Introduction
1-2
1
Switch Architecture
These Gigabit Ethernet switches employ a wire-speed, non-blocking switching
fabric. This permits simultaneous wire-speed transport of multiple packets at low
latency on all ports. The switches also feature full-duplex capability on all ports,
which effectively doubles the bandwidth of each connection.
The switches use store-and-forward switching to ensure maximum data integrity.
With store-and-forward switching, the entire packet must be received into a buffer
and checked for validity before being forwarded. This prevents errors from being
propagated throughout the network.
Network Management Options
These switches contain a comprehensive array of LEDs for “at-a-glance” monitoring
of network and port status. They also include a management agent that allows you
to configure or monitor the switch using its embedded management software, or via
SNMP applications. To manage each switch, you can make a direct connection to
the console port (out-of-band), or you can manage the switches through a network
connection (in-band) using Telnet, the on-board web agent, or SNMP-based network
management software.
For a detailed description of both switches’ advanced features, refer to the
Management Guide.