Local area networks page

Ethernet
Fast ethernet (100 megabit)
General information
Gigabit Ethernet
LAN cabling
Token Ring
Wireless LANs
Other LAN technologies

General information

Client/Server Performance Issues In High-Speed Networks - white paper from Adaptec
Connection Architectures (Client/Server, Host/Terminal, etc.)
Guide to Fast Networks - from PC Magazine
Home Networking Tutorial
IEEE 802.2 Logical Link Control (LLC)
LAN and WAN Protocols - description of many of the protocols available on routers
LAN Mail Protocols Summary
LAN Standards Specifications - technical specs related to cabling needs
LAN Technology Scorecard - basic figures of nearly all LAN technologies
Local Area Networks Technologies, Security & Applications
Network Interconnect Devices: Repeater, Bridge, Switch, Router - what they are and when they are needed
Networks -- A Technical Discussion - describes the key components that make up a local area network and also provides an overview of key networking industry standards
Optimized Engineering Technical Compendium - a collection of essays and papers on technical issues of interest to Networking Professionals
Rubyan.com - information source on practical tips and tricks for computer network management
Service Access Point (SAP) identifiers - These standard SAP numbers are used in the LLC header in all 802.2-compliant protocols like Ethernet to identify which protocol handler should process an incoming frame
The Absolute Basics of Local Area Networking
The TCP/IP Protocol Family - general introduction
VLANs and Broadcast Domains - introduxtory article from Network Magazine

LAN cabling

Data Communications Cabling FAQ - also available in text format using
using FTP
Network Design and Implementation - basic introduction, cabling and equipments lecture notes
Pin Assignments - descriptions of the most asked pin assignments in telecom and LAN cabling
RJ-45 connector wire colors
Structured Cabling System (SCS) Tutorial - A structured cabling system (SCS) is a set of cabling and connectivity products that integrates the voice, data, video, and various management systems of a building
TechFest Network Cabling Glossary
Twisted pair wiring cables - traight cable for 10baseT, 100baseTX, 100baseT4 and Token Ring, also crossover cable wiring
Twisted pair signal levels - POTS, digital telephone and LANs

Ethernet has been a relatively inexpensive, reasonably fast, and very popular LAN technology for several decades. Two individuals at Xerox PARC -- Bob Metcalfe and D.R. Boggs -- developed Ethernet beginning in 1972 and specifications based on this work appeared in IEEE 802.3 in 1980. Ethernet specifications define low-level data transmission protocols and the technology needed to support them. In the OSI model, Ethernet technology exists at the physical and data link layers (layers 1 and 2).

General

10-Mbps Ethernet
802.1p/Q VLANs
Ethernet Class Notes
Ethernet Glossary
Ethernet Technologies - white paper from Cisco
How to Find Your Ethernet Address - An Ethernet hardware address is a unique 12-digit hexadecimal (0-9, A-F) number which identifies your Ethernet adapter. Manufacturers assign Ethernet addresses, and they are used to identify each machine on the network.
IEEE 802.3 Ethernet - geenral introduction to Ethernet basics
Introduction to Ethernet
Measured Capacity of an Ethernet: Myths and Reality - DEC Research Report 88/4, September 1988
TechFest Ethernet Technical Summary - describes different ethernet types well

Ethernet information web pages

Charles Spurgeon's Ethernet Page - extensive collection of information about Ethernet
Dan Kegel's Fast Ethernet Page - collection of pointers to WWW and FTP documents
Ethernet Papers and Reports
Ethertype values - a list of Ethertype values as would be found in Version 2 Ethernet or in the Type field of a SNAP header in an 802.2-compliant protocol like 802.3 or 802.5
Site Networking Guide - information on building and wiring Ethernet network using UTP cable

Cabling and connectors

AUI connector pinout
Ethernet 10/100Base-T Connector Pinouts
Ethernet Cable Specifications
Ethernet Cabling and Connectors
Ethernet Reference Information - details of cabling and segmenting of different Ethernet network types
Multi-Segment Configuration Guidelines for Ethernet
The Rules for Thin Ethernet

Technical specs

10Base-T signal diagram - brief description
Ethernet Codes master page - ethernet vendor codes listed
Ethernet: Frame Format
Ethernet Frame format - slide which describes frame format bit by bit
Ethernet Frame Structure
Ethernet Frame Types
Ethernet Frame Types
Ethernet manufacturer assigned addresses
Extended Ethernet Frame Size
Troubleshooting Numbers for Ethernet - are lists of Type codes, vendor codes, LSAP codes, multicast addresses, etc. that can help identify and track down machines and protocols in use on the network

Ethernet testing

10Base-T Repeater Test Suite
Ethernet Test Suites
Measuring Ethernet Tap Capacitance - when a node is added to an Ethernet network which uses coaxial cabling, its nodal capacitance changes the impedance of the cable at the point of connection to the cable and impedance change causes a reflection of the Ethernet waveform, IEEE802.3 standard specifies a maximum value of capacitance that a node may add to the network, as well as a minimum node to node distance spacing

Special wirings

Ethernet AUI to AUI cheaply - special cable for linking two ethernet cards together
How to build baluns for 10Base5 Ethernet - idea how to trun 10Base-5 ethernet through twisted pair wiring
LAN/WAN Ethernet Overcurrent And Overvoltage Protection - some protection circuit ideas

Special techniques

Magic Packet Technology - Magic Packet technology is used to remotely wake up a sleeping or powered off PC on a network. This is accomplished by sending a specific packet of information, called a Magic Packet frame, to a node on the network.

