Access Control Lists
– ACLs provide packet filtering for IP frames (based on
address, protocol, TCP/UDP port number or TCP control code) or any frames
(based on MAC address or Etherne t type). ACL s can by us ed to impr ove
performance by blocking unnecessary network traffic or to implement security
controls by restricting access to specific network resources or protocols.
DHCP Server and DHCP Relay
– A DHCP server is provided to assign IP
addresses to host devices. Since DHCP uses a broadcast mechanism, a DHCP
server and its client must physically reside on the same subnet. Since it is not
practical to have a DHCP server on every subnet, DHC P Relay is also su pported to
allow dynamic configuration of local clients from a DHCP server located in a different
network.
Port Configuration
– You can manually configure the speed and duplex mode, and
flow control used on specific ports, or use auto-negotiation to detect th e connect ion
settings used by the attached device. Use the full-duplex mode on ports whenever
possible to double the throughput of switch connectio ns. Flo w c ontrol sho uld also be
enabled to control network traffic during periods of congestion and prev ent the loss
of packets when port buffer thresholds are exceeded. The switch sup ports flo w
control based on the IEEE 802.3x standard.
Rate Limiting
– This feature controls the maximum rate for traffic transmitted or
received on an interface. Rate limiting is c onfigure d on interfa ces at th e edge of a
network to limit traffic into or out of the network. Traffic that falls within the rate limit is
transmitted, while packets that exceed the acceptable a m oun t of tr affic a re d ro pped.
Port Mirroring
– The switch can unobtrusively mirror traffic from any port to a
monitor port. You can then attach a protocol analyzer or RMON probe to this port to
perform traffic analysis and verify connection integrity.
Port Trunking
– Ports can be combined into an aggregate connection. Trunks can
be manually set up or dynamically configured using IEEE 802.3-2005 (formerly
IEEE 802.3ad) Link Aggregation Control Protocol (LACP). The additional ports
dramatically increase the throughput across any connection, and provide
redundancy by taking over the load if a port in the tr unk shoul d fail. Th e switch
supports up to 32 trunks.
Broadcast Storm Control
– Broadcast suppression prevents broadcast traffic from
overwhelming the network. When enabled on a port, the level of broadcast t raffic
passing through the port is restricted. If broadcast traffic rises above a pr e-defined
threshold, it will be throttled until the level falls back beneath the threshold.
Static Addresses
– A static address can be assigned to a specific interface on this
switch. Static addresses are bound to the assigned interface and will no t be moved .
When a static address is seen on another interface, the add ress wi ll be ign ored and
will not be written to the address table. Static address es can be u sed to p rovide
network security by restricting access for a known ho st to a specif ic port.
1-3Description of Software Features
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