Chapter 1. The Evolution of Ethernet
Ethernet is by far the most widely used local area networking (LAN) technology in the world today. Market surveys indicate that hundreds of millions of Ethernet network interface cards (NICs), repeater ports, and switching hub ports have been sold to date, and the market continues to grow. In total, Ethernet outsells all other LAN technologies by a very large margin.
Ethernet reached its 25th birthday in 1998, and has seen many changes as computer technology evolved over the years. Ethernet has been constantly reinvented, evolving new capabilities and in the process growing to become the most popular network technology in the world.
This chapter describes the invention of Ethernet, and the development and organization of the Ethernet standard. Along the way we provide a brief tour of the entire set of Ethernet media systems.
History of Ethernet
On May 22, 1973, Bob Metcalfe (then at the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center, PARC, in California) wrote a memo describing the Ethernet network system he had invented for interconnecting advanced computer workstations, making it possible to send data to one another and to high-speed laser printers. Probably the best-known invention at Xerox PARC was the first personal computer workstation with graphical user interfaces and mouse pointing device, called the Xerox Alto. The PARC inventions also included the first laser printers for personal computers, and, with the creation of Ethernet, the first high-speed ...
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