Customers setting up a communication system have many choices of interface technologies. This table illustrated here shows the key parameters and characteristics for RS-232, RS-422, RS-485, Profibus, and Ethernet 10/100 Base T standards. For short distances and slower speeds, RS-232 is sufficient due to its single ended signaling and high voltage swing. RS-422, RS-485, and Profibus share similar characteristics, and differ in just a few parameters. All are capable of multi-drop bus or network. RS-422 standard calls out for one transmitter and ten receivers, while RS-485 and Profibus standard calls out for thirty-two transmitters and thirty-two receivers. The suppliers offer RS-422, 485, and Profibus transceivers capable of having a total two hundred fifty six nodes in one network. All three have a max distance of 4000 feet or 1200 meters and despite being specified at 10 Mbps max data rate at 50 feet, many are faster, even up to 42 Mbps. While Ethernet has faster bandwidth, the RS-422, RS-485, and Profibus standards are better suited for applications where greater than 100 meter distance, or robust communication in electrically noisy environments like factory and process automation are required.