Token Ring
3-11
Technology Basics
Token Ring limitations are very restrictive, and all the restrictions are interrelated.
The speed of the network (4 or 16 Mbps), the amount of signal regeneration
performed by the hardware, and the type of media to be used (UTP, STP, or fiber
optics) all act together to determine the total number of stations that a single ring
may support and the maximum lengths of the cabling used to connect those
stations.
The restrictions of the Token Ring standard are covered in detail in Chapter 6,
Token Ring
.
Frames
A Token Ring frame contains much the same information as an Ethernet frame: a
source address, a destination address, and a data field which contains the packet
that was passed down from the upper layers of the OSI model. The Token Ring
frame also contains a Routing Information Field (discussed later in this section)
and a number of other control and operation related fields which have little
bearing on the network design process.
Segmentation
Bridges
The most common segmentation device in Token Ring networks is the bridge.
Token Ring bridges perform exactly the same function as Ethernet bridges, but
the actual mechanics of segmentation work differently. Where Ethernet bridges
determine to forward frames based on the correlation between the destination
address of a frame and whether that destination address has been seen on the
network the frame originated from, Token Ring bridges allow the frame itself to
tell them where they should be forwarded.
This bridging method is called Source Route Bridging (SR Bridging). It is based on
Token Ring stations sending out a frame that is intended to be received by all
stations on the entire network. The frame is copied and transmitted by all the
bridges on the network, and information is added to the frame each time it passes
over a bridge. The bridge adds its own identification to the frame and sends it on.
Once the frame has reached its destination, the receiving station reads the frame
and examines the list of bridges that the frame passed through during its
transmission. It then builds a routing database that contains the order and
identifications of those bridges. The receiving station then formulates a frame
which contains information for the bridges in the Routing Information Field,
telling each bridge where to send the frame.
Summary of Contents for MMAC-5FNB
Page 1: ...Cabletron Systems Networking Guide MMAC FNB Solutions ...
Page 2: ......
Page 4: ...ii ...
Page 10: ...viii ...
Page 188: ...Expansion Ethernet 8 12 Port Assignment and Virtual LANs ...
Page 194: ...Expansion Token Ring 9 6 Port Assignment ...