ETHERNET 2011

1.0 ABSTRACT This report is about Ethernet. It covers the topic about what is Ethernet and its little background. Also included is a few list of IEEE standards for networks and topologies that being used for Ethernet. The access method CSMA/CD and its differences with CSMA/CA will be explained here as well. Furthermore, the report will elaborate the details about wireless LAN and Ethernets transmission speed. Finally, in the very last section, Ethernets limitation will be revealed. All of the information from the report was obtained from the internet source.

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2.0 INTRODUCTION Nowadays, information access has been a necessity to people worldwide, ranging from students to employers. In the world where everything is need to be done fast and efficiently, one can no longer keep the old style habit of storing information inside the file cabinet or stash them into a mountain of papers, which only provide headaches. Now with computers, these workloads have been made with ease. Not only information can be stored safely inside the computer, in fact they can also be shared by people over the world. Computer network technologies such as LAN and WAN has helped many people in their modern lives. Ethernet is now the most popular and most widely deployed network technology. It applies the CSMA/CD (Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Detection) access method to perform simultaneous demands. Ethernet provides transmission speed up to 10Mbps, with 10Base-T systems but Fast Ethernet and Giga Ethernet can give even more speed. Additionally, Ethernet can also be used in wireless LAN. However, even with these spectacular benefits, it does have limitation.

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3.0 ETHERNET Ethernet is a standard communications protocol embedded in software and hardware devices, intended for building a local area network (LAN). Ethernet was designed by Bob Metcalfe in 1973, and through the efforts of Digital, Intel and Xerox (for which Metcalfe worked), "DIX" Ethernet became the standard model for LANs worldwide. Specified in a standard, IEEE 802.3, an Ethernet LAN typically uses coaxial cable or special grades of twisted pair wires. Ethernet is also used in wireless LANs. Ethernet uses the CSMA/CD access method to handle simultaneous demands.

The most commonly installed Ethernet systems are called 10BASE-T and provide transmission speeds up to 10 Mbps. Devices are connected to the cable and compete for access using a Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Detection (CSMA/CD) protocol. Fast Ethernet or 100BASE-T provides transmission speeds up to 100 megabits per second and is typically used for LAN backbone systems, supporting workstations with 10BASE-T cards. Gigabit Ethernet provides an even higher level of backbone support at 1000 megabits per second (1 gigabit or 1 billion bits per second). 10-Gigabit Ethernet provides up to 10 billion bits per second.

3.1 IEEE STANDARDS IEEE developed a set of network standards. They include: IEEE 802.1: Standards related to network management. IEEE 802.2: General standard for the data link layer in the OSI Reference Model. The IEEE divides this layer into two sub-layers -- the logical link control (LLC) layer media access control (MAC) layer. The MAC layer varies for different network types and is defined by standards IEEE 802.3 through IEEE 802.5. IEEE 802.3: Defines the MAC layer for bus networks that use CSMA/CD. This is the basis of the Ethernet standard. IEEE 802.4: Defines the MAC layer for bus networks that use a token-passing mechanism (token bus networks). IEEE 802.5: Defines the MAC layer for token-ring networks. IEEE 802.6: Standard for Metropolitan Area Networks (MANs).
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4.0 TOPOLOGY

Topology is the shape of a local-area network (LAN) or other communications system. It describes the arrangement of a network of various elements (nodes, connecting lines etc) graphically. Network topology can be either physical or logical. Physical topology is the physical design of a network which includes devices, location and cable installation. Whereas logical topology shows how data is actually transferred in a network as opposed to its physical design. Ethernet uses topology to transfer data. There are five common topologies used in LAN namely; bus, ring, star, tree and mesh topology. 4.1 Bus topology Each computer or server is connected to a single bus cable. A signal from the source travels in both directions to all devices connected on the bus cable until it finds the intended recipient. Data is then either accepted, if the machine address matches the intended address for the data or rejected, which works otherwise. Due to usage of only one cable wire, the bus topology is inexpensive to implement.

Figure 1: Bus topology 4.2 Ring topology The devices are connected in circular pattern, hence with two other devices on each side. Data travels in one direction and each device on the right acts as a repeater to keep the signal strong as it travels. Each device incorporates a receiver (receive) and transmitter (send) signal. Ring topology gives high bandwidth and can span large distance, but it is quite expensive and hard to install.

