Standards

Ethernet Alliance unveils 'The Voices of Ethernet', oral history archive

Sept. 16, 2021

Unique oral-history archive is intended to preserve for future generations major milestones in Ethernet’s history that may be forgotten or remain unknown, by collecting recorded interviews with key individuals engaged in the technology’s global rise.

The Ethernet Alliance, the global consortium dedicated to the continued advancement of Ethernet technologies, this month announced the launch of a unique oral-history archive, The Voices of Ethernet. As explained by the consortium: "The archive is intended to preserve for future generations major milestones in Ethernet’s history that may have been forgotten or remain unknown, by collecting recorded interviews with key individuals engaged in the technology’s global emergence as the foundation of internet."
“The story of the evolution of Ethernet since 1973 is best told in the personal stories of the technology’s creators, providers and users. That’s what we’re seeking to preserve in The Voices of Ethernet,” said Peter Jones, chair, Ethernet Alliance. Jones continued, “It’s remarkable to hear how things have unfolded. Today, Ethernet is the underlying technology for the communication infrastructure we all take for granted. These interviews also help us better imagine where the technology’s story might go next, with Ethernet supporting new ways to work, play and care for one another globally every day.”
The Voices of Ethernet archive features interviews with key figures in Ethernet’s rise across its sweeping ecosystem of users, network designers and operators around the world including:

Robert M. Metcalfe, known as the “Father of Ethernet,” co-invented Ethernet in 1973 as a way to link the computers at Xerox's Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) to one another. Metcalfe left Xerox in 1979 to start 3Com Corporation. Metcalfe received the IEEE Medal of Honor and National Medal of Technology for his leadership in the invention, standardization and commercialization of Ethernet. He is Professor of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at The University of Texas at Austin.

Interview: Bob Metcalfe, the “Father of Ethernet”

Gary Robinson, representing Digital Equipment Corp. (DEC), was part of a group that submitted a candidate—carrier-sense multiple access with collision detection (CSMA/CD)—when IEEE launched Project 802 in 1980 to standardize local area networks (LANs). Robinson became a catalyst in the flexibility and diversity of the IEEE 802® standards effort which has proven so key to their long-term viability.

Interview: Gary Robinson, creator of the IEEE 802 “dot” groups

Bob Grow is a former chair of the IEEE 802.3 Ethernet Working Group. Grow has been engaged in diverse projects to extend the capabilities of Ethernet and throughout his career with expanding network technology to new applications areas. He was a co-founder and system architect of XLNT and principle engineer with Intel, and now Grow is an independent consultant in standards development.

Interview: Bob Grow, former IEEE 802.3 working group chair