The difference between 100mb/s (fast Ethernet) and 1000mb/s (gigabit) network cards

Fast Ethernet cards connect to networks at a rate of 100 Mbps while Gigabit network cards can connect at speeds up to 1000mb/s. The main difference between the two is speed. A fast Ethernet card can run on bandwidths at 100mb/s while a gigabit Ethernet can run at ten times that speed. However, the existence of FDDIs around made this technology more like a stepping stone to something better – enter the gigabit card. Gigabit networks are made to run the best at Layer 3 switching meaning it has more route functionality than the 100mbs fast Ethernet.

Gigabit Ethernet is backwards compatible meaning that it will support all current applications and requires a minimum of new learning. This goes just the same with the fast Ethernet, fast Ethernet can use 10/100 Mbps and gigabit can run on networks 10/100/1000 Mbps. Hence both cards are basically the same using the same technology except the gigabit card can run on 1000mb/s, an astonishing speed.

Article written by MyComputerAid.com

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