How computing devices access the network cable and send data is known as the media access method. There are four commonly used media access methods: Ethernet, Token Ring, Local Talk, and FDDI.

Ethernet

• most popular media access method
• use access method called CSMA/CD (Carrier Sense Multiple Access/Collision Detection)
• allow for linear bus, star, or tree topologies
• transmit data over UTP, thin-coaxial, thick-coaxial and fiber optic cables at rates of 10 Mbps
• Fast Ethernet supports 100 Mbps, but requires faster hubs and network interface cards

Token Ring

• developed by IBM in the mid 1980s
• use a star-wired ring topology over shielded and unshielded twisted-pair wiring
• a central hub (referred to as a "MAU" Mutlistation Access Unit) is at the center of the ring
• Two versions of Token Ring: 4 Mbps and 16 Mbps
• use a token passing process to circulate packets around the ring.
• more expensive than Ethernet
• good option for PC networks

Local Talk

• developed by Apple Computer, Inc. for Macintosh computers
• best suited to small networks of Macs
• allow for linear bus, star, or tree topologies using twisted pair cable
• up to 32 devices (computers, printers, and file server)
• slow, data transmits at only 230 Kbps
• use the CSMA/CA (Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Avoidance) process for transmitting data. CSMA/CA is similar to CSMA/CD
• single network can be up to 1,000 feet (305 meters)
  

FDDI (Fiber Distributed Data Interface)

• ANSI standard
• use fiber optics for speeds of up to 100 Mbps
• use primarily to interconnect two or more LANs, often over long distances
• also employ Token Ring passing process to transmit data; but use a dual counter-rotating ring topology, meaning there are two rings of cable with two tokens circulating in opposite directions
• use a token passing process to circulate packets around the ring