2.1 Principles of Network Applications

Question 1

There are many reasons for Ethernet’s success.

Answer 1

• Ethernet was the first widely deployed high-speed LAN.
• token ring, FDDI, and ATM were more complex and expensive than Ethernet
• the most compelling reason to switch to another LAN technology (such as FDDI or ATM) was usually the higher data rate of the new technology; however, Ethernet always fought back, producing versions that operated at equal data rates or higher. Switched Ethernet was also introduced in the early 1990s, which further increased its effective data rates.
• Finally, because Ethernet has been so popular, Eth- ernet hardware (in particular, adapters and switches) has become a commodity and is remarkably cheap.