LattisNet

Last updated

LattisNet was a family of computer networking hardware and software products built and sold by SynOptics Communications (also rebranded by Western Digital)[ citation needed ] during the 1980s. Examples were the 1000, 2500 and 3000 series of LattisHub network hubs. LattisNet was the first implementation of 10 Megabits per second local area networking over unshielded twisted pair wiring in a star topology. [1]

Contents

Ethernet variants

During the early 1980s most networks used coaxial cable as the primary form of premises cabling in Ethernet implementations. In 1985 SynOptics shipped its first hub for fiber optics and shielded twisted pair. [1] SynOptics' co-founder, Engineer Ronald V. Schmidt, had experimented with a fiber-optic variant of Ethernet called Fibernet II while working at Xerox PARC, where Ethernet had been invented. [2] In January 1987 SynOptics announced intentions to manufacture equipment supporting 10 megabits/sec data transfer rates over unshielded twisted pair, telephone wire. [3]

In August 1987 New York based LAN Systems, Inc. completed the equipment testing and praised SynOptics for successfully deploying a 10Mbit/s network that supported workstations up to 330 feet from the wiring closet, because of their careful control of EMI and RFI. [3] Novell reported that the LattisNet equipment performed better than RG-58U coaxial cable. [4]

This same year HP proposed a study group be formed to look into standardizing Ethernet on telephone wires. [3] SynOptics' investor, Menlo Ventures explained its position on joining the IEEE for standardization.

When we [Menlo Ventures] initially made the investment, SynOptics had a patent on this architecture, which Xerox Corporation had filed for them. [The patent] basically would have precluded anyone else from implementing Ethernet hubs. And so in one sense, you might look at this patent and say: 'That is a powerful barrier of entry. It will keep competitors away from the door.' Unfortunately, in the networking business [a central patent] works against you in that the IEEE will not allow any company to have a patent on something that is going to give that company an advantage, if the technology covered by the patent is to become an industry standard." So SynOptics had sort of a dilemma: If we retain the patent rights and defend our exclusivity, we basically have to give up the idea of becoming the industry standard. On the other hand, if we want to have our technology and architecture adopted as the industry standard, we basically have to throw our patent on the pile and offer a free license to anyone. So we decided to go for the standard and to give free license to the patent. By becoming the standard, the market acceptance of this technology would be dramatically increased. In fact, had we kept the proprietary standard, I believe someone else would have gone to the IEEE and a different approach would have been adopted, and we would have been left in the dust.

— Tom Bredt, July 2, 1995, The Triumph of Ethernet

In 1990 the IEEE issued an Ethernet over twisted pair standard known for transmitting 10 Mbit/s, or 10BASE-T (802.3i).

Comparison of twisted-pair-based Ethernet physical transport layers (TP-PHYs) [5]
NameStandardStatusSpeed (Mbit/s)Pairs requiredLanes per directionBits per hertz Line code Symbol rate per lane (MBd)BandwidthMax distance (m)CableCable rating (MHz)Usage
LattisNetpre 802.3i-1990obsolete10211PE1010100voice grade~12LAN

Ethernet compatibility

Of the SynOptics hubs, the 2500 series was only compatible with LattisNet twisted-pair Ethernet; the 1000 and 3000 series featured modules for LattisNet and standard 10BASE-T. In the 1000 series, the 505 modules are LattisNet and the 508 modules are 10BASE-T.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ethernet</span> Computer networking technology

Ethernet is a family of wired computer networking technologies commonly used in local area networks (LAN), metropolitan area networks (MAN) and wide area networks (WAN). It was commercially introduced in 1980 and first standardized in 1983 as IEEE 802.3. Ethernet has since been refined to support higher bit rates, a greater number of nodes, and longer link distances, but retains much backward compatibility. Over time, Ethernet has largely replaced competing wired LAN technologies such as Token Ring, FDDI and ARCNET.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Local area network</span> Computer network that connects devices over a limited area

A local area network (LAN) is a computer network that interconnects computers within a limited area such as a residence, school, laboratory, university campus or office building. By contrast, a wide area network (WAN) not only covers a larger geographic distance, but also generally involves leased telecommunication circuits.

100BaseVG is a 100 Mbit/s Ethernet standard specified to run over four pairs of category 3 cable. It is also called 100VG-AnyLAN because it was defined to carry both Ethernet and Token Ring frame types.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ethernet over twisted pair</span> Ethernet physical layers using twisted-pair cables

Ethernet over twisted-pair technologies use twisted-pair cables for the physical layer of an Ethernet computer network. They are a subset of all Ethernet physical layers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Network topology</span> Arrangement of the elements of a communication network

Network topology is the arrangement of the elements of a communication network. Network topology can be used to define or describe the arrangement of various types of telecommunication networks, including command and control radio networks, industrial fieldbusses and computer networks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Category 5 cable</span> Unshielded twisted pair communications cable

Category 5 cable (Cat 5) is a twisted pair cable for computer networks. Since 2001, the variant commonly in use is the Category 5e specification (Cat 5e). The cable standard provides performance of up to 100 MHz and is suitable for most varieties of Ethernet over twisted pair up to 2.5GBASE-T but more commonly runs at 1000BASE-T speeds. Cat 5 is also used to carry other signals such as telephone and video.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fast Ethernet</span> Ethernet standards that carry data at the nominal rate of 100 Mbit/s

In computer networking, Fast Ethernet physical layers carry traffic at the nominal rate of 100 Mbit/s. The prior Ethernet speed was 10 Mbit/s. Of the Fast Ethernet physical layers, 100BASE-TX is by far the most common.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gigabit Ethernet</span> Standard for Ethernet networking at a data rate of 1 gigabit per second

In computer networking, Gigabit Ethernet is the term applied to transmitting Ethernet frames at a rate of a gigabit per second. The most popular variant, 1000BASE-T, is defined by the IEEE 802.3ab standard. It came into use in 1999, and has replaced Fast Ethernet in wired local networks due to its considerable speed improvement over Fast Ethernet, as well as its use of cables and equipment that are widely available, economical, and similar to previous standards. The first standard for faster 10 Gigabit Ethernet was approved in 2002.

