Thus spake <Valdis.Kletnieks@vt.edu>
2. Ethernet is the technology.
Excuse me if I chuckle, having heard THAT before in the last 2 decades or so.
I've learned to not take *anybody* seriously when they say something is "THE" anything. Structured programming wasn't the end-all, nor was ATM, nor was Java, nor will XML or Ethernet. Yes, 10G-E will probably see wide deployment. But I'll make a prediction - there will be something else coming out to replace it long before it finishes replacing what's out there now.
(For bonus points, compare the level-1 media characteristics of the original 10mbit-over-thickwire with the 10gig-over-optical, and ask yourself if there's anything in common other than the name.
The electrical characteristics of 10BaseT aren't all that similar to 10Base[25] either. However, all of the 802.3 variants use CSMA/CD for half-duplex operation, and 802.11's CSMA/CA is reasonably similar. All of the 802.3 and 802.11 variants use the same MAC and LLC layers. Sure, the framing and modulation has varied over time. GE's undersize-frame packing was a neat innovation, 10GE's elimination of half-duplex was a bit overdue, jumbo frames could be neat if they ever get deployed, and 802.1p/q opened a lot of doors. However, throughout Ethernet's evolution, it's remained essentially the same beast from the user's perspective, and the L2 operation is still the same. Do I get my bonus points? :) S