Types of Ethernet Switches

FS518T.Manual.FINAL 5/19/00 12:55 PM Page 10

This improvement is accomplished very easily, with no change to the desktop (the network interface cards or software and the network wiring). As a result, the per- formance upgrade and the applications it enables are obtained very quickly and at a low cost.

When all network ports are operating at 100 Mbps and sending traffic to the server, the server needs a faster transmission speed to avoid bottlenecks. The 1000 Mbps (Gigabit) ports add the necessary increase in throughput.

Ethernet switches can be classified in different ways—as desktop switches or as segment switches. A desktop switch is designed to support one or a few PCs per port. It is generally used when the individuals need the full 10 Mbps network throughput to support the applications. Often, these switches support only a single MAC (media access control) address per port, have high-speed 100 Mbps ports to connect to fast servers, and are relatively inexpensive compared to a segment switch. A segment switch, in contrast, is designed to support an entire workgroup on each port, with each port having significant memory buffering and supporting thousands of MAC addresses.

Switches can also be classified by speed. As the name suggests, 10 Mbps switches support only 10 Mbps connections. Similarly, 100 Mbps switches support only

100 Mbps connections. Usually, 10/100 Mbps switches have primarily 10 Mbps ports with only one or a few 100 Mbps ports. Auto-sensing 10/100 Mbps switches support 10 Mbps or 100 Mbps connections on each port and are the most versatile and adaptive type of switches. Gigabit (1000 Mbps) switch ports are used to connect to shared network resources and network backbones at higher speed.

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