Ethernetväylät

Ethernetväylät, often referred to as Ethernet buses, are a networking concept where multiple devices share a single common communication line or channel. This differs from the more prevalent switched Ethernet topology where each device has a dedicated connection to a central switch. In an Ethernetväylä setup, data is transmitted along the bus in both directions, and all devices on the bus receive the transmitted data. However, only the intended recipient processes the information. Collision detection mechanisms are crucial in bus topologies to manage situations where multiple devices attempt to transmit data simultaneously. If a collision occurs, devices cease transmission, wait for a random period, and then retransmit. This shared medium approach was common in early Ethernet implementations, such as the 10BASE5 and 10BASE2 standards, which used coaxial cable as the physical medium. While simpler in terms of cabling initially, bus topologies are susceptible to network performance degradation as more devices are added and traffic increases. Furthermore, a break or fault anywhere along the bus can disrupt communication for all connected devices. Modern Ethernet networks predominantly utilize switched architectures, which offer improved performance, reliability, and scalability compared to bus-based systems.