Hardware invariant protocol disruptive interference for 100BaseTX Ethernet communications

Abstract

In this paper, we introduce a new concept that we refer to as hardware invariant protocol disruptive interference (HIPDI). Such interference would pose a severe threat as intentional EMI to the corresponding protocol for which it was designed. In this paper, we consider only the 100BaseTX Ethernet protocol over UTP CAT-5 cable which is used extensively in local-area networks. We show that low power, narrowband, differential-mode voltage levels on a 100BaseTX Ethernet twisted-pair can seriously degrade network throughput independent of the physical features of the network or the protocol interpreter hardware. Moreover, we show that the required parameters of disruptive interference can be derived from the protocol itself using a concept we call hardware aperture. The experimental results reported herein indicate that creating such interference is practically feasible and therefore, is a possible threat to existing communication networks.