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network-programmingethernet

What are the frame formats and are compatible ethernet and 100 gigabit ethernet?

Good afternoon! Can anyone know what are the frame formats and are compatible ethernet and 100 gigabit ethernet?

Solution

  • Frame formats for Ethernet are generally compatible throughout the Ethernet family - you can simply switch a frame from 100 Gbit/s to 10 Mbit/s. (You might need to do in two steps though as a 100G switch might not support as far back as 10M.)

    You can get the offical standards directly from IEEE 802.3 (free, requires registration). The frame format is detailed in Clause 3 that you can find in IEEE 802.3 Section 1.

    There are few extensions but you can worry about that later. Any link layer (L2) features are generally compatible with any physical layer (L1) defining medium and speed. Your hardware equipment defines what you can actually use.