1-2CHAPTER 1: OVERVIEW

Port population—High density port population relieves traffic congestion and supports 4 and 16 Mbps data rates. In addition, the Switch 2000 TR has four custom-configurable ports designed for direct workstation or dedicated server connection.

Network management—Switch 2000 TR is sup- ported by the Transcend® Enterprise Manager

applications for UNIX and Microsoft Windows

95®. Both network management applications pro- vide Simple Network Management Protocol Remote Monitoring Management Information Base (SNMP RMON MIB) data using an intuitive graphical interface to report historical and perfor- mance statistics.

System Features

Congestion Control—The Congestion Control feature optimizes available buffer space in the Switch 2000 TR by using the buffering ability in all Token Ring end stations. This is especially useful when many ports are transmitting to a common port such as a server connection. Having conges- tion control eliminates the chances of dropped packets in high-traffic client-server environments.

Slide-in Option Slot—Optional downlink mod- ules are available for the Switch 2000 TR. These modules provide downlinks to high-speed back- bones such as FDDI, ATM, and Fast Ethernet.

The FDDI module supplies a 100 Mbps point of aggregation for multiple Token Ring switched segments and supports either Single Attached Stations (SAS) or Dual Attached Stations (DAS).

The ATM module supplies 155 Mbps UNI inter- face, and retains all virtual LAN emulation con- figuration data, provides ATM signaling, and offers standard LAN emulation.

The TR-in-FE module combines Token Ring and Ethernet for the purpose of utilizing Fast Ether- net as a backbone and method of server attach- ment for Token Ring networks. Through a process known as tunneling or encapsula- tion, TR-in-FE uses Fast Ethernet to transport natively formatted Token Ring frames.

High-speed Cascade Interface—Thehigh-speed cascade interface enables multiple Switch 2000 TRs to connect to form a single, large switched domain while reducing the cost typically incurred with FDDI or ATM functionality. This connection allows as many as six Switch 2000 TRs to be stacked.

VLAN Support—The Switch 2000 TR supports vir- tual LAN (VLAN) operation by allowing any switch port to become a member of any one of 15 unique VLANs (workgroups). By establishing VLANs, LAN administration tasks such as adds, moves, and changes become easier while bulk downloads and configurations remain across workgroups. VLANs also enhance security and increase network effi- ciency by controlling traffic flow and containing broadcasts. VLANs are preserved over the High Speed Cascade Interface. In addition, indus- try-standard LAN emulation over ATM provides a method for creating enterprise-wide virtual LANs that reflect how networks actually function.

Page 12
Image 12
3Com TR manual System Features