Robert Metcalfe: In 1973, engineer Robert Metcalfe and his colleague Dave Boggs developed a new networking technology at Xerox's Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) to solve a growing problem: how to connect computers so they could quickly share data. The technology, called Ethernet, would go on to become the world's most widely used local area network (LAN) and remains the standard way of making wired connections between desktop computers, servers and networking equipment.
From New York to the world of computer networking
Born in Brooklyn, New York, Metcalfe inherited his father's love of technology, playing with toy trains and building machines from relays, as per a report. He later earned bachelor's degrees in electrical engineering and industrial management from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology before completing his master's degree and Ph.D. at Harvard University in 1973, as per National Inventors Hall of Fame Museum.
Before joining Xerox PARC, Metcalfe worked on ARPANET, the first network based on packet switching. He helped design hardware and protocols to connect computers to the network, contributed to the initial proposal for the Telnet protocol and helped organize a major public demonstration of ARPANET in 1972, as per Association for Computing Machinery.
His research later led him to study AlohaNET, a wireless networking system developed by the University of Hawaii. Its approach to handling data transmissions would later influence his work on Ethernet.
Creating Ethernet at Xerox PARC
After joining Xerox PARC, Metcalfe worked with researchers developing some of the earliest personal computers.
The center needed a fast local network that could connect Alto workstations, shared minicomputers and laser printers capable of handling large amounts of data.
In 1973, Metcalfe and Dave Boggs developed Ethernet to meet those needs. The original system used a single thick coaxial cable to connect computers and had a theoretical speed of nearly three megabits per second.
Drawing on ideas from AlohaNET, Ethernet allowed multiple computers to share the same network while managing data transmissions efficiently. By 1975, about 100 Ethernet circuit boards had been installed on PARC's Alto computers and its MAXC minicomputer, as per the ACM report.
Turning Ethernet into an industry standard
Metcalfe left Xerox in 1979 and co-founded 3Com Corporation to manufacture networking equipment based on Ethernet technology.
He also worked with Digital Equipment Corporation, Intel and Xerox to promote Ethernet more widely. In 1983, Ethernet was formally standardized as IEEE 802.3, allowing equipment made by different companies to exchange data with one another.
One of 3Com's biggest successes came in 1982 with the launch of the EtherLink card, which brought Ethernet networking to IBM PCs. By 1987, 3Com had become the leading producer of Ethernet hardware.
A technology that continues to evolve
Ethernet ports remain the standard way of making wired connections between desktop computers, servers and networking equipment, although the technology has changed significantly since its introduction in 1973.
Metcalfe left 3Com in 1989 and later worked as a technology journalist, venture capitalist and professor at the University of Texas at Austin.
In 2005, he received the National Medal of Technology for his leadership in the invention, standardization and commercialization of Ethernet.
