3Com Switches/Hub Technology Explained, OfficeConnect Family, Switch or Hub?, Ethernet technology

O F F I C E C O N N E C T ® SWITCHES AND HUBS

OfficeConnect Family Switch or Hub?

The 3Com OfficeConnect family offers the most flexible, expandable, and integrated networking solutions for small businesses.

OfficeConnect products include:

LAN connectivity

•Network interface cards

•Switches and hubs

•Networking kits

•HP JetDirect print servers

Remote access and Internet connectivity

•LAN modems

•Cable modems

•Internet firewalls

Network server family

•Network storage servers

•3Com Internet server

With a hub, all users share the same bandwidth. This works well with a few users and low traffic requirements, but as you add users or implement more bandwidth-hungry software applica- tions, competition for bandwidth can start to slow down traffic on the LAN.

Switches are more appropriate when you need greater network performance of a high-speed server uplink, such as when connecting users to a few hubs or servers, or when connecting many power users. A switch improves perfor- mance and shortens network response times by reducing the number of users per segment. A switch does that by providing dedicated bandwidth to every device—server, PC, or hub— connected to one of its ports.

Technology Explained	Ethernet technology
	Using twisted-pair cables, you can
	connect a maximum of four Ethernet
	(10 Mbps) hubs in series between
	workstations, or between a workstation
	and a nonrepeater piece of equipment
	(such as a switch). Each cable must
	not exceed 100 m (328 ft).
	Since its inception, Ethernet has become
	the most popular topology in LANs.
	Based on the IEEE 802.3 standard,
	Ethernet has evolved over the years
	and now supports a range of media
	and significant enhancements that
	the original standard never did. The
	10 Mbps available bandwidth can be
	either shared across a number of users
	using hubs or dedicated to worksta-
	tions using switched technology.

10 Mbps link

Example:

Workstation

Switch

10Mbps hub

lSpeed
Dua	8
Hub
10		Mbps
		b
hu
		10	Mbps
			b
		hu

Workstation

2