Ethernet: The Definitive Guide: Designing and Managing Local Area Networks

by Charles Spurgeon, Joann Zimmerman

Overview

Get up to speed on the latest Ethernet capabilities for building and maintaining networks for everything from homes and offices to data centers and server machine rooms. This thoroughly revised, comprehensive guide covers a wide range of Ethernet technologies, from basic operation to network management, based on the authors’ many years of field experience.

When should you upgrade to higher speed Ethernet? How do you use switches to build larger networks? How do you troubleshoot the system? This book provides the answers. If you’re looking to build a scalable network with Ethernet to satisfy greater bandwidth and market requirements, this book is indeed the definitive guide.

• Examine the most widely used media systems, as well as advanced 40 and 100 gigabit Ethernet
• Learn about Ethernet’s four basic elements and the IEEE standards
• Explore full-duplex Ethernet, Power over Ethernet, and Energy Efficient Ethernet
• Understand structured cabling systems and the components you need to build your Ethernet system
• Use Ethernet switches to expand and improve network design
• Delve into Ethernet performance, from specific channels to the entire network
• Get troubleshooting techniques for problems common to twisted-pair and fiber optic systems

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781449361846
Publisher:	O'Reilly Media, Incorporated
Publication date:	04/07/2014
Edition description:	Second Edition
Pages:	506
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Charles Spurgeon is a senior technology architect at the Universityof Texas at Austin, where he works on a campus network system serving over 70,000 users in 200 buildings on two campuses. He has developed and managed large campus networks for many years, beginning at Stanford University, where he worked with a group that built the prototype Ethernet routers that became the founding technology for Cisco Systems. Charles, who attended Wesleyan University, lives in Austin, Texas, with his wife, Joann Zimmerman, and their cat Mona.

Joann Zimmerman is a former software engineer with a doctorate in art history from the Universityof Texas at Austin. She has written and documented compilers, software tools and network monitoring software, and been a creator of the build and configuration management process for several companies. The author of papers in software engineering and Renaissance art history, she currently she has multiple fantasy novels in process.

Read an Excerpt

Chapter 1: The Evolution ofEthernet reached its 25th birthday in 1998, and has seen many changes as computer technology evolved over the years. Ethernet has been constantly reinvented, evolving new capabilities and in the process growing to become the most popular network technology in the world.

This chapter describes the invention of Ethernet, and the development and organization of the Ethernet standard. Along the way we provide a brief tour of the entire set of Ethernet media systems.

History of Ethernet

On May 22, 1973, Bob Metcalfe (then at the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center, PARC, in California) wrote a memo describing the Ethernet network system he had invented for interconnecting advanced computer workstations, making it possible to send data to one another and to high-speed laser printers. Probably the bestknown invention at Xerox PARC was the first personal computer workstation with graphical user interfaces and mouse pointing device, called the Xerox Alto. The PARC inventions also included the first laser printers for personal computers, and, with the creation of Ethernet, the first high-speed LAN technology to link everything together.

This was a remarkable computing environment for the time, since the early 1970s were an era in which computing was dominated by large and very expensive mainframe computers. Few places could afford to buy and support mainframes, and few people knew how to use them. The inventions at Xerox PARC helped bring about a revolutionary change in the world of computing.

A major part of this revolutionary change in the use of computers has been the use of Ethernet LANs to enable communication among computers. Combined with an explosive increase in the use of information sharing applications such as the World Wide Web, this new model of computing has brought an entire new world of communications technology into existence. These days, sharing information is most often done over an Ethernet-, from the smallest office to the largest corporation, from the single schoolroom to the largest university campus, Ethernet is clearly the networking technology of choice.

The Aloha Network

Bob Metcalfe's 1973 Ethernet memo describes a networking system based on an earlier experiment in networking called the Aloha network. The Aloha network began at the University of Hawaii in the late 1960s when Norman Abramson and his colleagues developed a radio network for communication among the Hawaiian Islands. This system was an early experiment in the development of mechanisms for sharing a common communications channel-in this case, a common radio channel.

The Aloha protocol was very simple: an Aloha station could send whenever it liked, and then waited for an acknowledgment. If an acknowledgment wasn't received within a short amount of time, the station assumed that another station had also transmitted simultaneously, causing a collision in which the combined transmissions were garbled so that the receiving station did not hear them and did not return an acknowledgment. Upon detecting a collision, both transmitting stations would choose a random backoff time and then retransmit their packets with a good probability of success. However, as traffic increased on the Aloha channel, the collision rate would rapidly increase as well.

Abramson calculated that this system, known as pure Aloha, could achieve a maximum channel utilization of about 18 percent due to the rapidly increasing rate of collisions under increasing load. Another system, called slotted Aloha, was developed that assigned transmission slots and used a master clock to synchronize transmissions, which increased the maximum utilization of the channel to about 37 percent. In 1995, Abramson received the IEEE's Koji Kobayashi Computers and Communications Award "for development of the concept of the Aloha System, which led to modern local area networks."

