Ethernet names...

[Peter Corlett]

On Tue, Oct 02, 2018 at 11:34:54AM -0600, Grant Taylor via cctalk wrote:
> Does anybody know names / terms that correspond to the original 3 Mbps
> Ethernet?

> I.e. 10 Mbps Ethernet is also knows as Ethernet II (2) and D.I.X. (for
> Digital, Intel, and Xerox).

> Was the first 3 Mbps Ethernet simply called "Ethernet" with an implicit "I"
> (1)? Was there a name to differentiate it from D.I.X.?

It was probably just known as "Ethernet". If there's only one kind, why give it
a longer name to distinguish it from future variants that may never come to be?
My bumph tells me it was called "Experimental Ethernet", but I suspect that's a
name given to it in retrospect.

"Ethernet I" and "Ethernet II" were 10Mb/s thicknet variants which evolved into
the 802.3/10Base5 standards. The exact details of the differences are probably
lost in time. Although thicknet is finally dead -- we had to hammer many stakes
into the cable to make sure, but managed it in the end -- Ethernet II's layer 2
protocol remains in use in modern IP networks, and contemporary usage of
"Ethernet II" refers to just that rather than the older standard.