This section provides information on the following port types found on the AT-8500 Series switches:
“10/100Base-TX Twisted Pair Ports,” next
“10/100/1000Base-T Twisted Pair Ports” on page 24
“100Base-FX Fiber Optic Ports” on page 25
This section applies to the AT-8524M, AT-8524POE, AT-8550GB, and AT-8550SP switches.
Type of Connector
The 10/100Base-TX twisted pair ports feature 8-pin RJ-45 connectors. Only four of the pins are used when a port is operating at 10 or 100 Mbps
Speed
The twisted pair ports are 10/100Base-TX compliant and are capable of 10 megabits per second (Mbps) or 100 Mbps speeds. You can set the port speed manually or, because the ports are IEEE 802.3u Auto-Negotiation compliant, you can let the switch set each port’s speed automatically. With Auto-Negotiation, the switch automatically matches the highest possible common speed between each switch port and each end node. For example, if an end node is capable of only 10 Mbps, the switch sets the port connected to the end node to 10 Mbps.
Note
Auto-Negotiation is activated as the default on all twisted pair ports on the switch. To deactivate Auto-Negotiation and set the speeds manually, refer to the AT-S62 Management Software User’s Guides.
Duplex Mode
Each twisted pair port on the switch can operate in either half- or full- duplex mode. The twisted pair ports are IEEE 802.3u-compliant and will Auto-Negotiate the duplex mode setting.
If desired, you can disable Auto-Negotiation on one or all of the switch ports so that you can set the duplex mode manually through the switch’s management software.