Invention of Ethernet

Metcalfe realized that he could improve on the Aloha system of arbitrating access to a shared communications channel. He developed a new system that included a mechanism that detected when a collision occurred (collision detect). The system also included "listen before talk," in which stations listened for activity (carrier sense) before transmitting, and supported access to a shared channel by multiple stations (multiple access). Put all these components together, and you can see why the Ethernet channel access protocol is called Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Detect (CSMA/CD). Metcalfe also developed a more sophisticated backoff algorithm, which, in combination with the CSMA/CD protocol, allowed the Ethernet system to function at up to 100 percent load. In late 1972, Metcalfe and his Xerox PARC colleagues developed the first experimental Ethernet system to interconnect the Xerox Alto. The experimental Ethernet was used to link Altos to one another, and to servers and laser printers. The signal clock for the experimental Ethernet interface was derived from the Alto's system clock, which resulted in a data transmission rate on the experimental Ethernet of 2.94 Mbps.

Metcalfe's first experimental network was called the Alto Aloha Network. In 1973, Metcalfe changed the name to "Ethernet," to make it clear that the system could support any computer-not just Altos-and to point out that his new network mechanisms had evolved well beyond the Aloha system. He chose to base the name on the word "ether" as a way of describing an essential feature of the system: the physical medium (i.e., a cable) carries bits to all stations, much the same way that the old "luminiferous ether" was once thought to propagate electromagnetic waves through space.* Thus, Etbernet was born.

In 1976, Metcalfe drew the following diagram (Figure 1-1) "...to present Ethernet for the first time. It was used in his presentation to the National Computer Conference in June of that year. On the drawing are the original terms for describing Ethernet. Since then, other terms have come into usage among Ethernet enthusiasts. "

In July 1976, Bob Metcalfe and David Boggs published their landmark paper "Ethernet: Distributed Packet Switching for Local Computer Networks," in the Communications of the Association for Computing Machinery (CACM). In late 1977, Robert M. Metcalfe, David R. Boggs, Charles P. Thacker, and Butler W...

Table of Contents

Preface

I. Introduction to Ethernet

1. The Evolution of Ethernet
History of Ethernet
The Latest Ethernet Standard
Organization of IEEE Standards
Levels of Compliance
IEEE Identifiers
Reinventing Ethernet
Multi-Gigabit Ethernet

2. The Ethernet System
Four Basic Elements of Ethernet
Ethernet Hardware
Network Protocols and Ethernet

3. The Media Access Control Protocol
The Ethernet Frame
Media Access Control Rules
Essential Media System Timing
Collision Detection and Backoff
Gigabit Ethernet Half-Duplex Operation
Collision Domain
Ethernet Channel Capture
High-level Protocols and the Ethernet Frame

4. Full-Duplex Ethernet
Operation of Full-Duplex
Ethernet Flow Control

5. Auto-Negotiation
Development of Auto-Negotiation
Basic Concepts of Auto-Negotiation
Auto-Negotiation Signaling
Auto-Negotiation Operation
Parallel Detection
Management Interface
1000BASE-X Auto-Negotiation

II. Ethernet Media Systems

6. Ethernet Media Fundamentals
Attachment Unit Interface
Medium-Independent Interface
Gigabit Medium-Independent Interface
Ethernet Signal Encoding
Ethernet Network Interface Card

7. Twisted-Pair Media System (10BASE-T)
10BASE-T Signaling Components
10BASE-T Media Components
10BASE-T Configuration Guidelines

8. Fiber Optic Media System (10BASE-F)
Old and New Fiber Link Segments
10BASE-FLSignaling Components
10BASE-FL Media Components
Connecting a Station to 10BASE-FL Ethernet
10BASE-FL Configuration Guidelines

9. Fast Ethernet Twisted-Pair Media System (100BASE-TX)
100BASE-TX Signaling Components
100BASE-TX Media Components
Connecting a Station to 100BASE-TX Ethernet
100BASE-TX Configuration Guidelines

10. Fast Ethernet Fiber Optic Media System (100BASE-FX)
100BASE-FX Signaling Components
100BASE-FX Media Components
Connecting a Station to 100BASE-FX Ethernet
100BASE-FX Configuration Guidelines

11. Gigabit Ethernet Twisted-PairMedia System (1000BASE-T)
1000BASE-T Signaling Components
1000BASE-T Signal Encoding
1000BASE-T Media Components
Connecting a Station to 1000BASE-T Ethernet
1000BASE-T Configuration Guidelines

12. Gigabit Ethernet Fiber Optic Media System (1000BASE-X)
1000BASE-X Signaling Components
1000BASE-X Signal Encoding
1000BASE-X Media Components
1000BASE-SX and 1000BASE-LX Media Components
1000BASE-CX Media Components
1000BASE-SX and 1000BASE-LX Configuration Guidelines

