2 NETWORK PLANNING
INTRODUCTION TO SWITCHING
A network switch allows simultaneous transmission of multip le packets via non-
crossbar switching. This means tha t it can partition a network more efficiently
than bridges or routers. These switches have, th erefore, been recognized as one
of the most important building bloc ks fo r t oda y’s networking technology.
When performance bottlenecks are caused by c on gest i on at the network acc ess
point (such as the network card for a high-volume file server), the device
experiencing congestion (server, pow er user or hub) can be attached directly to
a switched port. And, by using full -duplex mode, t he bandwi dth of the dedi cated
segment can be doubled to
maximize
throughp ut
.
When networks are based on repeater (hub) tech nology, the distance between
end stations is limited by a maximum hop count. However, a switch turns the
hop count back to zero. So subdividing the net w ork in t o smaller and more
manageable segments, and linking them to the larger network by means of a
switch, removes this limitation.
A switch can be easily configured in any Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, Gigabit
Ethernet, or 10G Ethernet network to signi fica nt l y bo o s t ba ndwidt h while using
conventional cabling and network cards.
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