In the above network network diagram you can see different colours for the different speed interconnection technologies.
| Colour | Name | Copper | Fibre |
| Yellow | Ethernet | 10BaseT | - |
| Light Blue | Fast Ethernet | 100BaseT | 100BaseFX |
| Green | Gigabit Ethernet | 1000BaseT | 1000BaseSX/LX |
| Red | 10-Gigabit Ethernet | - | 10GBaseSR/LX4/LR/ER |
| Black | EtherChannel | 100/0BaseT | - |
Fast Ethernet operates at 100-Mbps over twisted pair cable. The LAN specification is IEEE 802.3u. Often used to connect end-user devices to the access layer switch.
Gigabit Ethernet operates at 1000-Mbps (1-Gbps) over twisted pair cable and fibre. The LAN specification is IEEE 802.3ab and fibre IEEE 802.3z. High Speed LAN backbones connecting building distribution switches to the campus backbone switches.
10-Gigabit Ethernet operates at 10-Gbps over fibre. Very high speed LAN backbone and link aggregation. Still a new technology still awaiting large scale commercial adoption.
EtherChannel is the feature of link aggregation of bandwidth over layer-2 links between two switches. EtherChannel bundles ports into a single logical port or link providing aggregate of up to 1600 Mbps (8×100Mbps full duplex links) or 16Gbps (8 x 1-Gigabit full duplex links).
Notes and Notices:
This is a part of my personal BCMSN notes and research to assist myself in learning and understanding the concepts and theory for the BCMSN exam. I learn by making notes reading and writing things down and wish to file them where I can’t lose them. These notes are not to be seen, judged or mistaken for replacements to Cisco recognized and authorized training which I personally support and attend and suggest you undertake if you are going for the BCMSN Certification.