Figure 2: Ring topology

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4.3 Star topology All of the nodes on the network is connected to one central device, which is a hub. All traffic that traverses the network passes through the central hub. The hub acts as a signal repeater. This topology is easy to implement, with a disadvantages of a central hub being a single point of failure.

Figure 3: Star topology 4.4 Tree topology It is a combination of a bus and star topology. It consists of groups of star-configured workstations connected to a linear bus backbone cable. Its advantage is due to point-to-point wiring for individual segments. But it is hard to be configured. And if the backbone line breaks, the entire segment goes down .

Figure 4: Tree topology 4.5 Mesh topology This type of topology involves concept of routes. Unlike other topologies, data sent on a mesh network can take any of the several possible paths from source to destination.

Figure 5: Mesh topology Other recognized topologies are point to point (permanent link between two points), hybrid (combination of two or more topologies) and daisy chain.(a network where connecting each computers in series with the next)
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5.0 CSMA/CD

The CSMA/CD stands for carrier-sense multiple accesses with collision detection which is the protocol for carrier transmission access in Ethernet networks. It can define as a set of rules determining how network devices respond when two devices attempt to use a data channel simultaneously (called a collision). Standard Ethernet networks will use CSMA/CD. This standard enables devices to detect a collision. After detecting a collision, a device waits a random delay time and then attempts to re-transmit the message. If the device detects a collision again, it waits twice as long to try to re-transmit the message. 5.1 The differences between CSMA/CD and CSMA/CA In CSMA/CD a transmitting data station that detects another signal while transmitting a frame, stops transmitting that frame, transmits a jam signal, and then waits for a random time interval (known as "back off delay" and determined using the truncated binary exponential back off algorithm) before trying to send that frame again. Then in CSMA/CA a station wishing to transmit has to first listen to the channel for a predetermined amount of time so as to check for any activity on the channel. If the channel is sensed "idle" then the station is permitted to transmit. If the channel is sensed as "busy" the station has to defer its transmission. Some more CSMA CD is used in wired LANs and CSMA CA used in wireless LANs and other types of wireless networks. CSMA CD is standardized in IEEE 802.3 and CSMA CA is standardized in IEEE 802.11.

Figure 6: CSMA/CD protocol

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6.0 WIRELESS-LAN

A wireless LAN (WLAN) is a flexible data communication system implemented as an extension within a building or campus. Using electromagnetic waves, WLANs transmit and receive data over the air, minimizing the need for wired connections. In a typical WLAN configuration, a transmitter/receiver (transceiver) device, called an access point, connects to the wired network from a fixed location using standard Ethernet cable. WLAN is standardized in IEEE 802.11 and used CSMA/CA for path sharing. The benefits of WLAN are including productivity, convenience, and cost advantages over wired networks: Mobility: Wireless LAN systems can provide LAN users with access to real-time information anywhere in their organization. This mobility supports productivity and service opportunities not possible with wired networks.

Installation Speed and Simplicity: Installing a wireless LAN system can be fast and easy and can eliminate the need to pull cable through walls and ceilings.

Reduced Cost-of-Ownership: While the initial investment required for wireless LAN hardware can be higher than the cost of wired LAN hardware, overall installation expenses and life-cycle costs can be significantly lower.

Scalability: Wireless LAN systems can be configured in a variety of topologies to meet the needs of specific applications and installations.

Figure 7: WLAN diagram

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7.0 TRANSMISSION SPEED 7.1 10Base-T The most commonly installed Ethernet systems are called 10BASE-T and provide transmission speeds up to 10 Mbps. Devices are connected to the cable and compete for access using a Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Detection (CSMA/CD) protocol.

7.2 100Base-T

Fast Ethernet or 100BASE-T provides transmission speeds up to 100 megabits per second and is typically used for LAN backbone systems, supporting workstations with 10BASE-T cards. The 100BASE-T standard consists of five different component specifications. These include the Media Access Control (MAC) layer, the Media Independent Interface (MII), and the three physical layers, (100 BASE-TX, 100BASET4, and 100BASE-FX).

