Ethernet

Ethernet is a family of ing technologies for s (LANs) commercially introduced in 1980. Standardized in, Ethernet has largely replaced competing wired LAN technologies.

Systems communicating over Ethernet divide a stream of data into individual packets called frames. Each frame contains source and destination addresses and error-checking data so that damaged data can be detected and re-transmitted.

The standards define several wiring and signaling variants. The original Ethernet used coaxial cable as a. Later the coaxial cables were replaced by and  links in conjunction with s or es. Data rates were periodically increased from the original 10 megabits per second, to 100 gigabits per second.

Since its commercial release, Ethernet has retained a good degree of compatibility. Features such as the 48-bit and  format have influenced other networking protocols.

Hardware
The first Macintosh models with a built-in Ethernet support were the Macintosh Quadra 700 and 900. Both were released in October 1991 with a custom AAUI port that required an external Ethernet dongle. With the adoption and increased speed of AirPort and IEEE 802.11 Wi-Fi standards, the MacBook Air was released in 2008 without a built-in Ethernet port; the MacBook Pro followed suit in 2012 to accommodate thinner designs.

Protocols
Apple Computer's early support of Ethernet came through EtherTalk in which AppleTalk s were encapsulated within Ethernet packets. In Mac OS 8, AppleShare began migrating to packets over Ethernet. The AppleTalk Filing Protocol in classic Mac OS became the Apple Filing Protocol (AFP) in Mac OS X. AFP was deprecated in OS X 10.9 "Mavericks" and removed in macOS Big Sur in favor of other networking protocols, such as  (SMB),  (NFS),  (FTP), and.