Cabletron Systems Cabletron BRIM-F6, Networking Manual

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Ethernet Workgroup Design 6-11
Ethernet
The Network Designer checks the Cabletron Systems Networking Solutions Product
Guide to examine the characteristics and full description of the MR9T. Deciding
that the product will fit well into the installation, the Network Designer makes a
call to the Cabletron Systems Sales Department and works out the details with a
Sales Representative.
Figure 6-2. Ethernet Home Office Implementation
The Small Office
A small office is a location that contains a greater number of stations than the
typical home office, has greater throughput demands for the network, and has a
much greater probability of expansion in the short term. The term “small office”
in this section can also be applied to small, self-contained departmental networks
within a larger facility or to departmental workgroups that are connected through
their native networking technology to other portions of the corporate or facility
network.
The small office, unlike the home office, often requires some of the advanced
capabilities available in Cabletron Systems networking devices. Management and
monitoring capabilities are frequently in the category of essential characteristics
of small office hardware. The small office network is larger and more complex
than the home office. Therefore, small office networks are more likely to benefit
from the ability to quickly diagnose and correct problems, or foresee potential
troubles through intelligent monitoring and examination of the network statistics
collected by intelligent devices.
NOTE
Departments that are connected to a facility backbone which
uses a different technology (e.g., FDDI) are considered remote
offices, which are discussed later in this chapter.
MR9T
2094n14