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Ethernet is the most widely-installed local area network (
LAN) technology. Specified in a standard, IEEE 802.3, Ethernet was originally developed by Xerox from an earlier specification called Alohanet (for the Palo Alto Research Center Aloha network) and then developed further by Xerox, DEC, and Intel. An Ethernet LAN typically uses coaxial cable or special grades of twisted pair wires. Ethernet is also used in wireless LANs. The most commonly installed Ethernet systems are called 10BASE-T and provide transmission speeds up to 10 Mbps. Devices are connected to the cable and compete for access using a Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Detection (CSMA/CD
) protocol.
Fast Ethernet
or 100BASE-T provides transmission speeds up to 100 megabits per second and is typically used for LAN
backbone
systems, supporting workstations with 10BASE-T cards.
Gigabit Ethernet
provides an even higher level of backbone support at 1000 megabits per second (1 gigabit or 1 billion bits per second).
10-Gigabit Ethernet
provides up to 10 billion bits per second.
Ethernet was named by Robert Metcalfe, one of its developers, for the passive substance called "luminiferous (light-transmitting) ether" that was once thought to pervade the universe, carrying light throughout. Ethernet was so- named to describe the way that cabling, also a passive medium, could similarly carry data everywhere throughout the network.
Last updated on: Nov 06, 2006
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