What is Ethernet or 10baseT/100baseT/Gigabyte Ethernet?
Ethernet, originally invented a Xerox’s Pablo Alto Research Center (PARC), is a method for encapsulating information and transferring it across a network. Almost all networks today use ethernet as their standard. The different forms of ethernet reflect the speed, such as 10BaseT (moves 10 Megabits per second under ideal situations, 100BaseT (moves 100 megabits per second), and the recent Gigabyte ethernet (which moves up to 1000 megabytes per second). The wiring used for ethernet is often referred to as ethernet cabling (incorrectly), and must also meet specified standards for supporting the various speeds. Gigabyte ethernet is relatively new, and requires specialty cabling, but provides a significant upgrade in speed over standard ethernet. All Macintosh computers have shipped with gigabyte ethernet since June, 2000.
