HP 5300XL, 5304XL, 5348XL Figure 14-1.Example of Switch Meshing

Switch Meshing

Introduction

Introduction

Switch meshing is a load-balancing technology that enhances reliability and performance in these ways:

�Provides significantly better bandwidth utilization than either Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) or standard port trunking.

�Uses redundant links that remain open to carry traffic, removing any single point of failure for disabling the network, and allowing quick responses to individual link failures. This also helps to maximize invest­ ments in ports and cabling.

�Unlike trunked ports, the ports in a switch mesh can be of different types and speeds. For example, a 10Base-FL port and a 1GB port can be included in the same switch mesh.

W

	Non-Meshed Port		Switch 2
			(Meshed)
Node						Node
		Switch 1		Switch 4
	W				W
		(Meshed)		(Meshed)
			Switch 3
		Meshed Port	(Meshed)
				Switch Mesh Domain

W

The mesh-configured ports in switches 1-4 form a Switch Mesh Domain

Figure 14-1. Example of Switch Meshing

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