Also known as: IEEE 802.3
Ethernet is the dominant family of wired local-area networking standards, defining the cabling, signaling, and frame format that carry data between computers on a LAN.1
Overview
Standardized as IEEE 802.3, Ethernet packages data into frames tagged with source and destination MAC addresses and sends them over twisted-pair copper (terminated in the familiar 8-pin RJ45 plug) or over fiber-optic cable for longer runs and higher speeds. Each 48-bit MAC address is globally unique to a network interface, so a switch can learn which port each device sits behind and forward frames only where they need to go.
Speeds have climbed from the original 10 Mb/s through Fast and Gigabit Ethernet to 10, 100, and 400 Gb/s, each grade reusing the same frame format so old and new gear interoperate. Devices attach through a NIC and connect to a switch; the same cabling can also carry power via Power over Ethernet.
A tail frame check sequence — a cyclic redundancy check — lets the receiver discard any frame that arrived corrupted, so upper layers see a clean byte stream or nothing at all. That reliability, plus predictable latency, is why wired Ethernet remains the default for anything that must not drop.
Speed grades
The family has scaled by three orders of magnitude while keeping one frame format:
| Name | Rate | Typical medium | Era |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ethernet | 10 Mb/s | Twisted pair / coax | 1980s |
| Fast Ethernet | 100 Mb/s | Cat 5 twisted pair | 1990s |
| Gigabit | 1 Gb/s | Cat 5e/6 twisted pair | 2000s |
| 10 GigE | 10 Gb/s | Cat 6a copper / fiber | 2000s–10s |
| 100–400 GigE | 100–400 Gb/s | Fiber | Data centers |
Where it fits
Ethernet is the default for fixed, performance-sensitive connections where a cable is practical — servers, desktops, and infrastructure — while Wi-Fi handles mobility. A wired Ethernet link gives a GopherTrunk capture node a stable, low-jitter path to stream decoded calls to a server, avoiding the contention and interference of a shared radio channel; paired with PoE, a single cable can both feed and power a mast-mounted node.