Network Segment - Ethernet

Ethernet

According to the defining IEEE standards for Ethernet, a network segment is an electrical connection between networked devices.

In the original 10BASE5 and 10BASE2 Ethernet varieties, a segment would therefore correspond to a single coax cable and any devices tapped into it. At this point in the evolution of Ethernet, multiple network segments could be connected with repeaters (in accordance with the 5-4-3 rule) to form a larger collision domain.

By the IEEE definition, on modern twisted-pair Ethernet, a network segment would correspond to the individual connection between end station to network equipment (i.e. repeater, hub or switch) or the connections between different pieces of network equipment.

Although the above definition would indicate that, through the use of repeaters or hubs, it is possible to have multiple network segments within a collision domain, the term is sometimes used as a synonym for collision domain.