Fast Ethernet (100 megabit/s)

General

100BASE-SX Fast Ethernet: A Cost Effective Migration Path for Fiber in the Horizontal
Fast Ethernet - basics tutorial
Fast Ethernet Technology: Evaluation and Integration
Fast Ethernet Training - slide presentation
Quick Reference Guides to 100 Mbps Fast Ethernet

Fast Ethernet pages

Fast Ethernet Tutorial & Resources
Gigabit and 100Mbps Ethernet Technology - descriptions, implementation technologies, software support, and references related to Gigabit Ethernet, 100baseT Fast Ethernet, 100VG AnyLAN and other 100mbps networks

Technical information

100/1000 BASE-TX Flow Control
An Introduction to Auto-Negotiation - mechanism that takes control of the cable when a connection is established to a network device and automatically switches to the correct technology, such as 10BASE-T, 100BASE-TX, 100BASE-T4, or a corresponding Full Duplex mode
Fast Ethernet MII Connector Output Signals - connector used for fast ethernet tranceivers
Fast Ethernet PMD test suite
Fast Ethernet TX MDI X Port Output Signals - output signals for the RJ-45 Fast Ethernet 100BaseTX MDI X connector
Shielded Twisted-Pair Cabling Support for Fast Ethernet Products - shielded twisted pair cabling designed for Token Ring networks can be used for Ethernet and Fast Etnernet in many cases
Understanding MII Transceiver Status Info - ethernet physical chip or tranceiver module has some registers which can be read

Design articles

A Detailed Guide to Ethernet Controllers - descriptions, implementation technologies, software support, and references related to Gigabit Ethernet, 100baseT Fast Ethernet, 100VG AnyLAN and other 100mbps networks
Cabling Solutions: Making Every Bit Count - describes cabling basics and 100Base-T Ethernet eye pattern
Designing Fast Ethernet switches is easy with chip sets and reference kits - off-the-shelf switch chips and reference designs dramatically reduce switch development costs
EE-100 Ethernet Module - A small PCB based on Crystal/Cirrus' CS8900A-CQ Ethernet Controller that provides 8-bit interfacing to a 10Base-T ethernet LAN. The schematic is freely available, as is some example code for NetMedia's BX24 module.

Full duplex Ethernet flow control

Flow control is a mechanism created to manage the flow of data between two full-duplex Ethernet devices. Through flow control, a device that is oversubscribed - either macroscopically from a system resource perspective or microscopically on a port-by-port basis - sends a pause message to its link partner to temporarily reduce the amount of data it's transmitting. Otherwise, buffer overflow occurs, data is lost and retransmission is required.

Flow control feedback
The interaction of the TCP flow control procedure in end nodes on the proposed flow control mechanism for use in IEEE 802.3 switches - Introducing switches with new flow control schemes makes the networks faster and more efficient but, at the same time, this can cause other problems. An example is the interaction between the well-established endto -end TCP flow control and the hop-by-hop switch flow control. The interaction between these two flow control mechanisms is very complex.
Vendors on flow control - details on Cabletron's, Cisco's, HP's and Nortel's implementation of 802.3x Annex 31B

Technologies which did not catch market

100VG-AnyLAN Application Note - obsolete 100 Mbit/s technology

Gigabit Ethernet

1000BASE-SX/LX (FIBER)
1000BASE-T (COPPER)
Category 6 cable: Gigabit Ethernet over copper - Gigabit Ethernet delivered over copper cabling challenges fibre and ATM for high-end enterprise LAN infrastructures
Gigabit and 100Mbps Ethernet Technology - descriptions, implementation technologies, software support, and references related to Gigabit Ethernet, 100baseT Fast Ethernet, 100VG AnyLAN and other 100mbps networks
Gigabit and 100Mbps Ethernet Technology - descriptions, implementation technologies, software support, and references related to Gigabit Ethernet, 100baseT Fast Ethernet, 100VG AnyLAN and other 100mbps networks
Gigabit Ethernet - white paper from Intel
Gigabit Ethernet Alliance
Gigabit Ethernet Is Closely Related To Fibre Channel Technology, going back to 1988!
Gigabit Ethernet Over Copper - many papers which discusses the cabling issues and questions surrounding Gigabit Ethernet over Category 5 (copper) cabling
Gigabit Ethernet Overview
Gigabit Ethernet: Using Optical Fiber For High-Speed Networking
Gigabit Ethernet and ATM go neck and neck in the communications race
Gigabit Ethernet over Copper - there are challenges inherent in transmitting 1,000 Mbps over four pairs of Category 5 unshielded twisted pair cabling (UTP-5)
Testing the fiber optic cable plant for Gigabit Ethernet
Transporting Gigabit Ethernet and Fibre Channel over the MAN

10 Gigabit Ethernet

Upcoming 10 gigabit version of Ethernet. Standardization expected to be ready by 2002.

10 Gigabit Ethernet Alliance
Son of Gigabit Ethernet - 10-Gigabit Ethernet is coming soon to a LAN (and MAN) near you

Token Ring

Token Ring is a network architechture which uses token passing technology and ring type network structure. Token Ring is standardized in IEEE 802.5 standard. Token Ring was widely used competitior of Ethernet, but nowadays it's use has quite much faded to only those organizations which have already large Token Ring infrastructure.