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Congratulations on your purchase of the 8-Port 10/100Mbps Fast Ethernet Switch
with 4/8-Port PoE. This Switch integrates 100Mbps Fast Ethernet and 10Mbps
Ethernet network capabilities in a highly flexible package. And this switch’s Port-1 to
Port-4/8 are Power over Ethernet (PoE) ports, and it will automatically detects the
presence of IEEE 802.3af-compliant powered device (PD) and provides power
through the Port-1 to Port-4/8. The switch provides up to 15.4 W for PoE port and
can be used to WLAN access point, IP phone, video camera and other PD devices.
The Switch will automatically detect the network appliance’s requirements, and the
switch will supplies the required power current to each appliance.
In this guide, the term “Switch” (first letter upper case)
refers to your 8-Port 10/100Mbps Fast Ethernet Switch
with 4-Port PoE and “switch” (first letter lower case)
refers to other Ethernet switches.
1.
Introduction
This chapter describes the features of the Switch and some background information
about Ethernet/Fast Ethernet switching technology.
1.1
Fast Ethernet Technology
The growing importance of LANs and the increasing complexity of desktop
computing applications are fueling the need for high performance networks. A
number of high-speed LAN technologies have been proposed to provide greater
bandwidth and improve client/server response times. Among them, 100BASE-T
(Fast Ethernet) provides a non-disruptive, smooth evolution from the current
10BASE-T technology. The non-disruptive and smooth evolution nature, and the
dominating potential market base, virtually guarantee cost effective and high
performance Fast Ethernet solutions in the years to come.
100Mbps Fast Ethernet is a new standard specified by the IEEE 802.3 LAN
committee. It is an extension of the 10Mbps Ethernet standard with the ability to
transmit and receive data at 100Mbps, while maintaining the CSMA/CD Ethernet
protocol. Since the 100Mbps Fast Ethernet is compatible with all other 10Mbps
Ethernet environments, it provides a straightforward upgrade and takes advantage
of the existing investment in hardware, software, and personnel training.
1.2
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