StarLAN was the first IEEE 802.3 standard for Ethernet over twisted pair wiring. It was standardized by the IEEE Standards Association as 802.3e in 1986, as the 1BASE5 version of Ethernet. The StarLAN Task Force was chaired by Bob Galin.

Long Reach Ethernet (LRE) was a proprietary networking protocol marketed by Cisco Systems, intended to support multi-megabit performance over telephone-grade unshielded twisted pair wiring over distances up to 5,000 feet (1.5 km). Supporting such distance ranges, LRE is technically classified a Metropolitan area network (MAN) technology. Technically the protocol was similar to very-high-bitrate digital subscriber line (VDSL), practically Ethernet over VDSL (EoVDSL).

SynOptics Communications was a Santa Clara, California-based early computer network equipment vendor from 1985 until 1994. SynOptics popularized the concept of the modular Ethernet hub and high-speed Ethernet networking over copper twisted-pair and fiber optic cables.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ethernet hub</span> Device for interconnecting Ethernet devices

An Ethernet hub, active hub, network hub, repeater hub, multiport repeater, or simply hub is a network hardware device for connecting multiple Ethernet devices together and making them act as a single network segment. It has multiple input/output (I/O) ports, in which a signal introduced at the input of any port appears at the output of every port except the original incoming. A hub works at the physical layer of the OSI model. A repeater hub also participates in collision detection, forwarding a jam signal to all ports if it detects a collision. In addition to standard 8P8C ("RJ45") ports, some hubs may also come with a BNC or an Attachment Unit Interface (AUI) connector to allow connection to legacy 10BASE2 or 10BASE5 network segments.

An Ethernet crossover cable is a crossover cable for Ethernet used to connect computing devices together directly. It is most often used to connect two devices of the same type, e.g. two computers or two switches to each other. By contrast, straight through patch cables are used to connect devices of different types, such as a computer to a network switch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ethernet physical layer</span> Electrical or optical properties between network devices

The physical-layer specifications of the Ethernet family of computer network standards are published by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), which defines the electrical or optical properties and the transfer speed of the physical connection between a device and the network or between network devices. It is complemented by the MAC layer and the logical link layer.

Ethernet in the first mile (EFM) refers to using one of the Ethernet family of computer network technologies between a telecommunications company and a customer's premises. From the customer's point of view, it is their first mile, although from the access network's point of view it is known as the last mile.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Token Ring</span> Technology for computer networking

Token Ring is a computer networking technology used to build local area networks. It was introduced by IBM in 1984, and standardized in 1989 as IEEE 802.5. It uses a special three-byte frame called a token that is passed around a logical ring of workstations or servers. This token passing is a channel access method providing fair access for all stations, and eliminating the collisions of contention-based access methods.

American Photonics, Inc. (API) was a very early developer of local area network technologies in the 1980s, based first in Brewster, New York, moving later to Brookfield Center, Connecticut.

40 Gigabit Ethernet (40GbE) and 100 Gigabit Ethernet (100GbE) are groups of computer networking technologies for transmitting Ethernet frames at rates of 40 and 100 gigabits per second (Gbit/s), respectively. These technologies offer significantly higher speeds than 10 Gigabit Ethernet. The technology was first defined by the IEEE 802.3ba-2010 standard and later by the 802.3bg-2011, 802.3bj-2014, 802.3bm-2015, and 802.3cd-2018 standards. The first succeeding Terabit Ethernet specifications were approved in 2017.

Ronald V. Schmidt was an American computer network engineer.

Classic Ethernet is a family of 10 Mbit/s Ethernet standards, which is the first generation of Ethernet standards. In 10BASE-X, the 10 represents its maximum throughput of 10 Mbit/s, BASE indicates its use of baseband transmission, and X indicates the type of medium used. The first standard for Fast Ethernet was approved in 1995.

References

  1. 1 2 Urs von Burg (2001). "The Battle Between Ethernet and Token Ring". The Triumph of Ethernet. Stanford University Press. ISBN   0-8047-4094-1.
  2. ↑ R. Schmidt; E. Rawson; R. Norton Jr.; S. Jackson; M. Bailey (November 1983). "Fibernet II: A Fiber Optic Ethernet". IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in Communications. 1 (5): 702. doi:10.1109/JSAC.1983.1145992.
  3. 1 2 3 Paula Musich (August 3, 1987). "User lauds SynOptic system: LattisNet a success on PDS". Network World. Vol. 4, no. 31. pp. 2, 39. Retrieved June 10, 2011.
  4. ↑ Eric Killorin (November 2, 1987). "LattisNet makes the grade in Novell benchmark tests". Vol. 4, no. 44. Network World. p. 19. Retrieved June 11, 2011.
  5. ↑ Charles E. Spurgeon (2014). Ethernet: The Definitive Guide (2nd ed.). O'Reilly Media. ISBN   978-1-4493-6184-6.
Ethernet / 10BASE-T / LattisNet discussions
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.