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.
1000baseT
- 1000baseT, is becoming the latest mainstream implementation of Ethernet, and specifies transmission of data over a two-pair (four-wire) Category 5 unshielded twisted pair (UTP) cable. 1000baseT transmits at 1000 Megabits per second (1000 Mbps) / 1 Gigabits per second (1 Gbps)
10 GigE
- 10 GigE, is mainly used in server farms at the moment, due to the cost of the hardware. 10GigE transmits at 10 Gigabits per second (10 Gbps)
40 GigE
- 40 GigE, is mainly used in high end server farms at the moment, due to the cost of the hardware. 40GigE transmits at 40 Gigabits per second (40 Gbps)
100 GigE
- 100 GigE, is again mainly used in high end server farms at the moment, due to the cost of the hardware. 100 GigE transmits at 100 Gigabits per second (100 Gbps)
400 GigE
- 400 GigE, has been proposed as an intermediate step between 100GigE and 1 Terabit Ethernet (1 TbE). 400GigE would transmit at 400 Gigabits per second (400 Gbps)
1 TbE
- 1 TbE, has been proposed as the next possible step beyond 100 GigE, although 400 GigE may be a step in between. 1 TbE would transmit at 1 Terabits per second (1 Tbps)
100 TbE
- 100 TbE, has even been proposed as a step beyond 1 TbE. With the ever increasing requirements for more data being transmitted, especially with TV standards already looking at 8K Ultra Hi Definition, and even a 16K cinema definition being talked about, it would seem the requirements for ever greater data transmission rates is not likely to subside any time soon. 100 TbE would transmit at 100 Terabits per second (100 Tbps)