The diagram below shows one possible configuration of a 12-Port Switch in a Fast Ethernet environment; if you have an 16 or 24-Port Switch, the configura- tion remains the same. Note that like all Fast Ethernet network hardware, the switch requires Category 5 UTP network cabling, which is available at most computer stores.
In this example, each workstation has access to all of the resources on the net- work -- 10Mbps users can access the 100Mbps stations, and vice-versa. While allowing the 10Mbps and 100Mbps segments to communicate, the switch helps optimize traffic by adding switching to the network, which can improve perform- ance by up to 80% (even on the slower 10Mbps segment). Notice that the servers are both connected directly to the switch. This improves server access times for all users.
DSSX12
| 10Mbps | 100Mbps |
| Segment |
| Segment |
| |
