Netgear FS518T User Manual download pdf (Page 10)

introduction 1-2

This improvement is accomplished very easily, with no change to the desktop (the

network interface cards or software and the network wiring).As a result, the per-

formance upgrade and the applications it enables are obtained very quickly and at

a low cost.

When all network ports are operating at 100 Mbps and sending traffic to the server,

the server needs a faster transmission speed to avoid bottlenecks.The 1000 Mbps

(Gigabit) ports add the necessary increase in throughput.

Types of Ethernet Switches

Ethernet switches can be classified in different ways—as desktop switches or as

segment switches. A desktop switch is designed to support one or a few PCs per

port.It is generally used when the individuals need the full 10 Mbps network

throughput to support the applications.Often,these switches support only a single

MAC (media access control) address per port,have high-speed 100 Mbps ports to

connect to fast servers,and are relatively inexpensive compared to a segment switch.

A segment switch, in contrast,is designed to support an entire workgroup on each

port,with each port having significant memory buffering and supporting thousands

of MAC addresses.

Switches can also be classified by speed.As the name suggests, 10 Mbps switches

support only 10 Mbps connections.Similarly, 100 Mbps switches support only

100 Mbps connections.Usually, 10/100 Mbps switches have primarily 10 Mbps ports

with only one or a few 100 Mbps ports. Auto-sensing 10/100 Mbps switches support

10 Mbps or 100 Mbps connections on each port and are the most versatile and

adaptive type of switches.Gigabit (1000 Mbps) switch ports are used to connect to

shared network resources and network backbones at higher speed.

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Netgear FS518T User Manual Page 10