Chapter 1:
Introduction
1-4 2E43-51/2E43-51R User’s Guide
The 2E43-51R has two power supplies. The power supplies load share
50% (+/-5%) of the power required by the device. If one power supply
fails, the remaining power supply assumes the entire load of the device
without interruption to network traffic. Each power supply module
supports its own ac input connection, which allows the user to connect
each power supply to a different ac power circuit.
1.3.1 Connectivity
The 2E43-51 connects to Ethernet networks or workstations through four
50-pin RJ21 connectors. Each connector serves as a 12-port Ethernet
10 Mbps MicroLAN.
Both of the devices have two front panel slots (ports 5 and 6) for optional
Fast Ethernet Interface Modules to support an uplink to 100 Mbps Fast
Ethernet backbones or a high speed connection to a local server. There is
also space for an optional HSIM to provide additional connectivity to
various networking technologies.
1.3.2 Full Duplex Switched Ethernet
The optional Fast Ethernet Interface Modules for the 2E43-51 can be
configured to operate in Full Duplex Switched Ethernet mode, which
provides 200 Mbps of bandwidth.
1.3.3 Auto-Negotiation
The repeater ports and Fast Ethernet Interface Modules can auto-negotiate
the type of connection required to provide a link to another device.
During Auto-Negotiation, two devices automatically exchange
information “telling” each other what their operating capabilities are. The
Auto-Negotiation feature targets the maximum capabilities that can be
reached between the two devices. For example, an FE-100TX Fast
Ethernet Interface Module in a 2E43-51 can adjust to 100 Mbps when the
device on the other end of the connection can also adjust to 100 Mbps. If
the device on the other end of the connection can only operate at
10 Mbps, then the FE-100TX simply adjusts to 10 Mbps operation.