Signamax
™
065-7930 16-Port Gigabit Ethernet Switch
15
Switching Technology
Another key development pushing the limits of Ethernet
technology is in the field 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
that do not compete with each other for network
transmission capacity, giving a decreasing the load on each
segment.
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 or Gigabit 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, for example, making it
possible to expand your Fast Ethernet network beyond the 205-
meter network diameter limit for 100BaseTX networks. Switches
supporting both traditional 10Mbps Ethernet and 100Mbps Fast
Ethernet are also ideal for bridging between existing 10Mbps
networks and new 100Mbps networks.
Switching LAN technology is a marked improvement over the
previous generation of network bridges, which were characterized
by higher latencies. Routers have also been used to segment local
area networks, but the cost of a router and the setup and
maintenance required make routers relatively impractical. Today’s
switches are an ideal solution to most kinds of local area network
congestion problems.
