Ethernet for Not Yet Techies

Ethernet is the earliest network standard. Ethernet dates back to when people first started using cable to hook computers up to each other, in the late 60s.

That by itself gives you a good general idea. Ethernet is simple in basic concept although extremely detailed in execution. It specifies what kind of cables can be used, how far apart workstations must be, how long the cable can be, and a lot of other details you will need to learn if you plan to obtain any kind of networking certification. It is simply a set of standards.

Ethernet works on the Physical and Data Link layers of the OSI model, though you probably know that already if you know what the OSI model is.

It's just a basic description of the layers a network consists of, from one computer to the other.

Ethernet is defined by the 802.3 specification of the International Electrical Engineering (IEEE).

After Xerox brought it out in 1975, they teamed with Intel and Digital Equipment Corp to develop it further, so it's now called the DIX standard, after the initials of those three companies. It is distinguished by its ease of installation and is relatively inexpensive. remains the most popular network standard and architecture.

There are others, however, including Token Ring and ARCnet.

Ethernet arranges workstations one after the other, connected by cables so that a diagram of the network shows a straight line. This is known as bus topology.

The network address for Network Interface Cards (NIC) is burned into the card during the manufacturing process.

Ethernet currently uses four types of cable:

• 10Base5 -- Thicknext coaxial cable
• 10Base2 -- Thinnet coaxial cable
• 10BaseT -- Unshielded Twisted Pair Cable
• 10BaseF -- Fiber Optic

The flow of information is governed by the CSMA/CD standard. This stands for Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Detection. This means that before your computer transmits your email to a coworker, it checks the network to make sure that it's not already busy with other work. It holds off transmitting until the wires are quiet, just as you (hopefully) don't pull out into a busy street until there's a gap in the traffic.

Ethernet's standard transmission speed has been 10 megabytes by second (Mbps) for many years. That is still the speed of most Ethernet networks. However some newer networks are implementing Fast Ethernet using 100BaseT cable.

Beyond that is Gigabyte Ethernet. This will transmit data at the speed of 1000 Mbps. IEEE specification is 802.32.

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