D-Link DES-810 User Manual - Switching Technology

10/100 Fast Ethernet Switch User’s Guide

Overview

5

Switching Technology

Switching is fast becoming the industry standard for pushing the limits of

existing Ethernet networks.  A switch bridges Ethernet packets between

Ethernet and Fast Ethernet LAN segments at the MAC address level of the

Ethernet protocol.

The difference between switched Ethernet (10Mbps, 100Mbps, or both) and

traditional Ethernet is analogous to the difference between a private phone

line and a party line.  With switched Ethernet, each workgroup has a “private

line” so that transmitted packets don’t have to wait as long to gain access to

the network.  When connected to a switched port, each Ethernet segment has

full “wire-speed” access, so a switch effectively divides a single Ethernet

LAN into bridged multiple LAN segments.  Each segment can support a

workgroup or even provide a dedicated connection for a key workstation or

server.  The result of dividing an Ethernet LAN into multiple segments is a

multiplication of internal bandwidth available to all stations on the LAN and

a reduction in latency rates during peak-use periods.

Benefits of Switching

Ethernet switching technology drastically increases the total bandwidth of a

LAN.  It also provides configuration flexibility to local workgroups which

allows the network administrator to better control how network resources are

distributed against network load.  Switching helps reduce the congestion

problems inherent in the contention-oriented CSMA/CD protocol, thereby

improving network response during high utilization periods.

Also, currently popular distributed client/server applications often require

higher bandwidth and tighter client-to-server integration.  Legacy 10Mbps

Ethernet often is unable to provide a sufficiently sophisticated platform for

users to be able to take full advantage of such client/server applications.

Fast Ethernet switching not only satisfies both technical and business needs,

it also preserves the current investment in the huge 10BASE-T Ethernet