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IEEE 802 (1980s) and the Ethernet Standard

IEEE 802 (1980s) and the Ethernet Standard

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Nov 4, 2026

In the IEEE 802 project, standards were developed to define the lower two layers of the OSI model—the Physical and Data Link layers. Within the IEEE 802 family, Ethernet is standardized under IEEE 802.3.

To map the multiple-choice options:

  • (i) 802.2 corresponds to LLC (Logical Link Control).
  • (ii) 802.3 corresponds to Ethernet (incl. its MAC/PHY family).
  • (iii) 802.4 corresponds to Token Bus style LANs.
  • (iv) 802.5 corresponds to Token Ring LANs.

Therefore, the Ethernet standard is (ii) 802.3.

type="tip" title="Direct answer" content="Ethernet corresponds to IEEE 802.3 (option ii)."

IEEE 802 Family (Lower OSI Layers) — Key Roles

Lower 2 OSI Layers

Early IEEE 802 scope (1980s)

Standardize physical signaling and link-layer framing/MAC behavior."

Logical Link Control (LLC)

802.2 defined

Provides a common link-layer interface concept across many 802 LANs."

Ethernet

802.3 defined

Specifies Ethernet MAC/PHY families (commonly associated with CSMA/CD historically)."

Token Bus & Token Ring

Other LAN MAC approaches

IEEE 802.4 (Token Bus) and 802.5 (Token Ring) use token-passing access control."

How the options relate (what each IEEE 802 substandard is focused on)

Ethernet is not IEEE 802.2, because 802.2 is associated with the LLC (Logical Link Control) portion of the Data Link layer, rather than the Ethernet MAC/PHY definition.

Ethernet is IEEE 802.3, because IEEE 802.3 is the LAN standard commonly referred to as Ethernet—defining the link-layer framing and the physical-layer signaling rules for Ethernet variants.

You can think of the IEEE 802 family as a set of “LAN building blocks”:

  • LLC concept: captured by 802.2
  • Ethernet MAC/PHY: captured by 802.3
  • Token-based bus LAN: captured by 802.4
  • Token-based ring LAN: captured by 802.5

Choose the correct Ethernet IEEE 802 standard (exam-style)

  1. 1
    Step 1

    Use Ethernet’s IEEE designation rather than generic IEEE 802 context.

  2. 2
    Step 2

    802.2 is LLC, 802.4 is token bus, 802.5 is token ring.

  3. 3
    Step 3

    Ethernet is standardized as IEEE 802.3.

  4. 4
    Step 4

    Answer: (ii) 802.3.

Mapping of the provided IEEE 802 options

What each option corresponds to (conceptually).

Quick FAQs

Knowledge Check

Question 1 of 4
Q1Single choice

Which IEEE 802 standard is Ethernet?

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