D-Link DES-1252 user manual Gigabit Ethernet Technology, Introduction

INTRODUCTION

This chapter will describe the features of the DES-1252 and provide some background information about Ethernet/Fast Ethernet/Gigabit Ethernet switching technology.

Gigabit Ethernet Technology

Gigabit Ethernet is an extension of IEEE 802.3 Ethernet utilizing the same packet structure, format, and support for CSMA/CD protocol, full duplex, and management objects, but with a tenfold increase in theoretical throughput of over 100-Mbps Fast Ethernet and a hundredfold increase over 10-Mbps Ethernet. Since it is compatible with all 10-Mbps and 100-Mbps Ethernet environments, Gigabit Ethernet provides a straightforward upgrade without wasting existing investments in hardware, software, or trained personnel.

The increased speed and extra bandwidth offered by Gigabit Ethernet is essential to help solving network bottlenecks that frequently develop as more advanced computer users and newer applications continue to demand greater network resources. Upgrading key components, such as backbone connections and servers to Gigabit Ethernet technology can greatly improve network response times as well as significantly speed up the traffic between subnets.

Gigabit Ethernet enables fast optical fiber connections to support video conferencing, complex imaging, and similar data-intensive applications. Likewise, since data transfers occur 10 times faster than Fast Ethernet, servers outfitted with Gigabit Ethernet NIC’s are able to perform 10 times the number of operations in the same amount of time.

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