Maturing technologies for implementing a LAN include fiber optics and infrared. Fiber optic cable is significantly superior to both twisted pair and coax in data-carrying capacity, immunity from electrical interference, and transmission distance. Since it does not radiate a signal outside its cable, fiber optics is the most secure type of electrical medium currently available. The major disadvantages of fiber optics is its significantly higher cost and skill required to install and implement. Each workstation sends and receives data over a single communication medium, i.e., the network cable.
Protocols are the methods used to manage the network's communication traffic.
When two or more workstations transmit simultaneously, each workstation detects the collision, stops transmitting, waits a predetermined length of time, listens for a clear channel, and retransmits. However, as network communication increases, its efficiency deteriorates, i.e., more and more time is spent recovering from data collisions. Token passing sends a stream of data along with a token, a series of bits recognized by each workstation. Only the workstation with the token is permitted to transmit. Consequently, it is more efficient under heavy data communication loads.