This circuit is a widely used hack. It is a hack in a sense that it is not technically up to the specifications an Ethernet device should need, but it is simple and works pretty well in most cases. The simple construction method used in this circuit creates impedance mismatches to the communications line, which are not good for the communications. But because Ethernet is pretty robust technology this “not so good” system works well enough when we are not using the Ethernet up to it’s extreme limits. The Ethernet communications is designed to work up to 100 meters cable length when properly wired. When you use considerably shorter cables, there is more room for different kind of imperfections on the communications line, for example imperfections like this passive tap. When I have kept the main communications line cables less than 10 meters in length and the tap cables 2-3 meters long everything has worked well.

I still find all the web-based forums to be too primitive. Too often the problems are both user interface and the content (too many forums and too few really good and active). No web-based forum holds a candle to real Usenet. If you only know Usenet through a web-based interface like Google Groups, then you don’t really know Usenet. All web-based forums are dramatically inferior to Usenet.

Likely many of us also use web-based forums for certain specialty topics, particularly forums that are chartered for the discussion of certain hardware and or software, etc. But the Usenet newsgroups continue to be orders of magnitude faster and more efficient than any web-based forum I have seen in 20 years.

Web-based forums are generally HORRID. I avoid them unless absolutely necessary. If you have never used a real Usenet newsreader client and a proper Usenet NNTP server, then you are in no position to judge what is happening to this or any other Usenet newsgroup.

Projected Internet traffic growth mandates the need for higher speed Ethernet (HSE) connections sooner or later. The amount of backbone Internet bandwidth maintained by major Internet carriers has been expanding at 75 to125% per year. While 10 Gbps appears to be sufficient for most data centers today, 40 Gbps is expected to meet data center needs through 2014. 100 Gbps rate has been identified as the next high-speed network operator interface.

An IEEE Task Force has been established with the objective of standardizing 40 Gbps within the data center and 100 Gbps between major Internet nodes. Ensuring the success of High Speed Ethernet (HSE) tells you more about those new 100 GbE and 40 GbE Ethernet technologies around the corner.