Happy Birthday! - Ethernet Turns 30
Posted: 22nd May, 2003 By: MarkJ
Ethernet technology, a well known reference for localised computer networking, is 30 years old today. The technology was first invented by Robert Metcalfe, a member of the research staff for Xerox, on 22nd May 1973:
Metcalfe left Xerox in 1979 and founded networking firm 3Com, where he was for a while its chief executive. After seeing the potential of Ethernet, Metcalfe convinced Digital Equipment, Intel and Xerox to work together to promote it as a standard. He is now a general partner at IT venture capital firm Polaris Venture Partners.
While the patent (#4,063,220) describes Ethernet as a multipoint data communications system with collision detection, the rapidly evolving technology has advanced from coaxial to twisted pairs to optical fibers, from 10Mb to 100Mb to 1Gb to 10Gb, and from shared to switch.
And today the international computer industry standard, with more than 250 million installed ports, is currently emerging as a major driver of telecoms networks.
Many believe that fibre optics based Ethernet will ultimately replace the likes of broadband ADSL and Cable Modem access, although not for a little while yet (home wise). More @ VNUNet.
Metcalfe left Xerox in 1979 and founded networking firm 3Com, where he was for a while its chief executive. After seeing the potential of Ethernet, Metcalfe convinced Digital Equipment, Intel and Xerox to work together to promote it as a standard. He is now a general partner at IT venture capital firm Polaris Venture Partners.
While the patent (#4,063,220) describes Ethernet as a multipoint data communications system with collision detection, the rapidly evolving technology has advanced from coaxial to twisted pairs to optical fibers, from 10Mb to 100Mb to 1Gb to 10Gb, and from shared to switch.
And today the international computer industry standard, with more than 250 million installed ports, is currently emerging as a major driver of telecoms networks.
Many believe that fibre optics based Ethernet will ultimately replace the likes of broadband ADSL and Cable Modem access, although not for a little while yet (home wise). More @ VNUNet.
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