Ethernet is a global standard for communications, from the lightning-speed data center technologies to real-time Ethernet used in automation and the relatively low bandwidth-consuming VoIP phones. It is supported by multiple different types of media including wireless, as well as fiber optic cable, 4-pair copper, and now a new standard for highly simplified single pair copper cables. All these systems fit together into a seamless communication network, with each device addressed and accessible throughout the system. Especially with the advent of Single Pair Ethernet (SPE), systems that formerly used RS-485 serial communications can be upgraded with little change to the media and brought into the broader Ethernet network. In addition, Single Pair Ethernet brings the added benefit of remote powering of devices using SPoE (Single Pair Power over Ethernet), a standard like the familiar PoE (Power over Ethernet).
Read the whole article on the Ethernet Alliance Blog.