Connectivity
Introduction 1-3
1.1 CONNECTIVITY
The module connects to Ethernet networks or workstations through the fr ont panel conne ctors. The
ports support Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP) cables with an impedanc e betw een 85 and 111 ohms
at lengths up to 100meters. The ports are IEEE 802.3 10BASE-T and 100BASE-TX compliant.
1.2 HALF-DUPLEX/FULL-DUPLEX AUTO-NEGOTIATION
The fixed front panel ports on the module have the ability to auto-negotiate the ports’ mode of
operation (half-duplex or full-duplex) between two devices according to IEEE802.3 standards.
During Auto-Negotiation, two devices automatically exchange information “telling” each other
their current operating mode. The Auto-Negotiation feature targets the maximum capability that
can be reached between the two devices. For example, the module can adjust to full-duplex
operation when the device on the other end of the connection can also adjust from half-duplex to
full-duplex. If the device on the other end of the connection can onl y operate in half-duplex mode,
then the module simply adjusts to operate in half-duplex mode.
1.3 PORT TRUNKING
Port Trunking is used for load balancing or load sharing. Port Trunking provides a mechanism to
group, or aggregate, multiple links of any technology together to scale the backbone bandwidth
beyond the limitations of a single link. All links are user-configurable so administrators can scale
the backbone bandwidth by adding Port Trunking. The benefits of Port Trunking include the
following:
•All purchased bandwidth is used.
•Distributed, resilient links increase reliabilit y a nd performance.
•Multiple technologies are supported within a single trunk for maximum flexibility.
1.4 REMOTE MONITORING (RMON)
The module supports the 1, 2, 3, and 9 Ethernet RMON groups. The Statistics, Alarms, Eve nts an d
History groups are enabled on all ports by default.
The Enterasys Networks RMON Actions is a vendor-specific extension of RMON and provides
the ability to set an “Action” on any SNMP MIB variable. The Action can be triggered by any
RMON Event and/or Alarm. An example of an Action would be to turn off a MIB-2 interface if a
broadcast threshold is crossed.