Limitations of Ethernet
Length of the cable
Signals weaken as they travel, can be interfered from neighboring devices such as fluorescent lights
Cable must be short enough to receive the opposite ends signal without any delay
Maximum separate between 2 devices is called the network diameter on an Ethernet network
Repeaters
Connects multiple Ethernet segments
Listens to each segment and repeats the signal heard on the one segment onto every other segment connected to the repeater
Increase your network diameter by running multiple cables and joining them with repeaters
Segmentation
Networks face congestion problems as they increase in size
Large number of stations connected to the same segment generate a large amount of traffic collisions occur more often under these circumstances and begin to successful transmissions which could take inordinately large amounts of time to complete
You can reduce congestion by splitting a single segment into multiple creating multiple collision domains creating a different problem as now these segments cannot share info with each other
Bridges
Alleviates problems with segmentation
Bridges connect to two or more network segments increasing the network diameter like the repeater, but bridges also help regulate traffic
Bridges reduce unnecessary traffic, filters frames, also forwards frames/packets
Routers: Logical Segmentation
Advanced networking components that can divide a single network into two separate networks
Routers form a logical boundary for networks
Helped with traffic on bridges networks by splitting bridged networks into two new networks
Switched Ethernet
Switched networks replace the shared medium of legacy Ethernet [long runs of coaxial cable provided attachments for multiple stations compared to modern networks using fiber optics to connect stations in a radial pattern] with a dedicated segment for each station
Some switches can support hundreds of dedicated segments
These segments connect to a switch, which acts like an Ethernet bridge, but can connect many of these single station segments
Full -duplex Ethernet
Full-duplex is a data communications term that refers to the ability to send and receive data at the same time
Collision free network
Ethernet or 802.3
In February 198, the IEEE[ Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers created a committee to standardize network technologies
Group 802.3 standardized the operation of a CSMA/CD network that was functionally equivalent to the Dix Ethernet
Ethernet and 802.3 differ slightly in their terminology and data but are mostly identical
Today the term “Ethernet” refers generically to both the Dix Ethernet implementation and the IEEE 802.3 standard
Alternative Network technologies :token Ring
Token ring :Most common local area network, alternative to the Ethernet, is a network technology developed by IBM.
Implies a strict orderly access method