Do ethernet cable ports use multi/demultiplexers for data transfer?

I read multi and demultiplexers were used for communication and networking, given their working principles i wonder if they are used for ethernet cables

Thanks

by PythoneeR123
September 05, 2022

In short, that is a possibility, yes, but the OSI reference layer 1, imposes rules on physical connectivity (voltage for a 1 and for a 0, etc.), but gives freedom about how it is achieved. (For the IP suite, that is defined in the Network layer.) There are also rules about technologies (TTL, CMOS, ...) from other standards.

Note: Basically, an Ethernet cable uses a parallel data transmission, while for (basic) Wi-Fi, it is serial (although there me be exceptions, I am not an expert in that matter).

To make things even more complex, UDP allows broadcasting of a single message to multiple listeners, while TCP can be used to define a "data-pipe" between two applications, and all that, "over" IP which allows different messages to "interleave" their packets (so multiple messages may appear to be delivered at the same time).

So, it is safe to assume that some hubs, do.

by vanderghast
September 11, 2022

Thanks a lot for answering. Seems like i still have a lot to learn about electronics. Do you have any good pdfs or websites besides this?

by PythoneeR123
September 13, 2022

Depends on your main interests.

Ben Eater's videos on YouTube, Digital Electronics Tutorial have surprised me: not much math, but with a nice introduction of how using datasheets intelligently as bonus. His other video suites are nice too, including how to simulate a whole CPU with a breadboard, but that is not for an intro.

If you are more interested in the analog part rather than the digital part, you can take a look at the Analog Devices Engineering Lab, based on their ADALM2000, which is a nice "next steps" if you have already explored the basic of Raspberry Pi and/or Arduino. This ADALM2000 can make office of digital oscilloscope, signal generator, network analyzer, and much more, in a single device. The main problems are its relatively high price and that it is limited to the -5V to + 5V range. Note that you don't necessarily need the device to follow the described experiments, but then, you don't get the "hands on" experience.

Finally, if you are interested to both worlds, digital and analog, plus communications and programmation, you may look for robotics, but that is generally a little bit more advanced and using MCU. Not everyone would agree, but for me, I found Jonathan W. Valvano's touch well suited for intro in the various domains covered under the word "robotics".

by vanderghast
September 13, 2022

Much appreciated!

by PythoneeR123
September 14, 2022

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