Papers and Reports
Miscellaneous
The Effect of Ethernet Behavior on Networks using
High-Performance Workstations and Servers.
(Adobe PDF version - approx
96 KBytes).
A technical report from Rich Seifert, one of the original
designers of Ethernet, describing how Ethernets function in the
presence of high offered load from powerful workstations. Includes a
section on the Ethernet capture effect.
Issues in LAN
Switching and Migration from a Shared LAN Environment.
(Adobe PDF version - approx 519 KBytes).
In this technical report Rich Seifert describes how switched Ethernets
function and what issues to consider when planning to implement
switched Ethernets at your site.
Usenet postings about Ethernet collisions.
Two perennial questions about Ethernet are: What is a collision?
and, What rate of collisions are acceptable? These questions are
discussed in this set of Usenet postings.
What is SQE Test and When to Use
It.
The question: "What is the SQE Test signal and when should it be
enabled on outboard transceivers?" is discussed in this document.
Ethernet Performance
When it comes to real-world network throughput, there are as many
opinions about Ethernet performance as there are Ethernet
installations. Every network site is unique, and the performance of
the network is a function of the number of stations contending for
access to the Ethernet, the type of hardware in use (station
interfaces, switches), the layout of the cables (are they the right
type, right length, and do they meet the config guidelines?), the
quality of the cable installation, the mix of applications, and so on.
The following items help demonstrate that an Ethernet LAN can transfer
data at quite close to the nominal rated speed of the technology.
Measured
Capacity of an Ethernet: Myths and Reality, by Boggs,
Mogul, and Kent. From the abstract:"Based on measurements of an
actual implementation, we show that for a wide class of applications,
Ethernet is capable of carrying its nominal bandwidth of useful
traffic, and allocates the bandwidth fairly. We discuss how
implementations can achieve this performance, describe some problems
that have arisen in existing implementations, and suggest ways to
avoid future problems."
This
posting from Van Jacobson from 1988 provides
information about maximum Ethernet throughput rates for Sun
workstations of that era.
Ethernet Channel Capture
Ethernet channel capture is a phenomenon in which the Ethernet
media access control (MAC) system can become biased for a short term
toward one station on a heavily loaded network. Under certain
circumstances, this allows a station to more frequently win the
contention for the channel, or ``capture'' the channel, while that
station has something to send.
Usenet posting on Capture Effect.
A short description of how capture effect works can be found in this Usenet posting from Rich Seifert.
A
New Binary Logmarithmic Arbitration Method for Ethernet.
A very complete description of channel capture which includes a
solution based on modifying the Ethernet MAC is provided in this paper
by Dr. Mart Molle. Note that some pages are missing from this file.
The missing pages are composed of a set of full page figures that
accompany the paper, which can be retrieved by clicking here:
Full page figures for Molle paper
Solving Capture in Switched Two-Node Ethernets by Changing
Only One Node.
This paper provides a further analysis of capture effect on two-node
networks, and shows how the effect can be solved by changing the
behavior of one of the nodes.
The
Packet Starvation Effect in CSMA/CD LANs Part 1
The
Packet Starvation Effect in CSMA/CD LANs Part 2
A paper on the "Packet Starvation Effect," and its effects on
network latency for applications like packet video. "Packet
starvation" is another way of describing the effects of Ethernet
channel capture.
Ethernet Chip Bugs
Performance Problems on High Utilization Ethernets
A report from Xerox PARC that describes various problems with
Ethernet throughput on high utilization coaxial cable networks.
Carrier Dropout on Coaxial Ethernets.
The Xerox PARC report elicited a reply from an IEEE 802.3
committee engineer which described some known problems with coaxial
Ethernet MAUs.
Ethernet Chip Bugs.
Bob Metcalfe, the inventor of Ethernet, wrote several columns about
the work at PARC including a survey of vendor responses to the Ethernet chip bugs.
Ethernet Standard
Xerox Systems
Institute Catalog.
Version 2.0 of the original DIX Ethernet standard developed in
1982 by the DEC-Intel-Xerox consortium can still be ordered from
Xerox. This standard was superseded in 1985 by the IEEE 802.3
standard.
The IEEE 802.3 (Ethernet) standard can be
obtained from an order fulfillment agent that handles requests for
IEEE documents. One example is
Global Engineering Documents
To retrieve an order form and instructions for ordering standards
direct from the IEEE, send a message requesting help to the address:
askieee@ieee.org, or call 1-800-949-IEEE or
1-415-259-5040. Members of the IEEE may be able to order from the
IEEE at lower cost.
The IEEE also maintains an IEEE Web
Page
LAN Tech Scorecard
LAN Tech Scorecard A list of LAN technology
standards.
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