History of Ethernet - Research Paper Example

History of Ethernet The history of Ethernet dates back to May 1973 when David Boggs and Robert Metcalfe wrote a memo describing how it would work, and it began inside a corporation that was seeking for a solution to effectively network personal computers in an office (Al_Taley, 2011). Fortunately, they were first people in history to be given the job of networking in a building full of personal computers given that in 1973, there were no personal computers. Building on their experience with upper net, the original internet, and some heavy reading into the packet network at the University of Hawaii, they set out to build a network of personal computers. In 1973, Boggs and Bob used laser printer as the driving application since they wanted it to work, and be shared on all personal computers. They came up with Ethernet, which ran on a big thick coax that wondered down the middle of every caber, the PCs and individual ROMs would access internet at high speeds. Ether was borrowed from Physics because in the nineteenth century, the physicist believed there were some medium between the sun and the earth, which they called aluminiferous ether, an omnipresent, completely passive medium for the propagation of electromagnetic waves. They felt that these coax was going everywhere in the near future and it will be completely passive. In 1976, Boggs and Bob published their first paper in the communications of the ACM and in 1979, Metcalfe and Boggs started Tricam Corporation that built Ethernet compatible products because by then, Zerox and Digital Equipment Corporation used Ethernet as a standard for the interconnection of their products. By the end of 1982, they came up with an Ethernet standard, IEEE 802, which they used to make products. That was the period when Ethernet started taking over, and through the 1980s, Ethernet had to battle the first internet adaptor for IBM personal computers and by 1984, Tricam went public as it was successful in selling Ethernet parts for PCs. By the end of 1980s, Ethernet won the battle by adapting to market realities and shifting from coax to twisted pairs, hence becoming a dominant local area network. Ethernet had a lot of growing to do, especially in 1994 when the World Wide Web came out, but then Ethernet started growing when families started buying personal computers, not to do spread sheets, but to be on the internet. Over all this time, Ethernet has been proliferating, and more importantly, it has been evolving so much that today what people mean when they say Ethernet bears little resemblance to CSMA CD Technology that David and Bob developed in 1973. Uses of Ethernet Ethernet technology has the ability of using low-level technology to deliver data through LAN since its features enable transmission of data. For example, Universities use Ethernet to connect to the campus backbone using 1Gbs Ethernet. Ten Gbps connectivity is used to link the backbone and then other systems present in the data center can be connected at the same speed. Most networks that are built with twisted pairs of up to ten base use Ethernet in supporting the network. Most fast Ethernets are usually built on twisted-pairs and fiber-optic cables, which include 10-100BaseT Ethernets for buildings. Ethernet allows transmission of data over a network in a discrete packet ranging from 64 to 1518 bytes lengthwise. Moreover, Ethernet network has devices that operate independently and in an equal manner, and this precludes the need for having a central controlling device. Ethernet has a feature that prevents loss of data in the event that two or more devices send packets at similar times through detection of collisions hence stopping transmission. An Ethernet system is not affected by the various contents present in the data field; hence, the different computers that run the network protocols are able to share the same Ethernet (Spurgeon, 2009). Historically, Ethernet was meant to be used in offices, but currently it has been incorporated into various high graphic access techniques that enable disk-less workstation with the capability of accessing a shared disk structure (Bhunia, 2006). Various practical aspects are associated with Ethernet applications, for instance, modern utilities that include industrial sites, which have evolved into complex operations and are able to perform various functions that require IEDs and controls to be able to work properly. Many organizations have moved from coordinating IEDs using connections that have low-speed serials to using Ethernet technologies. Ethernet is currently considered the best protocol with favorable features that enable incorporation of video cameras at various traffic intersections. This is because data can be carried out to the TOC using 1Gbps Ethernet, which can carry huge amounts of data. Ethernet connectivity has a variety of features for communication, which enable end users monitor systems with the use of web browsers. A part from that, the communication features also enable the end user receive emails that are triggered by service alerts. This service saves on costs and time since they are monitored from a central point over the internet instead of being at the physical location in person. Future of Ethernet More importantly, Ethernet has a bright future and it has five prepositions describing its future directions, which are up, through, over, down, and across, and these defines Ethernet future developments. Ethernet continues to go up in that it started in 1973 at 2.94 mbps; it went to 10mbps, then 100mbps, then Gbps, now standard Ethernet runs at 10gbps. It is expected to go to 40gbs or maybe 100gbs in the next generation. Ethernet is going through in the WAN infrastructure, this being infused with the networking equipment, the old telecommunications equipment that is currently replaced by LAN infrastructure and Ethernet transport. Thus Ethernet is going up and through the LAN, but it is also going over the air waves, it is becoming wireless, which is a little ironic in that Ethernet was derived from the aloha packet radio network which was wireless, it then went through coax and twisted pair optical fibers, and now Ethernet has gone back to wireless again. This is currently known as Wifi, and Wimax before; therefore, we have Ethernet breaking free from wire line access to wireless access. Ethernet is also going down and this can be seen in the way Ethernet was done through networking personal computers, but now Ethernet has its variations and its descendants that have networked sub-personal micro controllers, which are largely un networked and, therefore, less valuable and more expensive. We are moving towards getting an embedded micro controllers in homes, industrial controls and many thousands applications that are networked. Ethernet is going across what is called telecasm where all bandwidth are created in the LAN because Ethernet is growing faster. Ethernet is expected to be the most dominant switching technology of the future (Peterson and Davie, 2007). Reference Al_Taley T. (2011). 4 in 1: The Complete One-Week Preparation for the Cisco Ccent/CCNA LCND1 Exam 640-822 with Three CISCO Simulated Exams. La Vergne, TN: Lightning Source Inc. Bhunia C. T. (2006). Information Technology Network and Internet. New Delhi: New Age International. Peterson L. L. and Davie B. S. (2007). Computer Networks ISE: A Systems Approach. San Fransisco, CA: Morgan Kaufmann. Spurgeon C. (2009). Ethernet: The Definitive Guide. Sebastopol, CA: O’Reilly Media. Read More