TECH STORIES

Robert Metcalfe and the Ethernet Data transmission system: From PhD Thesis to Dominant Company.

Adapted in part from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Commentary

Introduction:

This paper is organized into short citations from wikipedia, followed by a commentary.

Discussion:

Ethernet was developed at Xerox PARC between 1973 and 1974.[1][2] It was inspired by ALOHAnet, which Robert Metcalfe had studied as part of his PhD dissertation.[3] The idea was first documented in a memo that Metcalfe wrote on May 22, 1973, where he named it after the disproven luminiferous ether as an "omnipresent, completely-passive medium for the propagation of electromagnetic waves".[1][4][5]

In 1975, Xerox filed a patent application listing Metcalfe, David Boggs, Chuck Thacker, and Butler Lampson as inventors.[6] In 1976, after the system was deployed at PARC, Metcalfe and Boggs published a seminal paper.[7][note 1]

Reference: wikipedia

Comments:

The authors filed a patent (1975) before publishing (1976), a typical approach used in industrialized countries with established intellectual property protection systems. We innovate a reversed intellectual property protection approach consisting of concept publication followed by system patenting for developing countries, with nonexistent to inefficient intellectual property protection systems.

Biotech tropicana,IncCOMMUNICATOR (BTC 02)

Metcalfe left Xerox in June 1979 to form 3Com.[1][9] He convinced Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC), Intel, and Xerox to work together to promote Ethernet as a standard. The so-called "DIX" standard, for "Digital/Intel/Xerox", specified 10 Mbit/s Ethernet, with 48-bit destination and source addresses and a global 16-bit Ethertype-type field. It was published on September 30, 1980 as "The Ethernet, A Local Area Network. Data Link Layer and Physical Layer Specifications".[10] Version 2 was published in November, 1982[11] and defines what has become known as Ethernet II. Formal standardization efforts proceeded at the same time.

Reference: wikipedia

Comments:

The corresponding author “convinced” at least three (‘Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC), Intel, and Xerox”) working groups in the same technology field to collaborate for standardization of his system. Collaboration is a daunting task when operating in developing countries, where groups working in the same technology area are nonexistent to scarce, requiring international collaboration with its legal and conflict of interest hurdles. In the developing world, standardization issues are to some extent addressed by United nations Agencies, particularly at technology implementation level. New panels such as the “The High Level African Panel on Modern Biotechnology” are a starting point toward standardization at exploration and technology development levels.

BTC 02

Ethernet initially competed with two largely proprietary systems, Token Ring and Token Bus. Because Ethernet was able to adapt to market realities and shift to inexpensive and ubiquitous twisted pair wiring, these proprietary protocols soon found themselves competing in a market inundated by Ethernet products, and, by the end of the 1980s, Ethernet was clearly the dominant network technology.[1] In the process, 3Com became a major company.  

Reference: wikipedia

Comments:

Competition was proven to a major driver of evolution in technological innovation, in industrialized countries. In developing countries, corruption has hindered competition thereby inhibiting technological innovation and country development. The worst can easily eliminate the best through the power of corruption.   

Structured market systems such as stock exchanges are nonexistent to scarce. We innovate “adapted” alternatives to address our market exploration needs: “sasep”.

We innovate an “adapted” legal framework to protect our proprietary protocols from pirates: Biotech tropicana,IncLITIGATOR.

The story of 3COM company demonstrated a classical initiation and evolution of a tech company, around the development of a system, from a PhD thesis to dominant company, over approximately a decade, the average time range of tech development in industrialized countries. A strategy pioneered by the Biotech tropicana systems, in the development of its corporate network.  

BTC 02

3Com shipped its first 10 Mbit/s Ethernet 3C100 transceiver in March 1981, and that year started selling adapters for PDP-11s and VAXes, as well as Multibus-based Intel and Sun Microsystems computers.[12]:9 This was followed quickly by DEC's Unibus to Ethernet adapter, which DEC sold and used internally to build its own corporate network, which reached over 10,000 nodes by 1986, making it one of the largest computer networks in the world at that time.[13] An Ethernet adapter card for the IBM PC was released in 1982, and, by 1985, 3Com had sold 100,000.[9]

Comments:

Here 3COM demonstrated a tech company development funding strategy that is free of foreign capital. 3COM applied “Knowledge” to innovate a new system, sell the newly innovated system to raise capital, use the raised the capital to further advance the system and expand its corporate network; a knowledge driven economy as emphasized in “Innovation: Applying Knowledge in Development”. A strategy pioneered by the Biotech tropicana Systems, in the developing world. We innovate the Biotech tropicana,IncLIFE STORES tech sale strategy in environments traditionally not implicated in tech development.

