Switching Functionality, Filtering and Forwarding

Magnum 6K32 Managed Switch

Installation and User Guide (02/05)

The above provided information enables a managed station( a PC or Console terminal) to connect directly to the switch using a straight through cable.

Note: For using Console port to configure the managed switch, a serial (Null- modem) female to female cable is required to communicate properly. The Null- Modem (DB-9) cable is optional and can be order from the factory, along with the unit as-

CONSOLE CBL for serial port CONSOLE USB for USB port

4.0OPERATION

This chapter describes the functions and operation of the Magnum 6K32 Switch.

4.1Switching Functionality

A Magnum 6K32 provides switched connectivity at Ethernet wire-speed

among all of its ports. The Magnum 6K32 supports10/100Mbs for copper media and 10 or 100Mb separate traffic domains for fiber ports to maximize bandwidth utilization and network performance. All ports can communicate to all other ports in a Magnum 6K32, but local traffic on a port will not consume any of the bandwidth on any other port.

Magnum 6K32 units are plug-and-play devices. There is no software configuring necessary to be done for basic operation at installation or for maintenance. The only hardware configuration settings are user options for an UP-LINK Switch (resides inside the unit) on the 6K8-RJ45 (modular port). Optional Half / Full duplex mode and 10 or 100Mbps selection for the switched ports must be configured through MNS-6K software per unit as per the requirement. The internal functions of both are described below.

Filtering and Forwarding

Each time a packet arrives on one of the switched ports, the decision is taken to either filter or to forward the packet. Packets whose source and destination addresses are on the same port segment will be filtered, constraining them to that one port and relieving the rest of the network from having to process them. A packet whose destination address is on another port segment will be forwarded to the appropriate port, and will not be sent to the other ports where it is not needed. Traffic needed for maintaining the operation of the network (such as occasional multi-cast packets) are being forwarded to all ports.

The Magnum 6K32 Switches operate in the store-and-forward switching mode, which eliminates bad packets and enables peak performance to be achieved when there is heavy traffic on the network.

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