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The strongest link?
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20/06/2008
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As data rates continue to increase, Ethernet becomes ever more attractive in the industrial environment. But the problem is that Ethernet was designed to link people together in an office environment. The requirements of automation systems today mean a degree of evolution has been required.
Those early days of Ethernet – the first products were launched in the early 1980s – saw a technology which could support data rates of 3Mbit/s over coaxial cable. Ethernet was a success from the start and many companies benefited from the technology’s uptake – 3Com is just one example.
Ethernet has now evolved from using coaxial cable for the transmission medium to the use of twisted pairs and from data rates of 3Mbit/s to today’s 10Gbit/s.
But Ethernet per se remains a technology more suited to data communications in the office environment. Despite this, the networking technology has made serious inroads into industry, thanks to the efforts of a number of organisations.
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Author
Graham Pitcher
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