D-Link DES-1008FX User Manual - Switching Technology

2

Introduction

takes advantage of the company’s existing investment in

hardware, software, and personnel training.

Switching Technology

Another approach to pushing beyond the limits of Ethernet

technology is the development of Switching technology.  A switch

bridges 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 making it

possible for a local area network to be divided into different

segments which don’t compete with each other for network

transmission capacity, giving a decreased load on each.

The switch acts as a high-speed selective bridge between the

individual segments.  Traffic that needs to go from one segment to

another is automatically forwarded by the switch, without

interfering with any other segments.  This allows the total

network capacity to be 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-FX networks.  Switches supporting both traditional

10Mbps Ethernet and 100Mbps Fast Ethernet are also ideal for

bridging between existing 10Mbps networks and new 100Mbps

networks.