ETHERNET
Ethernet is a data link protocol operating at the Physical Transport and Data Link Levels of the OSI model (Layers 1 and 2). Ethernet is a Local Area Network originally developed by Xerox, Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) and Intel. Also known as IEEE 802.3, Ethernet allows for connection of network enabled devices over twisted pair, coax or fibre optic cable.
The basic operation of Ethernet is as follows: When a network node is ready to send information, it transmits or broadcasts packets of the data to send onto the network. This is common to all network nodes. All nodes connected to the network then hear or receive the data. The node that matches the destination address in the data packet responds, whilst all the other nodes on the network do not respond.
Ethernet Types.
There are variety of types of Ethernet physical connection types, ranging from copper cable to fibre optic cable. The following provides a brief overview of some of these types:
- 10base2
-10base2, also known as Thin Ethernet, uses a thin co-axial cable. 10base2 operates at up to 10 Mbps, and has a single segment (i.e. no repeaters) range of up to 185 metres.
- 10base5
-10base5, also known as Thick Ethernet, is the original Ethernet standard, and uses a thick co-axial cable. 10base5 operates at up to 10 Mbps, and has a single segment (i.e. no repeaters) range of up to 500 metres.
- 10baseT
-10baseT, is a very popular implementation of Ethernet, which specifies transmission of data over a two-pair (four-wire) Category 5 unshielded twisted pair (UTP) cable. 10baseT transmits at 10Mbps.
- 100baseT
-100baseT, is a very popular implementation of Ethernet, which specifies transmission of data over a two-pair (four-wire) Category 5 unshielded twisted pair (UTP) cable. 100baseT transmits at 100Mbps.