Facts about Ethernet

1. 08

   During the 1990s, Ethernet's collision detection protocol CSMA/CD became obsolete as full-duplex switching eliminated the need to detect simultaneous transmissions on shared media.

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2. 07

   Switches using MAC address learning tables can forward Ethernet frames to specific ports in under 10 microseconds, reducing collision domains compared to hub-based networks from the 1980s.

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3. 06

   10 Gigabit Ethernet, standardized in 2006, increased throughput by tenfold to 10,000 megabits per second while maintaining backward compatibility with existing 1 gigabit infrastructure.

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4. 05

   Modern Ethernet frames include a 32-bit cyclic redundancy check that detects transmission errors with 99.9999% accuracy across distances up to 100 meters.

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5. 04

   10BASE5, Ethernet's original thick coaxial cable standard from 1980, could span maximum segments of 500 meters and supported only 30 devices per trunk before signal attenuation became problematic.

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6. 03

   Cat5e cabling, standardized in 2001, supports Gigabit Ethernet speeds up to 1000 megabits per second over distances of 100 meters without signal degradation.

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7. 02

   The 48-volt power supply standard for Power over Ethernet was chosen because it falls below the 50-volt threshold requiring special electrical safety precautions.

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8. 01

   In 1973, Robert Metcalfe invented the technology that became Ethernet while working at Xerox PARC, initially transmitting data at 2.94 megabits per second.

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