Gigabit Ethernet promises to be the solution of choice for ultra-high-speed connections in many of today's LANs. A logical extension of the well-known Ethernet technology, it offers blazing speed capability with minimal disruption to existing network configurations and operations. Gigabit Ethernet provides the capacity required for bandwidth-hungry servers, campus backbone networks, and next-generation workstations. Furthermore, it provides a seamless upgrade path from existing 10 Mb/s and 100 Mb/s Ethernet networks. All of the skills, tools, training, and experience gained from using lower-speed Ethernet LANs can be applied to the new technology, easing the pain of migration. Appropriate for anyone involved with LAN technologiesaenetwork planners, designers and administrators, equipment and applications developers, technical salespeople, studentsaethis book provides a thorough explanation of Gigabit Ethernet and the principles on which it was built. Gigabit Ethernet explains the technology in clear terms, exploring the implications for its application and operation in real-world LANs.You will learn how to identify appropriate application environments for Gigabit Ethernet, as well as how to integrate it with other technologies, make intelligent choices about products and features, and set realistic expectations about performance. In this comprehensive book, you will find essential information on: *The history of Gigabit Ethernet and the rationale behind its design *The use of switches and dedicated bandwidth *Full-duplex operation and its implications for network design *Ethernet flow control *The automatic link configuration mechanism *Modifications made to the Ethernet Medium Access Control (MAC) algorithms to support 1000 Mb/s operation *The differences among Gigabit Ethernet hubs, including repeaters, switches, routers, and Buffered Distributors *Gigabit Ethernet physical signaling, including encoding methods, interfaces, media specifications, and topology rules *The appropriate technology and product features suited for various real-world application environments *The true causes of poor network performance and how you can optimize your network investment This book contains a convenient summary of the IEEE 802.3z Gigabit Ethernet standard.Also, to provide a perspective on Gigabit Ethernet's role relative to other high-performance LANs, Mr. Seifert compares Gigabit Ethernet to such alternative technologies as Fibre Channel, FDDI, HIPPI, and ATM. 0201185539B04062001

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If you want just one book on networking and specifically upon Ethernet, get this book! If you are installing or supporting a network, get this book! It has tables on "Ethernet Media Designations" (e.g. 10Base-FL) so you buy the right stuff, and other tables such as "Switching vs Repeating", "Full-Duplex Media Support", and "Link Propagation Delays" which are very clear and helpful.

I wish I had had this book three years ago when I was converting our old network over from coax to UTP/10BaseT.

4 of 4 found the following review helpful:

Fantastic introduction into Gigabit EthernetMay 19, 2000

This book is fantastic if you need to get a grasp of Gigabit Ethernet fairly quickly. The explanations are clear and concise and it's fairly easy to read. I skipped the first couple of chapters because I wasn't concerned with some of the historical perspective, and the book was still very readable.

It has the best explanation of 8b/10b encoding and autoconfiguration I've found as well as doing a good job describing the differences between Gigabit Ethernet and the 10Mbps and 100Mbps versions.

There's even a little humor to spice the book up. It is bad engineering humor, but humor nonetheless.

3 of 3 found the following review helpful:

A well-written, informative, comprehensive, must-have book!May 28, 1998
By Craig L Wiesner
Rich Seifert is an engineer who has been instrumental in designing LAN standards for many years, he is also an excellent communicator / teacher and writer. This book covers all the essential information you need to know about Gigabit Ethernet - including enough technical depth for an engineer designing products while not scaring off an IT professional just trying to figure out how to design the cable plant to support the LAN. Network planners trying to decide on which products to buy will also find a roadmap of important criteria to consider in this book. It is always hard to find just the right balance that will meet the needs of so many audiences but Rich Seifert found that balance. If you can only buy one book on Gigabit Ethernet, buy this one.

2 of 3 found the following review helpful:

This book is excellent - clear and comprehensiveJun 14, 1998

This book not only covers Gigabit Ethernet, but ethernet in all its varieties. Rich Seifert covers everything very clearly systematically.

There is a fair amount of repetition across chapters, possibly so that each chapter can be read independently and out of sequence.

Too much obsolete information!Jan 23, 2009
By Dave K.
Everything here was written before the actual Gigabit Ethernet we use today was finished,, so this book is just too old to be of much use today. Most of the technical facts are about things that might have been, rather than about things that are.

This would have been a great book in it's day, and a re-write in the same style describing Gigabit Ethernet as it is actually implemented would be much appreciated.

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