The switches have 24 10/100/1000Base-T ports.
The ports can operate at 10, 100, or 1000 Mbps. The speeds may be set manually using the management software or automatically with Auto- Negotiation (IEEE 802.3u), the default setting.
Note
The ports must be set to Auto-Negotiation to function at 1000 Mbps and are not compatible with devices that are not IEEE 802.3u compliant.
The twisted pair ports can operate in either half- or full-duplex mode. The duplex mode of a port, like port speed, may be set manually using the management software or automatically with Auto-Negotiation (IEEE 802.3u), the default setting.
The speed and duplex mode settings of a port may be set independently of each other. For example, a port may be configured such that its speed is set manually while its duplex mode is established through Auto- Negotiation.
Note
A switch port should not use Auto-Negotiation to set its duplex mode if it is connected to a network device that does not support Auto- Negotiation for 10 or 100 Mbps operation and has a fixed duplex mode of full-duplex. Otherwise, a duplex-mode mismatch may occur in which a switch port and a network device operate at different duplex modes. The duplex modes of switch ports that are connected to network devices that do not support Auto-Negotiation should be set manually through the management software.
The wiring configuration of a port operating at 10 or 100 Mbps can be MDI or MDI-X. The wiring configurations of a switch port and a network device connected with straight-through twisted pair cabling have to be opposite, such that one device is using MDI and the other MDI-X. For instance, a switch port has to be set to MDI-X if it is connected to a network device set to MDI.
You may set the wiring configurations of the ports manually or let the switch configure them automatically with auto-MDI/MDI-X (IEEE 802.3ab- compliant). This feature enables the switch to automatically negotiate with network devices to establish their proper settings.
