I'm going to go by the "Necessity is the mother of invention" theory here and say that it's basically because the need for a subcompact ethernet connector hasn't shown up in masse yet. It was probably just adopted because it's inexpensive, easy to install using tools already out there in the telecom world, and it works well enough at the required feedline impedance of 100 ohms. That being said, any connector that works for balanced line signalling with a feedline impedance of 100 ohms and a favorable frequency response up to 100mc (100base-T / cat5) or 250mc (1000baseT / cat6) should work just fine. For obvious reasons, standardization of the submini ethernet connector should be present industrywide, so you don't have to start carrying around adapters. Boy would I ever love an ethernet connector that works like Apple's MagSafe... or at least just kinda friction fits like USB... THOSE TABS... On Thu, Dec 20, 2012 at 1:20 PM, Michael Thomas <mike@mtcc.com> wrote:
I was looking at a Raspberry Pi board and was struck with how large the ethernet connector is in comparison to the board as a whole. It strikes me: ethernet connectors haven't changed that I'm aware in pretty much 25 years. Every other cable has changed several times in that time frame. I imaging that if anybody cared, ethernet cables could be many times smaller. Looking at wiring closets, etc, it seems like it might be a big win for density too.
So why, oh why, nanog the omniscient do we still use rj45's?
Mike
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