1INTRODUCING THE BASELINE SWITCH
This chapter provides an overview of the features and
capabilities of the 3Com® Baseline Switch 2250 Plus.
It also identifies the contents of the Switch package
and helps you get to know the physical features of
the device.

Overview of the Baseline Switch 2250 Plus

The 3Com® Baseline Switch 2250 Plus is a versatile,
easy-to-use unmanaged switch. It is ideal for users
who want the high-speed performance of 10/100
switching with the added functionality of Gigabit
links but do not need sophisticated management
capabilities.
The Switch is shipped ready for use. No configuration
is necessary, unless you want to configure advanced
features such as VLAN support and link aggregation.

Features and Capabilities

The Switch has 48 shielded RJ-45, 10/100 Mbps
auto-negotiating ports and two 10/100/1000BASE-T
ports that operate in conjunction with two Small
Form Factor Pluggable (SFP) transceiver slots on the
front panel. Use these SFP transceiver slots for easy,
flexible connection to fiber-based Gigabit media.
While there are four physical Gigabit ports, only a
maximum of two can be operational at any given
time.

Autosensing of MDI/MDIX Connections

All ports on the Switch can autosense both medium
dependent interface (MDI) and medium dependent
interface crossover (MDIX) connections. This allows
you to connect network devices to each port using
either a normal straight-through TP (twisted pair)
cable or a ‘crossover’ TP cable.
Any port can therefore be used to connect to another
switch port, server, or workstation without additional
configuration.

Autonegotiating 10/100 Mbps Ports

Each 10/100 Mbps port automatically determines the
speed and duplex mode of the connected equipment
and provides a suitable switched connection. The
1000BASE-T ports also support automatic
10/100/1000 Mbps speed detection.
The 10/100 Mbps connections on these 1000BASE-T
ports operate in full-duplex mode.