Ethernet Introduction
A local-area network (LAN) protocol developed by Xerox Corporation in
cooperation with DEC and Intel in 1976. Ethernet uses a bus or star
topology and supports data transfer rates of 10 Mbps.
A newer version of Ethernet, called
100Base-T
(or
Fast Ethernet),
supports data transfer rates of 100 Mbps. And the newest version,
Gigabit Ethernet
supports data rates of 1 gigabit (1,000 megabits) per
second.
Ethernet is the most popular type of local area network, which sends its
communications through radio frequency signals carried by a coaxial
cable.Each computer checks to see if another computer is transmitting and
waits its turn to transmit. If two computers accidentally transmit at the
same time and their messages collide, they wait and send again in turn.
Software protocols used by Ethernet systems vary, but include Novell
Netware and TCP/IP.
