Ethernet: The Definitive Guide, 2nd Edition

Chapter 1. The Evolution of Ethernet

Ethernet is used to build networks from the smallest to the largest, and from the simplest to the most complex: it connects home computers and other household devices, but it also connects the building networks that support servers and wired desktop computers, as well as the wireless access points that support smartphones, laptops, and tablets. Ethernet provides the connections that make up the worldwide Internet and that connect the Internet to our workplaces and our homes.

Ethernet’s longevity is remarkable. The memo describing the network technology that became Ethernet was written in May 1973. There have been many changes as computers have evolved over the years, but Ethernet continues to be the network technology of choice. This is because Ethernet has been constantly reinvented, evolving new capabilities to stay current with the rapid transformations in the computer industry and, in the process, becoming the most widely used network technology in the world.

History of Ethernet

On May 22, 1973, while working at the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) in California, Bob Metcalfe wrote a memo describing the network system he had invented for interconnecting advanced computer workstations called Xerox Altos, making it possible to send data between them and to high-speed laser printers. The Xerox Alto was the first personal computer workstation with graphical user interfaces and a mouse pointing device. The PARC inventions also included the ...