Gigabit Ethernet
Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) is a term describing various technologies for implementing Ethernet networking at a nominal speed of one gigabit per second.
As a result of research done at Xerox Corporation in the early 1970s, Ethernet has evolved into the most widely implemented networking protocol today. Fast Ethernet increased speed from 10 to 100 megabits per second (Mbit/s). Gigabit Ethernet was the next iteration, increasing the speed to 1000 Mbit/s. It was standardized in June 1998.
Gigabit Ethernet is supported over both optical fiber and twisted pair cable. Physical layer standards include 1000BASE-T, 1 Gbit/s over Cat-5e copper cabling and 1000BASE-SX for short to medium distances over optic fiber.
Initially, Gigabit Ethernet was deployed in high-capacity backbone network links (for instance, on a high-capacity campus network). In 2000, Apple’s Power Mac G4 and PowerBook G4 featured the connection. Recently, it has become a built-in feature in many Pentium and Athlon motherboards. In May 2005, the Apple iMac G5 was redesigned to include Gigabit Ethernet. Its desktop and small-network applications include video editing and file transfers.
Gigabit Ethernet is not the fastest Ethernet standard, with the ratification of 10 Gigabit Ethernet in 2002, which is 10 times faster.
From the Gigabit Ethernet article in Wikipedia.
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