Interesting Facts About LAN/Ethernet Cables

LAN cable
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During the past four decades, the value of ethernet cables to the IT industry and cable networking is pretty well entrenched. It has become a part of our daily lives as computers need electricity for power. Without it, we don’t function like we normally do.

On the other hand, the world of ethernet cables can be a bit “alien” to those who aren’t familiar with it or not that techie.  Whilst, those who are deeply into the world of technology are quick to simply exchange terms around like it’s part of their everyday language.

Now, going back to Ethernet or LAN cables, these are the best examples of a technological component that most people know little to nothing at all. This article provides some interesting facts about Ethernet cables that will surely come in handy. Get to know some of these facts below:

Ethernet Inspiration

LAN cables were developed at the University of Hawaii in order to utilize budget-friendly radio commercial equipment and were inspired by ALOHAnet. This is for the Hawaiian islands and Oahu to connect together with a time-sharing desktop set to central time zone.

ALOHAnet utilized a configuration in star style through shared media. Clients will sent data randomly and a retransmission plan was used to resolve any signal collision.

Name Origin

Luminiferous ether was the basis for the term Ethernet. It is a theory on a certain element believed to be the medium of electromagnetic transmission of waves in the 19th century. However, the term was invalidated by the theory of relativity by Einstein, together with some other studies. The theory concluded that the electromagnetic wave and the speed of light were a constant universal.

Early Stages

Before, during its initial stage of development, Ethernet was considered as the Digital/Intel/Xerox (DIX) standard. These are the companies that operated on Ethernet during its early years in Xerox in the year 1980. They later then proposed a data transmission of 10Mbps with 48-bit source and destination address.

wires

IEEE LAN Standard

The three LAN standards — Token Ring, Token Bus, and Ethernet — were said to be a single LAN standard for IEEE (an association designed to assist professionals in all aspects of technology and is the largest technical society in the world) in 1980. However, the splitting of LAN standard which was done by IEEE, paved the way for IEEE to split the LAN 802 into three different subgroups. Each also has a separate track standards if consensus will not be reached.

Removal of TR and TB

Eventually, Token Ring and Token Bus were removed because of its inability to be stable despite the market fluctuations. In the late 1980’s, cheaper Ethernet products became the market’s leading LAN technology.

Digital Equipment Corp.

The company called Digital Equipment Corporation created a corporate network with 10,000 node in 1986, based from its Unibus adapter to Ethernet. During this time, it was the largest networks for computers internationally. An Ethernet adapter was built in 1982 together with a transreceiver, all for IBM desktop usage.

Ethernet with Twisted Cables

This type of Ethernet cable started in the middle of 1980s with StarLAN, an AT&T technology. It utilizes a star topology rather than a serial bus which is used by shared Ethernet media. This is to reuse the existing telephony wiring and sustaining compatibility between analog signals from telephones in the same cable group.

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Twisted cable

DIX Ethernet

The IEEE 802.3 and DIX Ethernet have different technology standards. These two have various data formats and terminology that is suitable for their respective frames, but are almost alike. The operation of CSMA network that has identical functions as DIX Ethernet was standardized by IEEE 802.3. Today, the DIX Ethernet format is commonly used, since it is also Internet supported. The term Ethernet refers to both IEEE 802.3 and DIX Ethernet standard.

Conclusion

No matter what LAN cable we use — wireless or wired, Ethernet, or coaxial — they make the entire network connection at ease and convenient, especially with the internet crossing point, computer equipment, and local network connections. Moreover, our personal computers are still the major means to access the internet and the pathway for designing and operating network services. These cable connectors play a vital role in the innovation of computer technology.

A lot of users find LAN cables, especially OTS LAN cables and connectors more convenient in terms of different computer and local area network applications. It is easy for them to share and exchange information and other files. LAN or Ethernet cables in general play a huge role in today’s modern technology, hence it is also good to know some techie details about them.

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