[ih] Internet-history Digest, Vol 57, Issue 4

[Tom Lyon]

I have a blog article about the transition from 48 bit *station*
addresses to 48 bit *MAC* address and how it made people hate me and SunOS:
https://akapugs.blog/2020/02/12/676/

On Thu, Aug 22, 2024 at 12:19 PM John Day via Internet-history <
internet-history at elists.isoc.org> wrote:

> Thanks, John. I was going to point David Dib at that paper, but it is much
> better that you did it.
>
> And I totally agree with you, ‘It’s the addressing, dummy!’ ;-)
>
> Take care,
> John
>
> > On Aug 22, 2024, at 15:10, John Shoch via Internet-history <
> internet-history at elists.isoc.org> wrote:
> >
> > John Levine wrote:
> >
> > "It's quite impressive that forty years later Ethernet has the same
> > logical formats as the Ethernet that ran on thick yellow coax, even
> > though at the hardware level practically nothing is the same."
> >
> > In retrospect, the most important and enduring aspect of the DIX Ethernet
> > spec (now evolved through multiple generations of design over multiple
> > decades) was the packet format.
> >
> > At Xerox we learned a lot from the1st generation implementation and
> > operation of the Experimental Ethernet (2.94 Mbps) and the Pup internet
> > architecture -- a combination which had well-matched but small address
> > fields.
> >
> > James Carville advised Bill Clinton that, "It's the economy, stupid!"
> > I often observe, "it's the addressing, dummy!"
> >
> > While the first generation worked well, with thousands of machines and
> > dozens of networks, it became clear it would not continue to scale.  It
> > required a much broader view of addressing, which led to the audacious
> idea
> > of 48-bit absolute addresses --- that's what allowed the 2nd generation
> DIX
> > Etherent and XNS internet to scale together.
> >
> > The person we should thank for that is Yogen Dalal:
> >
> http://www.bitsavers.org/pdf/xerox/parc/techReports/OPD-T8101_48-Bit_Absolute_Internet_and_Ethernet_Host_Numbers.pdf
> > https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/800081.802680
> >
> > John Shoch
> >
> > PS:  If you read the paper, you will see that the 48-bit absolute
> addresses
> > were intended for and implemented on both  the DIX Ethernet and as part
> of
> > XNS internet architecture -- a well crafted "impedance match."  (Other
> > people will have a much more informed view on the later, continuing
> > migration from IPv4 to IPv6.....)
> >
> >>
> >> Message: 4
> >> Date: 21 Aug 2024 18:06:47 -0400
> >> From: "John Levine" <johnl at iecc.com>
> >> To: internet-history at elists.isoc.org
> >> Subject: Re: [ih] "This is the History of Ethernet."
> >> Message-ID: <20240821220647.6AD3392357F0 at ary.lan>
> >> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8
> >>
> >> It appears that Brian E Carpenter via Internet-history <
> >> brian.e.carpenter at gmail.com> said:
> >>> BTW, it's worth noting that the *current* IETF STD 37 for ARP (a.k.a.
> RFC
> >> 826) says:
> >>>
> >>> "This protocol was originally designed for the DEC/Intel/Xerox
> >>> 10Mbit Ethernet.  It has been generalized to allow it to be used
> >>> for other types of networks.  Much of the discussion will be
> >>> directed toward the 10Mbit Ethernet."
> >>
> >> It's quite impressive that forty years later Ethernet has the same
> >> logical formats as the Ethernet that ran on thick yellow coax, even
> >> though at the hardware level practically nothing is the same.
> >>
> >> The Ethernets in my house are all gigabit twisted pair, and if I upgrade
> >> it'll likely be to 10G fiber.  But ARP still works.
> >>
> >> R's,
> >> John
> >>
> >>
> > --
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>
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