Accelerating Ethernet-options and implications

Ethernet is the dominant business network currently deployed, with in excess of 60 million nodes installed. A significant reason for the acceptance of Ethernet has been its widespread support by multiple vendors in the market place and the standards arena. However, Ethernet has apparently entered a period of change, seemingly impacting its overall cost and interoperability compared to its´ previous stability. These changes include a ten-told increase in speed from 10BASE-T to 100BASE-T, as well as alternatives such as Switched Ethernet and Full Duplex Ethernet. This paper discusses the criteria that network administrators will use when considering accelerating their existing Ethernet networks. It examines the various options available, such as 100BASE-T and 100VG-AnyLAN, and the benefits and drawbacks of each technology. It also examines where each “Ethernet” technology can be deployed to maximum benefit, and how these apparently conflicting technologies can be integrated in a heterogeneous LAN environment to provide network solutions for both bandwidth and management enhancements appropriate to real life network problems