Ethernet—from Fast Ethernet to Gigabit Ethernet to 10 Gigabit Ethernet

The first Ethernet local area networks (LANs) were built with the 3Com® Ethernet network card, introduced in 1982. Based on technology that was devised by 3Com founder Bob Metcalfe and that led to the IEEE 802.3 standard, the early LANs connected computers and printers within and between buildings, sending data packets at speeds up to 10 Mbps. Since pioneering connectivity, 3Com has used its Ethernet expertise to become a prime provider of secure, converged voice and data networking solutions for enterprises of all sizes.

Ethernet is and will continue to be the most popular way of connecting to LANs and the Internet, integrating data, voice, and wireless communications at high speeds. Ethernet’s ubiquity results from three technology attributes:

• its ability to travel over many media—such as radio waves, copper, and glass—making networks flexible
• its decentralized processing that lets end devices offload overhead from the network, making networks scalable
• its open-standard structure that enables reduced technology complexity, increased interoperability, and lowered implementation costs

Continued 3Com Ethernet innovations today offer advanced Ethernet products that support pervasive security, network convergence, and applications convergence. The broad 3Com portfolio includes enterprise-class Ethernet switches operating at 10-Gigabit (10,000 Mbps), Gigabit (1,000 Mbps), and Fast (100 Mbps) Ethernet speeds, as well as pace-setting IEEE 802.3af standard Power over Ethernet (PoE) solutions and a gigabit switch for scalable wireless LAN integration.

Network trends for 2005 and beyond call for enterprises to deploy Gigabit Ethernet to desktops, 10-Gigabit Ethernet in the core, and PoE LAN-wide. The increasing quantity and types of information that will be exchanged on enterprise networks, and the burgeoning number of wired and wireless user devices, call for high-availability, high-speed switched Ethernet LAN infrastructures that support pervasive security, QoS, and policy-based traffic classification. The 3Com portfolio offers these solutions now—including affordable terabit-backplane 10-Gigabit core switches, stackable switches with Gigabit device downlinks, and in-the-wall 10/100 PoE switches for flexible device access.