I’m trying to disentangle the common usage of the word “Ethernet”
I believe when people say 'Ethernet' they refers to 2 thing simultaneously:
- a Protocol
- a Transmission Line
That is when someone says:
"The data is transferred over Ethernet"
They are saying:
"The data is transferred over a LAN/MAN with
Ethernet/Twisted Pair cabling using the Ethernet protocol"
Or would a more accurate definition be:
Ethernet = Ethernet protocol
. . . AND implies transmission over a LAN/MAN using
Ethernet/Twisted Pair cabling
I know the Ethernet protocol is used over fiber optics also so, perhaps this definition is better:
Ethernet = Ethernet protocol
. . . AND implies transmission over a LAN/MAN
From my understanding, the Ethernet protocol is generally used only over LANs/MANs so the protocol implies the networks spatial scope by default.
(NOTE: I have read the Ethernet protocol can be used over WANs also, but Point-to-Point/HDLC is more common.)
And a bonus question: does 'Ethernet' generally imply a bus topology also? (I don't think it does, but worth asking nonetheless )
So, could you help me separate the words essence from its correlates. That would be very useful! Thank you for reading
Best Answer
This is not necessarily true. The term "Ethernet" is a victim of networkers' propensity towards overloading and/or abusing terms. If someone states that:
then the safest interpretation (without further context) is that the data is transferred as the payload of an Ethernet L2 frame.
An Ethernet L2 frame does not have to be transmitted by an IEEE 802.3 PHY. For example, consider PPPoEoA as used over xDSL. The Ethernet frame is carried in ATM cells, which are then transmitted by the xDSL PHY.