Robert Metcalfe: The inventor of Ethernet

Robert Metcalfe was born on April 7, 1946 in Brooklyn, New York, USA. His father was a gyroscope test technician and his mother was a homemaker. Robert Metcalfe graduated from Bay Shore High School in 1968 and studied electrical engineering and industrial management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He went to Harvard for graduate education and earned his master's degree in applied mathematics and his doctorate in computer science.

The 1970s were the years when R&D studies in the field of technology gained importance and large resources began to be allocated to technology investments. In order to gain technological superiority under the conditions of the Cold War, the USA provided support to these studies through the ARPA (Advanced Research Projects Agency) affiliated to the Ministry of Defense. Harvard had a very important place in the ARPAnet project, one of the most important studies of the period. However, Robert Metcalfe did not want to take part in the ARPAnet project while he was doing his doctorate, he joined MIT's Project MAC, where he completed his undergraduate education.

Project MAC (Project Mathematics and Computation Project), which MIT started to develop in 1963, was an engineering project aimed at enabling and improving the online use of computers. Developing new methods for both individual users and corporate structures to communicate with each other online, Project MAC aimed to increase the interaction between people and computers and to improve the capabilities of both parties. In addition to responding to individual needs in the project, one of the main objectives was to ensure the evolutionary development of a multi-access computer network with the widespread use of computers.

At Project MAC, Robert Metcalfe was responsible for developing the hardware that would enable MIT's minicomputers to be interconnected. Robert Metcalfe, who managed to develop hardware that makes it possible to connect MIT's computers within the scope of the project, turned this work into a doctoral thesis. However, his thesis was not accepted and he was asked to work on it. Thereupon, he started to continue his work at Xerox PARC (Palo Alto Research Center, Palo Alto Research Center), one of the most important R&D centers of the period.

In 1973, Robert Metcalfe ran into a problem at Xerox PARC. As the number of computers used in the center increased, the hardware he developed at MIT was insufficient. Moreover, this hardware could not enable distant computers to be connected to each other or to any hardware. As a matter of fact, Xerox company had invented the world's first laser printer in 1971, but this printer is located in the room at the end of the corridor at Xerox PARC, it was necessary to be in this room to print. It was very difficult to connect to the printer by pulling the cable from all the computers in the center, both physically and in terms of cost. A minor fault in the wiring could cause the entire system to break.

In the face of this problem, Robert Metcalfe sought a new method to connect both computers and different hardware at long distances. The radio network ALOHAnet, which he met during this period, was an important source of inspiration for him to solve the problem. The ALOHAnet radio network, developed by the University of Hawaii, allowed all computers entering the network to communicate with each other at any time, unlike many similar networks that only allowed one computer to communicate with another computer.

The ALOHAnet radio network contained the solution to a very important problem for Robert Metcalfe. Because if it could create a wired network with the same features, it would be possible to connect not only computers at a distance, but also hardware. Robert Metcalfe, who accelerated his work on developing a wired network with David Biggs, whom he met at Xerox PARC during this period, invented ethernet, which makes it possible to connect all computers on the same network with a single cable.

It is possible to define Ethernet briefly as a computer network technology used for local networks (Local Area Network, LAN). The origin of the word comes from the Greek word ether (aether). The ether, believed to be the essence of matter since ancient times, was thought to fill the entire universe. In this context, ethernet refers to a technology that allows all computers in the same network to communicate.

Invented by Robert Metcalfe on May 22, 1973, ethernet was initially operating at a very low speed of 3 Mbps. However, it was a very important turning point in the development of computer networks and internet technologies. Because ethernet managed to connect all computers on the same network with a single cable, making the cabling process extremely simple. With Ethernet, the participant stations had collisions while transmitting data packets to each other, but retransmissions could solve the problem. Realizing that the local network established with Ethernet could offer great opportunities in the future, Xerox patented the Ethernet in 1975 and started to work with Intel to develop this technology. In 1979, Robert Metcalfe left Xerox and founded 3Com company and started working on new products based on ethernet technology.

In the 1980s, ethernet gave birth to a new industry. Ethernet 1, which was introduced to the market in 1980, was the harbinger of these developments. Ethernet, which was standardized as IEEE 802.3 in 1983, was developed to connect devices at greater distances faster. The successes of ethernet in the 1990s caused similar wired networks such as FDDI or ARCNET to lose market power and the market dominance shifted to ethernet. In 1999, 3Com was valued at $5.7 billion. In 2010, the company was acquired by HP. Although wireless networks are more preferred for connecting to the internet today, ethernet continues to maintain its importance especially in local networks.