BTC 02

Since then, Ethernet technology has evolved to meet new bandwidth and market requirements.[14] In addition to computers, Ethernet is now used to interconnect appliances and other personal devices.[1] It is used in industrial applications and is quickly replacing legacy data transmission systems in the world's telecommunications networks.[15] By 2010, the market for Ethernet equipment amounted to over $16 billion per year.

Standardization

In February 1980, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) started project 802 to standardize local area networks (LAN).[9][17]

The "DIX-group" with Gary Robinson (DEC), Phil Arst (Intel), and Bob Printis (Xerox) submitted the so-called "Blue Book" CSMA/CD specification as a candidate for the LAN specification.[10] In addition to CSMA/CD, Token Ring (supported by IBM) and Token Bus (selected and henceforward supported by General Motors) were also considered as candidates for a LAN standard.

Competing proposals and broad interest in the initiative led to strong disagreement over which technology to standardize. In December 1980, the group was split into three subgroups, and standardization proceeded separately for each proposal.[9]

Delays in the standards process put at risk the market introduction of the Xerox Star workstation and 3Com's Ethernet LAN products. With such business implications in mind, David Liddle (General Manager, Xerox Office Systems) and Metcalfe (3Com) strongly supported a proposal of Fritz Röscheisen (Siemens Private Networks) for an alliance in the emerging office communication market, including Siemens' support for the international standardization of Ethernet (April 10, 1981). Ingrid Fromm, Siemens' representative to IEEE 802, quickly achieved broader support for Ethernet beyond IEEE by the establishment of a competing Task Group "Local Networks" within the European standards body ECMA TC24. As early as March 1982 ECMA TC24 with its corporate members reached agreement on a standard for CSMA/CD based on the IEEE 802 draft.[12]:8 Because the DIX proposal was most technically complete and because of the speedy action taken by ECMA which decisively contributed to the conciliation of opinions within IEEE, the IEEE 802.3 CSMA/CD standard was approved in December 1982.[9] IEEE published the 802.3 standard as a draft in 1983 and as a standard in 1985.[18] (1980-1985 = years debate)

Approval of Ethernet on the international level was achieved by a similar, cross-partisan action with Fromm as liaison officer working to integrate International Electrotechnical Commission, TC83 and International Organization for Standardization (ISO) TC97SC6, and the ISO/IEEE 802/3 standard was approved in 1984.

Reference: wikipedia

Comments:

The LAN standardization story demonstrated challenges and associated risks a tech innovator may encounter in tech development and company development. “Competing proposals and broad interest in the initiative led to strong disagreement over which technology to standardize”……… “Delays in the standards process put at risk the market introduction of the Xerox Star workstation and 3Com's Ethernet LAN products”.

In the developing world, we overcome new tech introduction challenges by pulling our competitors with superior performance and by applying a strict policy oriented management to keep business in order, while at the same time accommodating low performers through assistance programs. Consistent with our compassionate capitalism philosophy, we initiate the BIOTECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT FUND to help the poor help themselves, not by promoting welfare and corruption but by training them on acquisition of the skills they need to generate wealth and lift themselves out of poverty.

We overcome security related challenges by applying smart strategies developed in Biotech tropicana,IncFORENSICS and the Biotech tropicana,IncSECURITY TASK FORCE.      

Our strategies were proven very successful in exploring the developing world and innovating alternative technological solutions adapted their resources and expertise, while at the same time creating the conditions for advancement toward standard technologies to promote the integration of our developing world clients in the global economy. Simply, we make profit by improving lives; as demonstrated with our “Life Box” system, a clear cut materialization of our compassionate capitalism philosophy.

BTC 02

Commentary by the Founders

Aboubakar YARI & Venus YARI

For the Biotech tropicana Systems.

References:

^{[1] Ethernet, History section, Wikipedia at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethernet}