Fast Ethernet
7-8 Fast Ethernet Workgroup Design
The Network Designer begins the design process by examining the available Fast
Ethernet switch products. As the only devices available offering per-port Fast
Ethernet switching are the four types of FN100 standalone switch, the selection
field is very narrow, consisting of the products shown in the table below.
Due to the extremely limited selection field, the Network Designer can only select
one of the two FN100 models or attempt to use a different solution for this
workgroup, perhaps selecting a modular chassis-based solution.
The FN100-16TX meets the required port count of 14. As there are no other
options available from which to choose a compliant device for this network
implementation, the Network Designer examines the Cabletron Systems
Networking Solutions Product Guide to determine the fitness of the FN100-16TX for
this particular situation.
Examining the Cabletron Systems Networking Solutions Product Guide, the Network
Designer discovers that the FN100-16TX, which had been selected, provides two
100BASE-FX connections that may be activated in the place of two of the
100BASE-TX connections. By disabling one of the UTP connections, the Network
Designer can make the desired multimode fiber optic link to the facility hub
without requiring an external transceiver. The resulting network looks like
Figure 7-3.
Name Max
Management Media Port Count Switch
Interfaces PIMs/BRIMs
FN100-8TX SNMP UTP 8 8 0
FN100-16TX SNMP UTP 16 16 0
FN100-8FX SNMP Multimode
Fiber Optics 880
FN100-16FX SNMP Multimode
Fiber Optics 16 16 0