Physical Implemantation Of Ethernet

Most of the traffic on the Internet originates and ends with Ethernet connections. Since its inception in the 1970s, Ethernet has evolved to meet the increased demand for high-speed LANs. When optical fiber media was introduced, Ethernet adapted to this new technology to take advantage of the superior bandwidth and low error rate that fiber offers. Today, the same protocol that transported data at 3 Mbps can carry data at 10 Gbps.

The success of Ethernet is due to the following factors:

• Simplicity and ease of maintenance

• Ability to incorporate new technologies

• Reliability

• Low cost of installation and upgrade

The introduction of Gigabit Ethernet has extended the original LAN technology to distances that make Ethernet a Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) and WAN standard.

As a technology associated with the Physical layer, Ethernet specifies and implements encoding and decoding schemes that enable frame bits to be carried as signals across the media. Ethernet devices make use of a broad range of cable and connector specifications.

In today's networks, Ethernet uses UTP copper cables and optical fiber to interconnect network devices via intermediary devices such as hubs and switches. With all of the various media types that Ethernet supports , the Ethernet frame structure remains consistent across all of its physical implementations. It is for this reason that it can evolve to meet today's networking requirements.