8
Switching Technology Another approach to pushing beyond the limits of Ethernet
technology is the development of switching technology. A
switch bridge Ethernet packets at the MAC address level of
the Ethernet protocol transmitting among connected
Ethernet or Fast Ethernet LAN segments.
Switching is a cost-effective way of increasing the total
network capacity available to users on a local area network.
A switch increases capacity and decreases network loading
by dividing a local area network into different segments,
which don’t compete with each other for network
transmission capacity.
The switch acts as a high-speed selective bridge between the
individual segments. The switch, without interfering with
any other segments, automatically forwards traffic that
needs to go from one segment to another. By doing this the
total network capacity is multiplied, while still maintaining
the same network cabling and adapter cards.
For Fast Ethernet networks, a switch is an effective way of
eliminating problems of chaining hubs beyond the “two-
repeater limit.” A switch can be used to split parts of the
network into different collision domains, making it possible
to expand your Fast Ethernet network beyond the 205-meter
network diameter limit for 100BASE-TX networks. Switches
supporting both traditional 10Mbps Ethernet and 100Mbps
Fast Ethernet are also ideal for bridging between the
existing 10Mbps networks and the new 100Mbps networks.