Definition

Gigabit Ethernet

Gigabit Ethernet, a transmission technology based on the Ethernet frame format and protocol used in local area networks (LANs), provides a data rate of 1 billion bits per second (one gigabit). Gigabit Ethernet is defined in the IEEE 802.3 standard and is currently being used as the backbone in many enterprise networks.

Gigabit Ethernet is carried primarily on optical fiber (with very short distances possible on copper media). Existing Ethernet LANs with 10 and 100 Mbps cards can feed into a Gigabit Ethernet backbone. An alternative technology that competes with Gigabit Ethernet is ATM. A newer standard, 10-Gigabit Ethernet, is also becoming available.

Related glossary terms: MDI/MDIX (medium dependent interface/MDI crossover), 802.3, Ethernet Glossary, Quad FastEthernet (QFE), 10BASE-2, coaxial cable (illustrated), Power over Ethernet (PoE), Ethernet point-of-presence (EPOP), DVMRP (Distance Vector Multicast Routing Protocol), 1000BASE-T

This was last updated in April 2007

Posted by: Margaret Rouse

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