ABSTRACT
Overview In less than a decade Ethernet has rapidly evolved into a full duplex, point-to-point Layer 2 protocol that no longer has the possibility of experiencing collisions. Operating at data rates from 10 Mbps to 10 Gbps on a variety of copper and fiber media the original distance limitations of Ethernet have been significantly exceeded to the point where the technology can be used to connect geographically separated offices. Recognizing a new source of revenue, communications carriers have gradually responded to customer requirements and have begun to offer metropolitan Ethernet, which in the past few years was renamed Carrier Ethernet. As its name implies, Carrier Ethernet, represents a service offered by a communications carrier: the transportation of data by Ethernet frames at Layer 2 in the ISO Open System Interconnection Reference Model.
