SC264 Introduction to Ethernet Technologies

Monday, March 23, 2009
8:30 a.m.–4:00 p.m.
Jeffrey L. Cox; BT, USA
Level: Beginner (no background or minimal training is necessary to understand course material)

Course Description

This course will begin by covering the history of Ethernet in the IEEE 802.3 standards and its evolution through present-day implementations. All major commercially successful variants will be reviewed at the physical layer, including coax (thin and thick-wire), twisted-pair, fiber (multi and single-mode), 10Mb, 100Mb, Gigabit and 10G. Discussion topics will include media, topologies, framing, coding and media access control. The material will then introduce the data-link layer by covering learning bridges, spanning-tree, VLANs, trunking and flow-control. This information will be leveraged to illustrate how larger “switched” Ethernet networks are sometimes built. Issues related to scaling switched networks and “when to route” will be addressed (“Layer 2” vs. “Layer3” networks). Extending Ethernet beyond the LAN into metropolitan and long haul networks will be explored. Different transport, protection and restoration mechanisms will be examined including Ethernet over SONET, GFP, DWDM and “native” transport. Finally, we will cover techniques for building extremely large-scale Ethernet-based networks that integrate Layer 2 switching, Layer 3 routing and optical transport.

Benefits and Learning Objectives

This course should enable you to:

  • Define Ethernet’s place in the IEEE 802 standards.
  • Identify the various Ethernet frame types.
  • Explain how Learning Bridges function including the Spanning Tree protocol.
  • Describe VLANs, Trunking and Flow Control.
  • Describe Ethernet’s various physical-layer implementations.
  • Describe the various options for transporting Ethernet beyond the LAN environment.
  • Discuss issues relating to protection and restoration in Ethernet environments.

Intended Audience

This course provides introductory level information on Ethernet technologies and their related protocols. Individuals attending this course must understand basic networking/computing terminology and concepts. The material will delve into the “bits and bytes” of Ethernet protocols and is aimed at anyone who wishes to understand Ethernet, how it works, and its applications. No prior knowledge of Ethernet is required.

Biography

Jeffrey L. Cox has accumulated more than 20 years of experience in designing, deploying and supporting large-scale enterprise and carrier data networks. From 1985 to 1992, he designed and supported a large multi-protocol network infrastructure at Texas A&M University. During the mid 1990s, he built Enterprise networks for various large corporations including Texas Instruments. He joined Level(3) Communications in 1998 and was responsible for the global Architecture of the company's MPLS backbone and other packet infrastructures. In 2000, he started Celion Networks, building optical DWDM transport equipment targeted at transporting Enterprise data traffic. He currently works at BT as a network architect.