The object of this article is to inform those who are new to computers of the basics of the ethernet connection.

Every computer has an ethernet port, except some of the older models with a Pentium 1 processor, or before, and it’s currently the fastest connection on your computer, capable of speeds between 10 megabits per second, (10 million 1s and zeros/second.) and, in some cases, up to 1 gigabit per second. (1 billion 1s and zeros/second.) – That’s quite speedy data transfer: In reality that means it’s capable of transferring over 10 megabytes of data per second.

Internet speeds, such as those in the UK, don’t allow anything like that much data to be transferred over the internet via an ethernet-connected modem. A home network, (Also known as a Local Area Network, or LAN.) on the other hand, can benefit from such fast data transfer speeds; transferring data between computers rather quickly.

How to Recognise an Ethernet Port

An ethernet port is pictured below. The yellow arrow points to it: -

You’ll usually find it on the back of a computer, along with a number of USB ports, sound jacks, and various other connections.

The plug that plugs into an ethernet port looks like this: -

Please excuse the bad focus. The plug is officially designated as an RJ45 plug.

With this connection you can create a high-speed data connection between computers; usually via a router, which also interfaces your home network with the internet.