13. Multi-Segment Configuration Guidelines
Scope of the Configuration Guidelines
Network Documentation
Collision Domain
Model 1 Configuration Guidelines for 10 Mbps
Model 2 Configuration Guidelines for 10 Mbps
Model 1 Configuration Guidelines for Fast Ethernet
Model 2 Configuration Guidelines for Fast Ethernet
Model 1 Configuration Guidelines for Gigabit Ethernet
Model 2 Configuration Guidelines for Gigabit Ethernet
Sample Network Configurations

III. Building Your Ethernet System

14. Structured Cabling
Structured Cabling Systems
TIA/EIA Cabling Standards
Twisted-Pair Categories
Ethernet and the Category System
Horizontal Cabling
New Twisted-Pair Standards
Identifying the Cables
Documenting the Cable System
Building the Cabling System

15. Twisted-Pair Cables and Connectors
Category 5 Horizontal Cable Segment
Eight-Position (RJ-45-Style) Jack
Four-Pair Wiring Schemes
Modular Patch Panel
Work Area Outlet
Twisted-Pair Patch Cables
Building a Twisted-Pair Patch Cable
Ethernet Signal Crossover
Twisted-Pair Ethernet and Telephone Signals

16. Fiber Optic Cables and Connectors
Fiber Optic Cable
10BASE-FL Fiber Optic Characteristics
100BASE-FX Fiber Optic Characteristics
1000BASE-X Fiber Optic Characteristics

17. Ethernet Repeater Hubs
Collision Domain
Basic Repeater Operation
Repeater Buying Guide
10 Mbps Repeaters
100 Mbps Repeaters
1000 Mbps Gigabit Ethernet Repeater
Repeater Management
Repeater Port Statistics

18. Ethernet Switching Hubs
Brief Tutorial on Ethernet Bridging
Advantages of Switching Hubs
Switching Hub Performance Issues
Advanced Features of Switching Hubs
Network Design Issues with Switches

IV. Performance and Troubleshooting

19. Ethernet Performance
Performance of an Ethernet Channel
Measuring Ethernet Performance
Network Performance and the User
Network Design for Best Performance

20. Troubleshooting
Reliable Network Design
Network Documentation
The Troubleshooting Model
Fault Detection
Fault Isolation
Troubleshooting Twisted-Pair Systems
Troubleshooting Fiber Optic Systems
Data Link Troubleshooting
Network Layer Troubleshooting

V. Appendixes

A. Resources

B. Thick and Thin Coaxial Media Systems

C. AUI Equipment: Installation and Configuration

Glossary

Index

Editorial Reviews

Q&A with Charles E. Spurgeon, co-author of "Ethernet: The Definitive Guide," 3rd Edition"

Q. Why is your book important right now?
A. Ethernet is changing, with improvements to existing standards and with the development of new standards for higher speeds, Energy Efficient Ethernet, increasing power over Ethernet, and more. Ethernet, The Definitive Guide 2nd edition has been entirely updated with the changes to existing standards and includes new material covering the very latest in Ethernet technology.

Q. What do you hope your readers walk away with?
A. This thoroughly revised, comprehensive guide covers a wide range of Ethernet technologies, making it possible for the reader to quickly find what they need. The emphasis is on providing the information that the reader needs to build and manage Ethernet networks ranging in size from a small office system to a large enterprise network for a multi-building campus. The book is designed to provide tutorials on a wide range of topics, including fiber optic and twisted-pair cabling systems and network troubleshooting.

Q. What’s the most exciting or important thing happening in your space?
A. Ethernet's ability to continue innovating is remarkable, as seen with the latest work on the 400 Gigabit per second variety of Ethernet. Ethernet is one of the few computer technologies that has managed to continue growing and evolving over several decades. Ethernet's long history was commemorated by the 40th "birthday" of Ethernet in May, 2013, celebrating the publication of the original Ethernet design memo in 1973.

Q. Can you tell us a little more?
A. Did you know that Ethernet interfaces are now "green?" The Energy Efficient Ethernet (EEE) standard, approved in late 2010, is now incorporated into most twisted-pair Ethernet interfaces. This allows the interface to automatically configure EEE to save small amounts of power when no data is being sent. And that, in turn, can save much larger amounts of power when the savings on each port is summed up across millions of Ethernet ports worldwide.

From the Publisher

Although O'Reilly books are not the best place to learn how to use a technology, they are excellent for polishing its finer points. Ethernet and Internet protocols are difficult by nature, but cascading style sheets and MP3s are much more accessible to beginners. All of these books are recommended for university and large public libraries; Cascading Style Sheets and MP3 will also serve well smaller public libraries.

Library Journal

Explains how to build and manage scalable local area networks using Ethernet. The author describes all the Ethernet technology specified in the IEEE standard, as well as switching hubs and structured cabling systems. The book is separated into five parts<-->an introduction to Ethernet, media systems, how to build an Ethernet system, performance analysis, and troubleshooting. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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