
| 40GBASE-LR4 | SMF | 10km | (4) 10G ~1310nm waves |
100 Gigabit
| Standard | Media | distance | notes |
|---|
| 100GBASE-CR10 | Cat-7? | 10m | 802.3ba |
| 100GBASE-SR10 | OM3 MMF | 100m | 850nm |
| 100GBASE-SR10 | OM4 MMF | 125m | |
| 100GBASE-LR4 | SMF | 10km | (4) 25G ~1310nm waves |
| 100GBASE-ER4 | SMF | 40km | (4) 25G ~1310nm waves |
