2
Switching Technology
Another approach to pushing beyond the limits of Ethernet technology
is the development of switching technology. A switch bridges and
transmits Ethernet packets at the MAC address level of the Ethernet
protocol, 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
. Each
segment
has its own
bandwidth and it does not compete with others for network
transmission capacity.
A switch acts as a high-speed selective
bridge
between the individual
segments. The switch forwards traffic from origin segment to
destination segment, without interfering with any other segments. 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 uplinking Fast Ethernet 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. The switch
supports both traditional 10Mbps Ethernet and 100Mbps Fast
Ethernet, which is also ideal for bridging between the existing
10Mbps networks and the new 100Mbps networks.
LAN Switching technology is a marked improvement over the
previous generation of network bridges, which were criticized by their
higher latencies.
Routers
have also been used to segment local area
networks. But, the
router
expensive, difficult to setup, and