7.3 Gigabit Ethernet

Gigabit Ethernet provides an even higher level of backbone support at 1000 megabits per second (1 gigabit or 1 billion bits per second). Used mostly for backbones, the first IEEE standard (802.3z) for Gigabit Ethernet (GigE) was defined in 1997 for use over multimode optical fiber. 802.3z provides full-duplex operation from switch to end station or to another switch and half-duplex using CSMA/CD in a shared environment.

7.4 10 Gigabit Ethernet

10 Gigabit Ethernet is an upcoming Ethernet technology that transmits at 10 Gbps. 10 Gigabit Ethernet enables a familiar network technology to be used in LAN, MAN and WAN architectures. However the CSMA/CD method for gaining access to the physical medium is not employed and half duplex operation is not supported. 10 Gigabit Ethernet uses multimode optical.

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8.0 LIMITATIONS

One of the limitations of the Ethernet is its network size, due to the length of the cable. Electrical signals propagate along a cable very quickly, but they weaken as they travel. Interference from neighboring electrical devices can also disturb the signal. A network cable must be short enough that devices at opposite ends can receive each other's signals clearly and with minimal delay. Hence, distances of maximum separation between two devices are limited. This distance can also be called as network diameter. Also, since only a single device can transmit data at a time, in CSMA/CD, there is limitation to the number of devices to be attached in a single network. Connect too many devices in one shared segment can cause the contention for the medium to increase. The time for every devices get their chance to transmit data will be prolonged. Congestion problem arises as Ethernet network increased in size. If a large number of stations are connected to the same segment and each generated a sizable amount of traffic, many stations may attempt to transmit whenever there was an opportunity. From there, collisions would become more frequent and could begin to choke out successful transmissions, which in turn spend a large amount of time to complete. To overcome this problem, a single segment is split into multiple segments, thus creating multiple collision domains. However, this solution creates another problem, since these separate segments are no longer able to share information with each other. Hence, for the reason, Ethernet network implemented bridges. Bridges connect two or more network segments, increasing the network and also help regulate traffic. They can send and receive transmissions just like any other node, and does not originate any traffic of its own. Bridge only echoes what it hears from other station.

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9.0 CONCLUSION

Ethernet is supposed to be a single common medium with multiple connections. That may be true for older installations and laboratory environments. However, new desktop installations bring Ethernet to the desktop over phone wire and frequently build the spine using fiber optics. However, bridging Ethernet to any other LAN protocol requires some attention to frame formats. Unfortunately, the "standards" are still a mess. DIX and 802 messages flow on the same LAN. Bridges must be aware of the protocol conventions and select the correct frame format when moving data onto or off of an Ethernet.

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10.0 REFERENCES
1) Benefits of WLAN accessed on 4th December 2011

http://kbserver.netgear.com/kb_web_files/N100688.asp
2) CSMA/CD accessed on 4th December 2011

http://www.tech-faq.com/csma-cd.html
3) Network Topology accessed on 4th December 2011 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_topology 4) Definition of Ethernet accessed on 4th December 2011

http://searchnetworking.techtarget.com/definition/Ethernet
5) Definition of WLAN accessed on 4th December 2011

http://searchmobilecomputing.techtarget.com/definition/wireless-LAN
6) Ethernet accessed on 4th December 2011

http://pclt.cis.yale.edu/pclt/COMM/ETHER.HTM
7) Ethernet accessed on 4th December 2011

http://www.erg.abdn.ac.uk/~gorry/eg3567/lan-pages/enet.html
8) Ethernet Networking accessed on 4th December 2011

http://www.livinginternet.com/i/iw_ethernet.htm
9) Introduction to Ethernet accessed on 4th December 2011

http://www.sena.com/download/tutorial/tech_Ethernet_v1r0c0.pdf
10) Limitation of Ethernet accessed on 4th December 2011 http://computer.howstuffworks.com/ethernet9.htm 11) What is Ethernet accessed on 4th December 2011

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-ethernet.htm
12) WLAN accessed on 4 December 2011
th

http://users.swing.be/id-phy/WLAN/WLAN.html

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