Internet websites now provide personal, educational, political and economic resources to every corner of the planet. With the advancements made in browser-based software for the Internet, many private organizations are implementing intranets. An intranet is a private network utilizing Internet-type tools, but available only within that organization. For large organizations, an intranet provides an easy access mode to corporate information for employees. Ethernet Ethernet is the most popular physical layer LAN technology in use today.
Ethernet is popular because it strikes a good balance between speed, cost and ease of installation.
These benefits, combined with wide acceptance in the computer marketplace and the ability to support virtually all popular network protocols, make Ethernet an ideal networking technology for most computer users today. This standard defines rules for configuring an Ethernet network as well as specifying how elements in an Ethernet network interact with one another. By adhering to the IEEE standard, network equipment and network protocols can communicate efficiently. For the network manager, the incorporation of Fast Ethernet into an existing configuration presents a host of decisions. Gigabit Ethernet is a future technology that promises a migration path beyond Fast Ethernet so the next generation of networks will support even higher data transfer speeds.