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INTRODUCING THE BASELINE SWITCH

This chapter provides an overview of the features and capabilities of the 3Com® Baseline Switch 2250 Plus. It also identifies the contents of the Switch package and helps you get to know the physical features of the device.

Overview of the Baseline Switch 2250 Plus

The 3Com® Baseline Switch 2250 Plus is a versatile, easy-to-use unmanaged switch. It is ideal for users who want the high-speed performance of 10/100 switching with the added functionality of Gigabit links but do not need sophisticated management capabilities.

The Switch is shipped ready for use. No configuration is necessary, unless you want to configure advanced features such as VLAN support and link aggregation.

Features and Capabilities

The Switch has 48 shielded RJ-45, 10/100 Mbps auto-negotiating ports and two 10/100/1000BASE-T ports that operate in conjunction with two Small Form Factor Pluggable (SFP) transceiver slots on the front panel. Use these SFP transceiver slots for easy, flexible connection to fiber-based Gigabit media.

While there are four physical Gigabit ports, only a maximum of two can be operational at any given time.

Autosensing of MDI/MDIX Connections

All ports on the Switch can autosense both medium dependent interface (MDI) and medium dependent interface crossover (MDIX) connections. This allows you to connect network devices to each port using either a normal straight-through TP (twisted pair) cable or a ‘crossover’ TP cable.

Any port can therefore be used to connect to another switch port, server, or workstation without additional configuration.

Autonegotiating 10/100 Mbps Ports

Each 10/100 Mbps port automatically determines the speed and duplex mode of the connected equipment and provides a suitable switched connection. The 1000BASE-T ports also support automatic 10/100/1000 Mbps speed detection.

The 10/100 Mbps connections on these 1000BASE-T ports can operate in either half-duplex or full-duplex mode. 1000 Mbps connections, on the other hand, only operate in full duplex mode.

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Canton 3C16476CS Overview of the Baseline Switch 2250 Plus, Features and Capabilities, Autosensing of MDI/MDIX Connections