Technical Definitions: What is Ethernet? Ethernet Definition.

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Ethernet Definition

Ethernet is a network standard of communication using either coaxial or twisted pair cable. The most widely used for of LAN communication, Ethernet typically runs at 10 megabytes per second, though newer systems use 100 Mbps, or ever gigabit of transfer.

Ethernet is the IEEE standard 802.3. It has several different flavors, with the original Ethernet designed with 10base5. The "10" stands for 10 megabytes per second. Base is the Baseband communications it uses. The "5" stands for a maximum distance of 500 meters to communicate with. Original Ethernet used coaxial wiring, while newer versions use twisted-pair cabling. There are several flavors of Ethernet, including 10Base2 (10 Mbps, 200 meters), 10BaseT (10 Mbps, 100 meters, twisted-pair), and 100BaseT (100 Mbps, 100 meter, twisted-pair).

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